From Hype to Hope: Practical Applications of Generative AI in Creative Operations

Despite the onslaught of headlines, social clips and newsletters positing Generative AI (GenAI) as a creative panacea, even in the most forward-thinking companies, teams are still burnt out, under-resourced and stuck in the old ways—briefing from spreadsheets, creating in disparate systems, approving and commenting via EMAIL (yes, seriously!) While the pressure to increase output keeps mounting, and budgets grow at a snail’s pace, it's clear the hype—and yes, the C-Suite buzz—hasn’t yet caught up to the reality of creative teams.

Integrating GenAI into our creative operations is clouded by workflow, legal, and structural challenges that make sweeping transformation feel like a pipe dream. Is it really hopeless, or just a tough nut to crack when it comes to creating smooth handoffs between human creativity and machine efficiency? I see a lot of promising, transformative microservices already making a difference in today’s creative workflows. Let’s break it down with examples in copy, static imagery, and video where AI is already adding value and freeing up creative minds for higher-value work. 

Enterprise Large Language Models 

While Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, deliver quick, tailored content for both internal and public use, these models often lack that human touch—they can’t “think” beyond what’s already out there, and they struggle to capture a unique brand voice. To tackle this issue, hundreds of brands have developed bespoke closed models.

These custom models, trained on a brand’s specific voice, allow for quick querying, organization, and generation of brand-approved language, whether prompted or driven by incoming data. Whether built internally or on scalable platforms like Jasper or GoCharlie, these models not only protect businesses from the wide-scale scraping done by public models but also provide a machine-learning platform that iterates faster than any human. Humans take on the roles of curators, prompters, and explorers, guiding the models to extract the most value. I’ve had the chance to play around with a few of these models, and I can confidently say they deliver real output and value in a brand-centric way.

Smart Retouching Tools 

When it comes to photo and static imagery, no workflow has seen more practical benefits from AI than retouching. The hours of manual labor that used to go into cleaning up stills can now be significantly reduced with machine learning. AI can identify areas that need touch-ups and even suggest alternative outputs. Several products have hit the market, either as standalone or integrated into photo studio management systems, where human retouchers start the work, and the machines take over, suggesting improvements. It’s a perfect blend of human expertise and machine efficiency for this laborious part of the creative workflow.

Intelligent Video Enhancement 

Video is where GenAI has garnered the most hype. Brands like Coca-Cola, Under Armour, Toys "R" Us, and Volvo have experimented with AI-created commercials, with varying degrees of success. But beyond the buzz, the real value is in the practical applications that make the complex process of editing, optimizing, and outputting video for multiple global specs easier. Take Topaz Labs' Video Enhance plugin which allows an editor to increase resolution (yes, by actually adding pixels!) and overcome frame rate differences. Any editor or dub room professional will sing its praises—and it’s priced at under $300! Can it create the next iconic campaign? Probably not. But it's a practical example of GenAI providing value, making life a little easier for creatives today.

From custom brand voice models to smart retouching tools and video enhancers, an iterative approach to AI (and automation) is proving much more effective than full-scale transformation. This pragmatic approach is simultaneously more realistic and more tangible proving that GenAI isn’t simply about replacing creatives; it’s about enhancing what they do, cutting down the grunt work, and unlocking new possibilities. The revolution might not be as flashy as the headlines make it seem, but it’s here, and it’s changing the game one microservice at a time.

Jeremy Wintroub,  EVP, Creative Operations & Content Studio