Do AI-made ads actually perform, or is it hype?

The performance data says yes for cost and testing volume, mixed for absolute quality: Meta reports roughly 22% ROAS lift from its AI-powered campaigns with over 4 million advertisers using its gen-AI tools, and AI UGC cuts cost-per-creative around 10x, letting brands find winners among dozens of cheap variants. But Kantar finds 44% of consumers are bothered by obviously-AI ads, and creative quality drives 70-80% of ad performance. The winning pattern: AI for volume and iteration, human judgment for the concepts that carry the brand.

A quick orientation. The real value is below: resources worth your time, from people who've actually done it.