Visual AI Tools: The Future Of Marketing Content Creation

Forbes

12 hours ago

Bernard May is the CEO of National Positions, a 5-time Inc. 500 company, award-winning marketing agency and Google Premier Partner.
It's hard to grasp that it's been only three years since the names that would come to define the AI landscape surged into the public consciousness, setting in motion a wave of possibilities we're still riding today. Midjourney, ChatGPT and Kaiber blew the doors off the marketing world, introducing all of us to a new era of productivity and creativity.
When it comes to marketing, visual content is the holy grail, and with good reason. In 2025, 'content' is shorthand for video, product images, ad clips, user-generated content and more—anything and everything that captures the eyes, hearts and minds of your next potential customer. With limited time, assets and budgets, marketing teams are under pressure to maximize output with minimal input. That's where visual AI tools come in.
The fact of the matter is this: Marketers who are not at least willing to experiment with everything AI has to offer (and how it applies to their specific marketing roles) could be doomed to extinction in the next decade or so. I'm not trying to scare anyone, but I am imploring you to stay up to date with every tool at your disposal to stay relevant.
Here's what I've found after experimenting, testing and using nearly every visual AI tool on the market. The workflows I've included below are the ones I keep coming back to. I have zero affiliation with any tools mentioned, but they've each saved me hundreds of hours compared to traditional workflows.
Image Creation
AI that's laser-focused on image generation is, in my opinion, hands down the best for customization and flexibility. It's my go-to for creating custom images, stock-like assets or just finding visual inspiration.
I've used Midjourney for years. You can enter your prompt, choose aspect ratios, set camera angles, provide visual references for consistency and even make edits after creation.
I'll admit that I was a Gemini skeptic when it launched. That said, when it comes to quick and quality image generation, it has passed every test I've run. I've found Gemini to be fast and accurate with prompts, and—since you're working within a large language model—you can refine visuals right in the chat thread, which is a huge time saver.
Video Creation
Now over to video. If you're ready to have your mind blown, go and start experimenting. I've used AI for everything from creating drone shots of client locations to animating team photos for promotional clips. I've also started using AI more for B-roll and product image videos—like making a model 'walk down the street' wearing a featured outfit. The results are stunning. The Achilles' heel for many AI video creation tools is still hands—they can morph, blur and usually fail. So as long as hands stay in pockets, it's worth testing.
Runway is a tool where it's getting hard to distinguish AI from reality, especially with people. Eye movement, mouths, hands—it nails them 95% of the time in my experience. You can start from scratch or provide image references and let it go. My best results have come from the latter.
Kaiber's Superstudio has been my budget-friendly backup for generating video assets from images and prompts on the fly. Its sandbox-style user experience can be finicky, but the results are solid. The first time I uploaded a client product image and asked for a 360-degree rotation around the product, it delivered exactly that—I was shocked.
Voice AI
This one's a bit of a cheat, but if you plan to create AI avatar versions of your team, the voice has to be on point. If this isn't your thing, skip it. But if you're going the avatar route, don't skip this step.
I've used ElevenLabs for this. It lets you clone your voice with surprising accuracy for use in scripted video platforms. It's getting better at matching vocal tone and cadence, so scripts sound fluid and natural.
Getting Real About AI
This is the fact of the matter: The only way you're going to find the AI tools that will fill the gaps in your marketing is to test everything you find with an open mind. There is no one-size-fits-all (just like with anything else). Some are simpler to use or have better qualities than others. But the needs of a beauty brand, for example, are not going to be the same as those of an auto dealership. So the only way to find the right fit for you is to test fast and keep the winners.
Start Creating
You can see I rarely rely on a single tool for everything. I mix and match based on the project and the time I have. But here's the point: We've hit a moment in history where if you can think it, you can create it. 'Limited assets' and 'no production team' are no longer valid excuses.
I'll end with this: I highly encourage you to think beyond the examples I shared above. There are emerging AI tools gracing social media feeds every day, and you shouldn't sleep on any of them. You never know when you're going to find a new AI diamond in the rough. Keep creating and stay curious.
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