TikTok taps creators, brand reps for an AI advisory board called Symphony Collective

TikTok is assembling a task force to address the use of generative AI in creative marketing. At the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the ByteDance-owned app unveiled the Symphony Collective, a group of creators and brand representatives who will explore the potential advantages and hazards of AI-produced ads.

According to TikTok, the inaugural members of the Symphony Collective range from “a diverse range of content creators” to “thought leaders” affiliated with brands like Mondelez, Wendy’s, and the NBA. Agencies like OMD, Tinuiti, and VaynerMedia will be represented in the Collective as well.

As outlined in a TikTok Newsroom post, the goal of the Symphony Collective is to “facilitate important discussions around the development and responsible use of AI in creative marketing.” TikTok will incorporate feedback from its AI advisors as it rolls out more products inspired by emerging technology. The creators involved in the initiative will also get opportunities to test and hone new AI-derived features as TikTok rolls them out.

“TikTok has been a pioneer in providing creative tools that allow me to effectively collaborate with brands and create lasting, long term brand relationships,” said David Ma, a creator who is part of the Symphony Collective. “I’m honored to be a part of The Symphony Collective to help test and build their new creative AI solutions– to help myself and other creators find efficiency in our creative processes while maintaining our artistic voices.”

The Symphony Collective takes its name from TikTok’s suite of AI products, which it discussed at its annual product symposium TikTok World. At Cannes Lions, a few upgrades have been added to the TikTok Symphony toolkit. There’s a new AI dubbing feature that sounds a lot like the translation tools offered by YouTube. (The Google-owned hub has also assembled its own group of AI-conscious creators.)

Another TikTok Symphony product discussed at Cannes Lions is reminiscent of Meta’s AI-inspired efforts. Symphony Digital Avatars, which TikTok describes as “generative AI avatars of real people,” will give brands new options for their TikTok campaign mouthpieces. A set of fully licensed Stock Avatars are available. For brands that want to go even deeper, Custom Avatars can be developed out of partnerships with real-world creators.

With all of these new generative AI solutions in place, the Symphony Collective’s work becomes even more important. Here’s hoping the assembled voices are eager to tackle the complex problems they’ll encounter across the AI industry.