See what happens when creative legends use AI to make ads for small businesses.

Small businesses that fail to adopt generative tools risk being outpaced by competitors who can produce high-quality creative assets at a fraction of the traditional cost. Embracing these technologies allows local brands to maintain a distinct voice while automating complex production workflows. For instance, a local bakery can now generate professional promotional video content without an external agency budget. However, these tools still require human oversight to maintain brand authenticity and ensure the output avoids generic, repetitive aesthetic patterns.

Google is providing three creative legends with full access to the Flow AI studio to elevate the branding of Archangels, South Ferry, and Stonewood Farm. This development shifts the production model from high-cost studio reliance to an accessible, AI-assisted workflow that scales creative output. While these tools democratize production quality, they currently remain dependent on the creative direction of the human operator to define the brand narrative.

This week

• Audit current marketing workflows to identify repetitive creative tasks suitable for AI automation.
• Review the upcoming June release of The Small Brief for insights into professional AI prompt engineering.

This quarter

• Select one pilot project to test AI-generated visual content against traditional creative assets.
• Establish internal guidelines for AI usage to ensure brand voice consistency across all channels.

This year

• Integrate AI creative tools into standard operating procedures to reduce long-term production overhead.
• Evaluate the performance metrics of AI-assisted campaigns to determine the scalability of the technology.