Is AI going to Replace UGC?

Everyone’s saying AI will replace UGC creators..

I want to give my two cents — coming from someone who’s been deep in TikTok marketing for 5+ years — on why I don’t think that’s true.

And instead of explaining it in writing…

Let me show you.

I saw a video of a girl whose Oura Ring helped detect cancer early.

A picture says more than a thousand words, right?

Or in this case — a video.

Please watch it first. Then come back and read the rest of this.

That video hit me — not even from a marketer’s perspective, but a consumer’s.

It made me want to buy the ring, because of how raw this video was and triggered my own health scares.

AI can’t replace that.

Let’s be real — is AI going to tell me it suffered from cancer?

UGC works because people trust people.

People who could be them.

Now, I’ve seen people say they’re glad AI avatars exist because:

“My UGC ads weren’t converting anyway.”

But let’s be honest...

Was it really the creator that didn’t convert?

Or was it the lack of you providing the right script and guidance to the creator?

If you can’t even convert with a real human on screen, that’s not a UGC issue — that’s a marketing issue.

And slapping an AI face on top of a broken creative won’t magically fix everything.

You're trying to save money on creators…

But end up spending more on ad spend — because the offer, angle, and execution aren’t working.

Thinking AI content saves you money because UGC didn’t work out is like taking a shit in a bottle and expecting it to turn into gold. Where you think you’re saving money on creatives, you end up spending 3x the amount trying to make it convert.

So is AI going to replace UGC completely?

No.

And honestly, we should stop calling it UGC when AI makes it.

It’s not user-generated content. It’s AGC — AI-generated content. Call it what it is.

To be clear — I’m not anti-AI. I use it constantly.

It helps with scripting, editing, even cloning my voice in ElevenLabs.

Now, am I just some hater in denial about AGC working and taking human jobs?

Cue South Park voice — “They took our jobs!”

No — AGC can absolutely convert and will probably work better over time too.

I’ve seen it work best as an overlay — like an AI avatar narrating a story with other b-roll showing.

But here’s what concerns me:

Some of the highest-performing AGC ads right now I have seen from my creative analysis are scammy weight loss products that are sold on fake news.

So sure — if you are a dropshipper who doesn’t care about ethics and wants a quick buck, scale it.

But is it building trust?

Is it building brand loyalty?

Or is it just another shortcut that ends up costing you more long-term?

AI isn’t killing UGC.

Bad content is.

Lazy strategy is.

UGC will always work — because real always wins in the long run.

What do you think?

Have you tested AI-generated ads yet — and did they actually perform better than real human content?

Curious to hear your take.