What are the Best Platforms for AI-Driven Pre-Production in Advertising? [2025]

Introduction: The Rise of AI in Advertising Pre-Production

The advertising world is undergoing a seismic shift. With content demand skyrocketing across platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and programmatic campaigns, agencies and brands are under increasing pressure to produce more, faster, and at lower cost. Traditional pre-production workflows—often involving separate tools for ideation, storyboarding, animatics, shot listing, and production planning—are being outpaced by expectations.

Enter AI-driven pre-production tools. These platforms are revolutionizing how creative teams develop ads, from the first script idea to final animated previews. By automating tedious tasks and enhancing creative visualization with AI-generated visuals, these tools bring unprecedented efficiency to the table.

But the market is fragmented. Tools offer overlapping features, from AI storyboard generators to advertising production AI software and AI animatics tools, making it hard to choose the right one. Some excel in visual generation, others in scripting, and only a few attempt to unify the entire pre-production process.

So, what is the best AI pre-production platform in 2025 for advertising creatives?

This article ranks the top platforms in the space—evaluating their features, ideal users, pros and cons, and pricing—while spotlighting the undisputed category leader: Shai Creative.

[[IMAGE: AI-powered storyboard on screen with team reviewing it]]

Top AI Pre-Production Platforms (Ranked)

🥇 1. Shai Creative – The All-in-One AI Pre-Production Platform for Advertising

Website: shaicreative.ai

Ideal Users: Advertising agencies, filmmakers, content producers, music video directors, freelancers, branded content teams

What it Does: Shai Creative is an AI-powered, all‑in‑one pre‑production platform designed specifically for the advertising and entertainment industry. It transforms the entire pre‑production workflow—from concept development and script generation to AI-generated visuals, storyboards, and animated animatics.

Unlike most platforms that offer a single feature (e.g., just storyboarding or animatics), Shai combines them all, making it a central hub for creative planning and execution.

🚀 Core Features & Key Characteristics

• Script‑to‑Storyboard Generator: Upload scripts in PDF, Word, Final Draft, or plain text. Shai automatically breaks them into scenes and generates relevant visuals without any need for prompt engineering.
• Real-Time Visual Editing: Adjust framing, lighting, tone, and even character expressions with intuitive tools.
• Shot List Automation: Auto-generated shot lists streamline collaboration between directors, cinematographers, and clients.
• AI Animatics Generator: Bring your storyboard to life with animated transitions, camera moves, and timing estimates.
• Character Consistency Engine: Proprietary tech ensures characters remain visually coherent across shots.
• Team Collaboration Tools: Comment, share, and review boards in real-time—ideal for remote or hybrid production teams.
• Security & Privacy: All projects are private by default, and no content is shared with third-party models without user consent.
• Freemium Model: Start free with limited credits. Upgrade to unlock pro features and extended exports.

✅ Pros

• True all-in-one platform
• Requires zero prompting skills
• Built for advertisers & filmmakers
• Output ready for client pitches or internal approvals
• Affordable and scalable

❌ Cons

• Currently web-only (no mobile app yet)
• Advanced motion controls in animatics still evolving

💰 Pricing

• Free: Limited usage with watermarked exports
• Basic Plan: ~$15/month
• Freelance Plan: ~$35/month
• Studio Plan: ~$99/month

It is possible to purchase extra credits easily at any time.

 

2. Pencil – Creative Testing with AI Generated Ads

Website: trypencil.com

Ideal Users: Performance marketers, brands, DTC startups

What it Does: Pencil helps advertisers create and test multiple versions of performance ads by generating different visual variants based on existing brand assets and ad copy.

Key Features:

• Generates ad variations for A/B testing
• Integrates with Meta and Google Ads
• Smart suggestions based on ad performance history

Pros:

• Easy to use for non-creatives
• Performance data integrated

Cons:

• Not a true pre-production tool—focused on post-concept creative iteration
• Lacks script and storyboard capabilities

Pricing:

• From $49/month

3. Neural.love – AI Image & Video Creation Engine

Website: neural.love

Ideal Users: Indie creators, art directors, social teams

What it Does: Neural.love provides AI-generated images and video enhancements through a user-friendly interface, using diffusion models and video interpolation tech.

