Two years ago, AI video was something marketers tried. In 2026 it is something most of them use. The latest surveys show a majority of video marketers working with AI tools, more than four in five ad executives using AI in creative, and close to two in five digital video ads expected to be made or enhanced with it this year.
The audience has not moved as fast. Viewers say they can spot AI video, many like brands less for using it, and the gap between how advertisers think consumers feel and how consumers actually feel is widening. This page brings together the 2025 and 2026 data on both sides, organised by who is adopting AI video and how people respond to it.
Key AI Video Adoption Statistics
- 63% of video marketers have used AI tools to create or edit marketing videos, up from 51% a year earlier.
- 84% of marketers who make video use AI somewhere in the process.
- 83% of ad executives say their company uses AI in the creative process, up from 60% in 2024.
- About 30% of digital video ads were built or enhanced with generative AI in 2025, forecast to reach 39% in 2026.
- 86% of ad buyers use or plan to use generative AI to build video ad creative.
- Smaller brands expect 45% of their digital video ads to be made with AI in 2026, against 36% for large brands.
- HeyGen passed $200 million in annual recurring revenue in June 2026, doubling in eight months.
- Kling’s revenue rose more than 300% year on year in the first quarter of 2026.
- Runway raised $315 million at a $5.3 billion valuation in February 2026.
- OpenAI closed the Sora app on April 26, 2026, and the Sora API on September 24, 2026.
- 59% of the first 500 TikTok videos shown to a new account were AI-generated, against 21% on YouTube Shorts.
- 83% of consumers have watched a video they suspected was AI-generated.
- 36% of consumers say an AI-generated video would lower their opinion of the brand.
- 82% of ad executives think consumers feel positive about AI ads. Only 45% of consumers do.
- Fewer than half of advertisers using generative AI always disclose it.
AI Video Adoption Among Marketers and Businesses
Wyzowl‘s annual survey is the longest-running measure. In its 2026 report, based on a late-2025 survey, 63% of video marketers said they had used AI video tools to create or edit marketing videos. A year earlier the figure was 51%. Video itself is close to universal: 91% of businesses use it as a marketing tool.
Animoto‘s 2026 State of Video report, which surveyed more than 450 US consumers and marketers in September 2025, puts marketer use higher still, because it counts any use of AI in the process, not only AI-generated footage.
| Statistic (Animoto, 2026) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Marketers using AI in their video creation process | 84% |
| Marketers using it frequently | Over 75% |
| Use AI to generate ideas | 63% |
| Use AI to save editing time | 55% |
| Use AI to write scripts | 55% |
| Use AI to find relevant content | 54% |
| Use AI to overcome creative blocks | 54% |
| Say they must be able to edit AI-generated content | 90% |
| Say their branding must show in AI-assisted work | 95% |
| Plan to create more video in 2026 | 90% |
| Have hired in-house video creators or built a team | 75% |
The pattern in those numbers is that AI is being used to speed up human work more than to replace it. Ideas, scripts and editing come first; fully AI-generated footage comes later.
Enterprise Adoption
| Company | Adoption Statistic | Date |
|---|---|---|
| HeyGen | 85% of Fortune 100 companies use it for training, sales enablement and localisation | June 2026 |
| HeyGen | 30 million+ users in 196 countries, 118 million+ videos created | June 2026 |
| Synthesia | Used by more than 60% of the Fortune 100 | Early 2025 |
| Synthesia | 200,000+ users across 55,000+ companies | Early 2025 |
| Kling | 30,000+ enterprise clients | December 2025 |
HeyGen’s own figures work out at roughly 3.9 videos per user. That suggests many accounts are used occasionally for specific jobs, such as a training module or a localised sales video, rather than for daily production.
AI Video in Advertising
The Interactive Advertising Bureau tracks AI in video advertising more closely than anyone. Its 2025 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy report, covered by Marketing Dive, found that about 30% of digital video ads were built from scratch or enhanced with generative AI, a share buyers expected to reach 39% in 2026. In total, 86% of buyers use or plan to use generative AI for video ad creative.
| How Ad Buyers Use Generative AI for Video (IAB) | Share of Users |
|---|---|
| Creating versions of the same video for different audiences | 42% |
| Making visual and style changes | 38% |
| Refining contextual relevance | 36% |
IAB’s 2026 study, The AI Ad Gap Widens, surveyed 104 US ad executives and 505 Gen Z and Millennial consumers between October 2025 and January 2026. It shows where advertisers are using AI for ads of all formats and why.
| Statistic (IAB, 2026) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Ad executives whose company uses AI in the creative process | 83% (60% in 2024) |
| Use AI for social ads | 85% |
| Use AI for display ads | 73% |
| Use AI for TV ads | 56% |
| Use AI for audio ads | 42% |
| Top benefit: cost efficiency | 64% |
| Benefit: creative innovation | 61% |
Cost efficiency moved from fifth place in 2024 to the top reason in 2026. Advertisers started with AI as a creative experiment and now use it mainly to make more ads for less money.
