By Leila Ugincius

Advertising is a combination of art and science, and for a small business competing with big brands, it can be hard – and costly – to develop ads that connect with consumers. But a team of researchers led by a Virginia Commonwealth University professor has developed a method of using artificial intelligence in ad creation, which could help level the playing field for businesses and lead to more targeted marketing to consumers.

Visual stimuli, such as color and size, are used in the vast majority of marketing experiments to reveal how consumers think and behave, said César Zamudio, Ph.D., associate professor in the VCU School of Business and a specialist in marketing analytics. “But for decades, researchers have struggled to create high-quality ad images for experiments – they either looked unprofessional or were too expensive to make.”

In a recent article in the Journal of Advertising, which examines theory and practice in the field, Zamudio and co-authors Meg Michelsen, Ph.D., of Longwood University and Jamie L. Grigsby, Ph.D., of Missouri State University explored iGenAI. Image generative artificial intelligence allows faster and less costly production of visual stimuli compared with researcher-generated stimuli.

The authors present RAISE – Rapid Artificial Intelligence Stimuli for Experiments – as a new methodology to generate AI stimuli, which requires no programming and relies on commercially available tools. “RAISE generates ad images quickly, cheaply and at the same – or higher – quality as traditionally created ads,” Zamudio said.

The authors conducted five studies in which nearly 1,800 participants were exposed to visual stimuli generated using RAISE and iGenAI as well as stimuli generated by researchers. Results showed that participants could not differentiate between them, even with the significantly less time and money spent on the AI method.

Zamudio said RAISE can help businesses more quickly test and refine visual ad ideas, with data-driven insights offering more precise results.

“Instead of spending weeks and thousands of dollars on ad visuals, managers can use AI to generate high-quality drafts in minutes, allowing teams to focus on what truly matters — strategy, storytelling and brand-building,” Zamudio said, noting that small companies also can generate better ads without  engaging large agencies.

And for everyday consumers, “this could lead to more relevant, personalized ads – ones that closely match their interests instead of feeling generic or intrusive,” he said.

As AI becomes a more prominent tool in advertising and other elements of society, the prospect of such personalization raises notable issues.

“How do we ensure AI-generated content remains transparent, fair and responsible?” Zamudio said. “I’m not just a researcher – I’m a consumer and a citizen, too. That’s why when we developed RAISE, we carefully considered these issues, proposing four AI safeguards – a structured approach to AI-generated ads that ensures we preserve the human element and uphold ethical standards as we move into an AI-driven advertising era.”