Brand Founder AcademyThe AI Actor Ad Guide.
How to make your launch ads on Arcads in 1 sitting, and what an AI actor is allowed to say about your product.
The one rule to remember: An AI actor can tell people about your product. It cannot say it used your product.
Section 1
Make your ads on Arcads
Arcads is a site that makes ads with AI actors. You do all of this on their site.
- Write a short script. 5 lines: a hook from The Hook Bank, what the product is, 1 fact from your label, who it is for, and "shop at" your store address. Keep it under 60 words. Check it against Section 2.
- Go to arcads.ai and make an account. Pay for 1 month. Check the price on their site, because it changes.
- Add your brand. Type your brand name and what you sell, and upload your product photos. Use the same product photo your store uses.
- Start a new video. Paste in your script.
- Pick an actor who looks like your customer. Pick a setting where your customer would use the product.
- Make the video. Watch it to the end with the sound on.
- Check 3 things: the product looks like your product, the words on the label are right, and the actor says only what your script says.
- If something is off, change that 1 thing and make it again. Change the actor before you rewrite the script.
- Download the video in the tall phone size, 9:16.
- Keep going. Make videos and still picture ads until you have a folder full of them: different hooks, different actors, different settings.
The money rule
Pay for 1 month, make everything you can, and cancel the same day. You keep the month you paid for. When you need more ads later, pay for 1 more month.
Section 2
What an AI actor can say
An AI actor is a presenter. A presenter talks about the product. A customer talks about what happened to them. An AI actor has never used your product, so it cannot talk as a customer.
| OK to say | Not OK to say |
|---|---|
| This is Mauna. It is a drink mix for long days outside. | I took Mauna on my last 20 mile hike. |
| It has 1,000mg of sodium and 24 grams of carbs in every stick. | I stopped cramping after I started drinking this. |
| It is made with Hawaiian sea salt and māmaki. | This is the best drink mix I have ever tried. |
| If your long days run past hour 6, this was made for you. | I have been a customer for 3 months. |
| The store is open. The link is right below this video. | 5 stars. I tell all my friends about it. |
The lines on the left are facts about the product, said by a presenter. The lines on the right are a person saying something happened to them. With an AI actor, it never happened.
3 questions to ask about every line
01
Does the actor say "I" or "my" about using the product? If yes, rewrite the line so it is about the product. "I love the taste" becomes "It tastes like pineapple and mango."
02
Would a person watching think this is a customer? An unboxing, a "my order came" video, or a star rating on screen all look like a customer. Do not make those with an AI actor.
03
Could you prove the line if someone asked? A number from your label is fine. A result in the body needs a test. This is the same rule as every other ad you make.
What the actor can do on screen
- Hold the product, open it, mix it, drink it. Showing the product being used is fine.
- Talk to the camera the way a person in a commercial does.
- Be in the place your customer uses it: a trail, a gym, a kitchen.
- Not OK: words on screen like "real customer", "verified buyer", "honest review" or a star rating.
Section 3
This is a federal rule
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC) polices advertising. Its rule on reviews and testimonials started in October 2024.
- What the rule bans: a review or testimonial from someone who does not exist, and one from someone who did not use the product. The FTC names AI-made fake reviews as an example.
- The fine: up to $53,088 for each violation, as of the FTC notice in December 2025. Each fake review can count as 1 violation.
- Who pays: the business that made or used the fake review. That is you, not the AI tool.
- What else can happen: Meta can reject the ad, and customers who find out stop trusting the brand.
- In December 2025 the FTC sent warning letters to 10 companies about this rule.
Section 4
When you want a review in an ad
Reviews in ads work well. They have to come from people who bought your product.
- Wait until customers have bought and used your product.
- Ask a customer if you can use their words or their video in an ad. Get the yes in writing. An email is enough.
- Use their words as they wrote them. You can shorten them. You cannot change what they mean.
- If you gave them free product or paid them, say so in the ad.
Your own founder ads are different. You are a real person and you made the product, so you can say "I" and tell your own story.
Section 5
When Meta asks if your ad was made with AI
- Meta puts an AI info label on ads that were made with AI. It can add the label by itself.
- If Meta Ads Manager asks whether your ad was made or changed with AI, answer yes for every AI actor ad.
- An ad that hides that it was made with AI can be rejected.
- The label does not stop the ad from running.
Not legal advice. This guide is education. Read the FTC rule at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials and the December 2025 notice at https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2025/12/warning-letter-or-ten-businesses-comply-ftcs-consumer-review-rule and talk to a lawyer about your own ads if you are unsure. The fine goes up most years. Arcads and Meta change their screens and their rules from time to time.