What is a UGC video?
Last updated 2026-10-20
A UGC video, or user generated content video, is footage made by a customer or creator rather than a brand's studio. A UGC ad uses that footage, or copies its look, as an ad: handheld, spoken to camera, lightly edited. If the person was paid or got free product, the video needs a disclosure.
UGC, UGC ads and UGC vs influencer content
UGC means content made by people outside the brand's own team. A customer filming an unboxing is UGC. So is a creator who films a product demo for a brand. A UGC ad is that footage placed in an ad, or footage made to look like it. TikTok's ad guidance points the same way: it recommends featuring creators, employees or customers, in a DIY style that fits the user-generated content on TikTok.
The terms overlap, and a brand can run an influencer's post as an ad. The usual split is below.
| Aspect | UGC | Influencer content |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | The brand, on its own page or in ads | The creator's own followers |
| Why people trust it | It looks like a real customer | They already follow the creator |
| Main skill | Filming a believable demo or reaction | Building an audience |
Real, commissioned and AI UGC
Three kinds sit under the one label, and the disclosure question differs for each.
| Kind | Who makes it | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Real UGC | A customer posts without being asked | Ask the person before you use their video in an ad |
| Commissioned UGC | A creator is paid, or sent free product, to film | Disclose the connection, in the video itself |
| AI UGC | A person, voice or script generated by AI and styled as a customer | Do not present a made-up person as a real customer, and label realistic AI content |
Rights and disclosure basics
This summarizes the official pages under sources. It is not legal advice.
- FTC: what to disclose. Any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand. Free or discounted product counts too: if you mention the product, disclose even if you were not asked to mention it.
- FTC: where and how. In the video, not only the description, and in both audio and video where you can. Plain words such as ad, advertisement or sponsored work. Shorthand such as sp or collab does not. A platform's own tool may not be enough.
- FTC: the brand's part. A brand is accountable for what others post for it and should train and monitor them.
- AI and made-up customers. The FTC's testimonial rule bars a business from writing, creating or selling a testimonial that materially misrepresents that the person exists, that they used the product, or what their experience was. The FTC's announcement gives AI-generated fake reviews as an example. TikTok requires people to disclose realistic AI-generated content.
- Meta. Branded content is content featured or influenced by a business partner for an exchange of value, such as payment or free gifts. Creators must tag the partner with the branded content tool, with the partner's prior permission, and follow disclosure laws.
- TikTok and YouTube. On TikTok, tagging a brand partner in a sponsored post gives the brand Spark Ads permission for 60 days by default. On YouTube, the paid promotion setting adds a disclosure label at the start of the video.
What makes a UGC ad edit work
The footage is raw on purpose. The edit keeps it believable and cuts whatever wastes the first seconds.
- A hook. State the point in the first line. TikTok's ad guidance asks for the main message within the first 3 seconds.
- Captions. Put the speech on screen. TikTok's guidance suggests captions or text overlays to give context.
- B-roll. Show what is being described, such as the product in hand or the result, and use the shots to cover cut points.
- 9:16. Frame for vertical. TikTok recommends orienting ads at 9:16.
- Keep it rough. Cut pauses and fumbles, not the personality. TikTok advises a DIY, not overly polished style.
Edit raw creator takes in Woven
Bring the creator's raw takes onto your Mac and Woven's AI agent can do a first pass in chat: cut to the lines you name, caption the speech and make another version with a different opening. Everything stays editable on the timeline. Woven has no automatic take picker or ad score, and it does not post ads or add a paid-partnership label, so you choose the takes and handle the disclosure.
Ask in chat
- Cut this take to about 25 seconds, starting on the price line
- Make a second cut that opens on the unboxing
- Put the product shots in my folder over each cut
- Add an "Ad" label for the whole video
Or do it by hand
- 1Set up vertical. Drop the takes onto the timeline. A blank reel takes the first video's size, or choose "Format" › "Vertical 1080x1920".
- 2Keep the good lines. Drag a clip's edges to trim, or put the playhead on a cut point and press ⌘B. Delete leaves a gap, so drag the later clip left to close it.
- 3Caption the speech. Open "Add" › "Generate captions". Then choose one of the five looks in "Caption style".
- 4Cover the cuts. Drop product shots onto the "Picture" track above the take. Press M to mute a shot that has its own sound.
- 5Add the disclosure. Choose "Add" › "Text", double-click the box on the canvas and type "Ad". Drag its end to keep it up, and say it aloud too.
Common questions
User-generated content: content made by customers or creators rather than by a brand's own team.
An ad built from UGC-style footage, such as a real person filming a demo, review or reaction. The footage can be commissioned from a creator or reused from a customer with permission.
UGC is footage a brand uses on its own channels or in ads. Influencer content is posted to the creator's own audience. They overlap, since TikTok lets a brand run a creator's post as a Spark Ad.
Yes, if the person was paid or received free product. The FTC says the disclosure belongs in the video itself, and Meta, TikTok and YouTube each have their own label or setting.
You can generate a presenter, but TikTok requires realistic AI content to be disclosed. The FTC's testimonial rule also bars a business from creating a testimonial that misrepresents that the person exists or used the product.
Sources
- Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers - FTC, checked October 19, 2026
- FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking - FTC, checked October 19, 2026
- 16 CFR Part 465, Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials - eCFR, checked October 19, 2026
- Federal Trade Commission Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials - FTC, checked October 19, 2026
- Branded Content Policies - Instagram Help Center, checked October 19, 2026
- About the Brand Partner tag in content disclosure settings - TikTok Ads Help, checked October 19, 2026
- AI-generated content - TikTok, checked October 19, 2026
- Creative best practices for performance ads - TikTok Ads Help, checked October 19, 2026
- Disclose paid product placements and endorsements - YouTube Help, checked October 19, 2026
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