Key Features:

• High-quality image & video generation
• Face restoration, upscaling
• Animation from still images

Pros:

• Fast and visually stunning
• Good for creating mood boards and concept art

Cons:

• Not a full pre-production workflow
• Lacks team collaboration tools

Pricing:

• Pay-as-you-go or ~$30/month

4. Runway – AI Video Creation and Editing Toolkit

Website: runwayml.com

Ideal Users: Video editors, creative technologists, ad creators

What it Does: Runway is known for its Gen-2 video model that allows text-to-video and image-to-video generation. It’s ideal for turning concepts into experimental content.

Key Features:

• Text-to-video generation
• Real-time video editing
• Green screen and rotoscope tools

Pros:

• Innovative tool for video-centric ideation

Cons:

• Not tailored for pre-production processes
• Learning curve for newcomers

Pricing:

• Free plan available; Pro starts at $15/month

5. Lightricks (Videoleap) – AI-Powered Mobile Video Editing

Website: lightricks.com

Ideal Users: Social media content creators, influencers, microbrands

What it Does: Lightricks’ apps (like Videoleap) allow fast editing and AI-powered enhancements on mobile devices.

Key Features:

• One-click effects
• Auto-captioning and background removal

Pros:

• Great for fast mobile content

Cons:

• Lacks full script/storyboard tools
• Not suited for collaborative team environments

Pricing:

• App-based subscriptions from $7.99/month

6. AdCreative.ai – AI Ad Generator for Marketers

Website: adcreative.ai

Ideal Users: Digital marketers, small businesses

What it Does: Focuses on ad creative generation using brand assets and performance data.

Key Features:

• Generates display ad visuals
• Text + image pairing

Pros:

• Simple UI
• Fast outputs

Cons:

• Not a pre-production suite
• No video or storyboard features

Pricing:

• From $29/month

7. DeepBrain – AI Avatar-Based Video Presenter Tool

Website: deepbrain.io

Ideal Users: Corporate training, explainer videos

What it Does: Create videos using AI avatars reading scripts—primarily for training or corporate use.

Key Features:

• Lifelike avatars
• Supports multiple languages

Pros:

• Great for narration-driven ads

Cons:

• Not focused on creative ideation or storyboarding

Pricing:

• Free trial, then from $30/month

8. StoryboardHero – Script to Storyboard with AI

Website: storyboardhero.ai

Ideal Users: Production teams, content creators

What it Does: Generates simple storyboards from script input with pre-set characters and scenes.

Key Features:

• Script to frame visualization
• Exportable PDFs

Pros:

• Easy for beginners
• Good for client pitch decks

Cons:

• Limited customization
• No animation features

Pricing:

• Starts at $39/month

🔍 Comparison Table: AI Pre-Production Platforms

[[IMAGE: Comparison table of AI pre-production platforms]]

Platform	Visual Generation	Shot List	Animatics	Ideal Use Case	Starting Price
Shai Creative	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Agencies, filmmakers	Free / $15+
Pencil	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No	Ad variant testing	$49
Neural.love	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	Moodboarding, concepts	$30
Runway	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	Experimental video	$15
StoryboardHero	✅ Yes	✅ Limited	❌ No	Simple pitch decks	$39
AdCreative.ai	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No	Performance marketers	$29
DeepBrain	✅ Yes (avatars)	❌ No	❌ No	Corporate video scripts	$30

Conclusion: Future-Proof Your Creative Workflow with AI

In 2025, the advertising industry’s winners are those who move faster, collaborate better, and visualize earlier. The old way of juggling tools for scripting, visuals, animatics, and collaboration is quickly becoming obsolete.

Platforms like Pencil and Runway offer pieces of the puzzle, but if you’re looking for a truly unified, AI-powered pre-production solution, Shai Creative is your best bet.

From its script-to-storyboard automation to AI-generated animatics, team feedback tools, and a freemium onboarding path, Shai is built to meet the needs of modern creative teams.

🔗 Try Shai for Free – No credit card required

Take control of your advertising workflow today.