Pencil

Overview

Pencil is an AI-powered creative marketing platform that generates, iterates and scales paid ad creatives — text, images and video — for performance teams and global brands. Now part of the Brandtech Group, Pencil is used by 35,000+ teams (including Diageo, L'Oréal, Unilever, Samsung and Japan Airlines) that have produced 2,000,000+ ads. Its edge is combining an open "AI operating system" — orchestrating frontier models from OpenAI, Google, Adobe, Runway and Bria behind one interface with zero vendor lock-in — with enterprise governance and performance prediction that scores creative before you spend.

Key Features

• AI ad generation: self-serve AI agents generate static, video and text ad creatives from your brand assets, branding guidelines and performance data — from brief to first draft in under 3 minutes, with typical turnaround of 2–3 minutes per ad.
• Pencil Score (performance prediction): scores every creative against billions of real ad-performance data points before media spend, then feeds winning attributes back into generation. Published accuracy: 84% for winning ads and 91% for losing ads, based on ~$2B of tracked ad spend across 4,000+ brands.
• Multi-model orchestration: one interface to OpenAI (GPT-5.4 Thinking, Sora 2 Pro), Google (Gemini 3.1 Pro, Nano Banana Pro, Imagen 4 Ultra, Veo 3.1, Chirp 3 HD TTS), Adobe (Firefly v4, Adobe Video), Runway and Bria — plus BYO custom/fine-tuned models on Pro.
• One editor, zero downloads: browser-based editor for text, image, video and HTML with AI suggestions while you edit; After Effects, Figma and Photoshop import; interactive display ad editor; AI Auto Resize across formats (1:1, 9:16, 4:5, 16:9, 1.91:1 or custom) at 1 generation credit per format.
• Bulk & localized variation: generate thousands of on-brand variants from a single template via feeds — translated, localized and personalized by audience, segment, region or product.
• Launch & optimize: publish creatives directly to Meta, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google Display, DV360, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Amazon; multi-stakeholder review with in-context feedback, approvals and full audit trail.
• Enterprise governance (all plans): SOC 2 Type II, no-train policy (your data never trains models), full IP indemnification, EU/US/APAC regional data compliance, role-based access, brand-safety guardrails and data ringfencing.

Pricing

Pricing is generation-based — one generation counts each AI model interaction (higher-tier video models such as Veo burn more credits). Core and Growth cannot exceed their monthly quota (no rollover); Pro uses committed-consumption pricing with overage billed.

• Core — $14/month ($11/month billed annually): 50 generations/month, 1 workspace, self-serve AI agents for text/image/video/creative generation, realtime AI insights and scores, launch and track ads across Meta/TikTok/YouTube/Google Display/DV360/LinkedIn, chat support.
• Growth — $55/month ($44/month billed annually): 250 generations/month at a lower per-generation cost, unlimited workspaces, direct access to the product team and roadmap.
• Pro — custom: committed-consumption pricing across models and modalities, bulk AI generation via feeds (audiences, markets, products), unlimited users/brands/markets with entity and role access controls, enterprise terms (IP assignment, no-train, indemnification, data ringfencing, AI governance), a complete GenAI training curriculum, dedicated customer success, and optional managed creative service.
• Pro add-ons (custom): managed integrations with your 1P/3P stack, managed fine-tuning and BYO AI models, workflow/business-rule adjustments, managed GenAI pilots with ROI business case, dedicated GenAI creatives and program managers, plus training (101 sessions, master classes, workshops, certification).

Best For

Enterprise and regulated brands, large agencies and multi-brand/multi-market teams that need governed, brand-safe AI creative at scale with model choice and measurable ROAS — and performance marketers who want data-informed creative direction instead of guesswork.

FAQ

How much does Pencil cost?

Self-serve plans start at $14/month (or $11/month billed annually) for 50 generations, and $55/month ($44 annual) for 250 generations. The Pro tier is custom-priced via sales, covering unlimited generation with enterprise governance and managed services.

Is Pencil free to try?

Yes — you can sign up and create six ads through a guided experience for free. There is no permanent free tier; ongoing use requires a paid plan.

How does Pencil predict ad performance?

Pencil Score analyzes each creative against billions of historical ad-performance data points and scores it before media spend. Pencil reports 84% accuracy for winning ads and 91% for losing ads across ~$2B of tracked spend and 4,000+ brands.

Is my data used to train models?

No. Pencil operates a strict no-train policy — your data never trains AI models — and you own everything you create, backed by full IP indemnification on all plans.