The AI Video Industry by the Numbers
| Company | Statistic | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Kling (Kuaishou) | Revenue of 650 million yuan in Q1 2026, up more than 300% year on year | Q1 2026 |
| Kling | About $500 million annualised revenue (Sacra estimate) | March 2026 |
| Kling | 60 million+ registered creators | 2026 |
| Kling | Reportedly in talks to raise $2 billion+ at about $18 billion | June 2026 |
| HeyGen | $200 million+ annual recurring revenue, doubled in eight months | June 2026 |
| Runway | $315 million raised at a $5.3 billion valuation | February 2026 |
| Synthesia | $180 million raised at a $2.1 billion valuation | January 2025 |
| OpenAI Sora | App closed April 26, 2026; API closed September 24, 2026 | 2026 |
The Sora closure is the year’s clearest sign that adoption and economics are separate questions. Sora drew huge attention, but as The Decoder reported, OpenAI chose to move its computing power to coding tools and business customers instead. Video generation is expensive to run, and the companies growing fastest are the ones charging for it, such as Kling and HeyGen.
Kling’s figures, from Sacra, also show how low revenue per user is in consumer AI video: about $4 per registered creator per year. Most people try the tools; a much smaller group pays.
AI Video in Social Feeds
Kapwing set up new accounts and recorded the first 500 videos each platform served. On TikTok, 59% were AI-generated. On YouTube Shorts the share was 21%, and 33% of the Shorts were low-quality “brainrot” content. A Guardian analysis in 2025 found that about one in ten of the fastest-growing YouTube channels worldwide posted only AI-generated videos. Our wider YouTube creator statistics and social media marketing statistics put these figures in context.
What Viewers Think of AI Video
| Statistic | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Have watched a video they suspected was AI-generated | 83% | Animoto, 2026 |
| Spotted it from robotic gestures | 67% | Animoto, 2026 |
| Spotted it from unnatural voices | 55% | Animoto, 2026 |
| Spotted it from lack of emotional tone | 51% | Animoto, 2026 |
| Say AI video would lower their opinion of a brand | 36% | Animoto, 2026 |
| Trust AI video as much as human-made video | Over a third | Animoto, 2026 |
| Say featuring real people supports authenticity | 68% | Animoto, 2026 |
| Gen Z and Millennials who believe they have seen an AI ad | 71% (54% in 2024) | IAB, 2026 |
| Gen Z with negative feelings about AI ads | 39% (21% in 2024) | IAB, 2026 |
| Millennials with negative feelings about AI ads | 20% (15% in 2024) | IAB, 2026 |
The Perception Gap
| Description | Ad Executives | Consumers | Gap (Points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumers feel positive about AI ads | 82% | 45% | +37 |
| Forward-thinking | 46% | 22% | +24 |
| Innovative | 49% | 23% | +26 |
| Unique | 44% | 26% | +18 |
| Manipulative | 10% | 20% | -10 |
| Unethical | 7% | 16% | -9 |
Advertisers rate brands that use AI more favourably than consumers do on every positive trait, and less harshly on every negative one. The headline gap, on whether consumers feel positive about AI ads, is 37 points, up from 32 in 2024. Gen Z is the most critical group: 30% see brands using AI ads as inauthentic, against 13% of Millennials.
Disclosure Statistics
| Statistic | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Advertisers using generative AI who disclose it at least sometimes | 89% | IAB, 2026 |
| Advertisers who always disclose | Fewer than half | IAB, 2026 |
| Consumers who want AI video in ads disclosed | Over half | IAB, 2026 |
| Gen Z and Millennials who say disclosure would raise or not change purchase likelihood | 73% | IAB, 2026 |
| Unlabelled synthetic videos TikTok removed in the second half of 2025 | 51,618, up 340% year on year | TikTok enforcement data, via Kapwing |
The disclosure data points one way. Most consumers want to be told, and most say being told would not put them off buying. The risk for brands lies in being found out, not in owning up.
What the Numbers Add Up To
| Measure | Business Side | Audience Side |
|---|---|---|
| Adoption or exposure | 63% to 84% of marketers use AI in video | 83% of consumers have seen suspected AI video |
| Trend | Ad executive use up 23 points since 2024 | Gen Z negativity up 18 points since 2024 |
| Sentiment | 82% of executives think consumers are positive | 45% of consumers are positive |
| Main motive or concern | Cost efficiency (64%) | Authenticity and real people (68%) |
Adoption and acceptance are moving in opposite directions, and fastest among the youngest audience. The businesses gaining the most from AI video use it where viewers care least about who made it, such as training, localisation and versioning ads for different audiences, and keep real people in front of the camera where trust is the point.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Percentage of Marketers Use AI to Create Videos?
63% of video marketers have used AI tools to create or edit marketing videos, according to Wyzowl’s 2026 report, up from 51% the year before. Counting any use of AI in the process, Animoto puts the figure at 84%.
How Many Video Ads Are Made With AI?
About 30% of digital video ads were built or enhanced with generative AI in 2025, and IAB expects 39% in 2026.
Can People Tell When a Video Is AI-Generated?
83% of consumers say they have watched a video they suspected was AI-generated. Robotic gestures, unnatural voices and flat emotional tone are the most common giveaways.
Do Consumers Trust AI-Generated Video?
Partly. Over a third trust it as much as human-made video, while 36% say it would lower their opinion of the brand. Gen Z is the most negative group.
Which AI Video Companies Are Growing Fastest?
Kling’s revenue grew more than 300% year on year in Q1 2026, and HeyGen doubled its annual recurring revenue to over $200 million in eight months.
Why Did OpenAI Shut Down Sora?
OpenAI closed the Sora app in April 2026 and its API in September 2026 to move computing resources toward coding tools and business customers.
Do Brands Disclose AI-Generated Video?
89% of advertisers using generative AI disclose it at least some of the time, but fewer than half always do.
