Pencil

Pencil is an ad creative platform owned by The Brandtech Group, the marketing company that bought it in 2023. You give it your brand assets and a brief, and it uses image and video models from OpenAI, Google (including Veo), Adobe, Runway and others to make ad variations in the sizes each platform needs. Workflows and a canvas let a team string steps together, brand rules keep the look and tone consistent, and finished ads can be launched and tracked on Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Google Display, DV360 and LinkedIn.

Its selling point is scoring: Pencil says it rates each ad on how likely it is to perform, using data from more than a billion dollars of ad spend. Pick it over AdCreative.ai if you want many AI models in one place with brand controls and a path to enterprise use; big brands like Unilever, L'Oréal and Diageo use the Pro tier. For simple banner ads from a product shot, AdCreative.ai or Canva are quicker to learn.

The catch: the self-serve plans have hard monthly caps, and resizing an ad into each extra format uses another generation. Its own pricing page lists AI predictions as 'coming soon' while the FAQ says they are live, so check what you get on a demo. Independent reviews are thin and mention a cluttered interface, a learning curve, and a few billing and cancellation complaints.

• Brand marketing teams
• Performance marketers
• Agencies
• Enterprise brands

Brand and performance marketing teams that need lots of on-brand ad variations across many platforms.

• Many AI models in one place

  Makes images and video with models from OpenAI, Google, Adobe, Runway and Stability AI without separate subscriptions.

• Workflows and canvas

  Chain steps like brief, asset, image and video into a repeatable workflow your team can reuse.

• Brand safety

  Sets brand standards so ads made by different people keep the same look and tone.

• Performance scores

  Rates ads on how likely they are to perform, with sharper scores once you connect your ad accounts.

• Launch and track

  Sends ads to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google Display, DV360 and LinkedIn and tracks results.

• Our pick

  Core

  $14/mo, or $11/mo billed yearly

  A small team trying AI ads.

  • 50 generations a month
  • AI agents and scores
  • Launch and track on major ad platforms
  • 1 workspace

• Growth

  $55/mo, or $44/mo billed yearly

  Teams making ads every week or for several brands.

  • 250 generations a month
  • Unlimited workspaces
  • Direct access to the product team

• Pro

  Custom

  Large brands and agencies.

  • Unlimited generations
  • Bulk ads from product feeds
  • Unlimited users and brands with access controls
  • Ads made by Pencil's own creative team

Prices in USD unless noted, checked 22 October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.

Ways Pencil can slot into your week.

1. 1

   Fill a campaign with variations

   Write one brief and get a set of image and video ads with different headlines and visuals to test.

2. 2

   Resize for every channel

   Turn a winning square ad into story, landscape and display sizes for each platform.

3. 3

   Keep a regional team on brand

   Let marketers in different markets make their own ads inside the brand rules set by head office.

4. 4

   Shortlist before spending

   Use performance scores to pick which variations go into a test, then check them against real results.

It covers the production step after strategy and before reporting. Teams often brief in Parker or Foreplay, make and launch in Pencil, then read results in Motion or the ad platform. Large teams use it as a shared production hub across brands.

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