A testimonial-style AI ad stays legal when the testimonial is real and only the production is generated: one real customer quote, used with permission and in the customer's own words, carried by a review screenshot, a quote card and AI product b-roll. On an 8frame board that is an upload node for the screenshot, a Nano Banana still for the card background, image-to-video nodes for the b-roll, and the Video Editor for the words. The limit people do not expect: under the FTC's Endorsement Guides the permission is not a one-time box to tick. An ad that says the customer uses the product may keep running only while you have good reason to believe they still do.
The broader guide to AI testimonial videos, including avatar choice, is how to make a testimonial-style video with AI, and the rule texts are quoted in full in FTC rules for AI UGC ads. This page is a narrower board: no generated person claims anything, and the customer's words are the spine of the ad. It fits the proof beat of the UGC ad template.
TL;DR
| Step | Node or model on 8frame | Fixed price (credits) | Input it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The quote and the permission | outside the board | none | the customer's written OK, exact words, date |
| 2. Review screenshot | Upload | none | PNG or JPG of the real review |
| 3. Quote card background | Nano Banana 2 | 11 per image at 1K, 17 at 2K | a prompt; no text in the image |
| 4. Product stills | Nano Banana Pro | 21 per image at 1K or 2K | your product photo |
| 5. Product b-roll | Kling v3 Standard or Seedance 2.0 | 86 for 5 s with sound (57 silent); 108 for 5 s at 720p | one still per clip |
| 6. Optional presenter | Pruna Avatar lip sync | 3.375 per second at 720p (5 s = 17) | portrait + audio, disclosed on screen |
| 7. Words, order, sound | Video Editor | not a generation | everything above |
The board, node by node
There is no published template for this board yet. Build it on a blank board in three rows: evidence (quote, screenshot), visuals (stills and b-roll), and the optional presenter.
Step 1: the quote and the paper trail
Pick one review that says something specific about the product. "Great product!" sells nothing. "The lid hasn't leaked once in my gym bag" gives you a whole ad.
Before you touch the board, get and keep:
- the customer's written permission to use the review in ads,
- the exact words, as published, with the date and where they appeared,
- confirmation that they bought and used the product,
- if anything was given in exchange (a discount, a free unit), a note of it. The FTC's Q&A treats incentivized reviews as consumer testimonials under its 2024 rule.
Under the Endorsement Guides, a customer the ad presents as a user must have been a real user when they gave the review, and the ad may run only while you have good reason to think they still are. Put a review date in your ad calendar and re-check before re-running the ad months later.
Step 2: the screenshot
Upload a screenshot of the review as it appears on your store or the marketplace.
Do not run it through an image model. An edit model can "clean up" the text and change a word, which turns a real review into an altered one. The Guides let an ad shorten or reword an endorsement only when it is not shown as a direct quote and the meaning stays the same. A screenshot is the strongest form of "this is what they wrote"; keep it untouched.
You can blur the customer's surname or photo for privacy, in the Video Editor or your own image tool, if the customer prefers. That does not change their words.
Step 3: the quote card
The quote card is a full-screen frame with the customer's words in large type. Make the background with Nano Banana 2 (11 credits at 1K), and put the words on top as a text layer in the Video Editor.
Keep the text out of the generated image. Image models can misspell or rephrase, and you would be generating a "quote" the customer never wrote.
Vertical 9:16 soft-focus background of a gym locker bench with a water bottle out of focus, muted colours, plenty of empty space in the centre for text, no text, no people
Step 4 and 5: product stills and b-roll
The b-roll shows what the quote describes. If the quote is about a lid that does not leak, show the lid closing, the bottle going into a bag, the bag being carried. Make each still on Nano Banana Pro (21 credits at 1K or 2K) from your product photo, then animate each with Kling v3 Standard (86 for 5 seconds with sound, 57 silent) or Seedance 2.0 (108 for 5 seconds at 720p).
Do not show a result the quote does not claim, and do not show a result that is not typical. The Guides read a customer's experience in an ad as a claim about what most buyers will get; if you cannot back that, disclose what buyers can generally expect.
Step 6: an optional presenter, disclosed
Some ads want a face. If you add one, the face is a presenter reading a customer's words, not the customer. Make a fictional portrait and a TTS read of the exact quote (ElevenLabs TTS, 13 credits per started 1,000 characters), then run Pruna Avatar (3.375 credits per second at 720p, 17 for 5 seconds). For lip-sync models we quote price and settings, not results.
On screen, from the first frame the presenter appears: "Customer review, read by an AI presenter." The Guides ask ads that show what look like real customers either to use real customers or to disclose clearly that the people shown are not customers, and clearly means easy to notice. A line in the post caption is not that. The rule texts are quoted in FTC rules for AI UGC ads.
If the customer is willing to film a 10 second phone clip themselves, that beats any presenter: upload it, and use AI only for the b-roll around it.
Step 7: assemble in the Video Editor
A shape that works: screenshot (1 to 2 seconds), quote card, two or three b-roll clips with the key phrase as a caption, product end card. Add music or the presenter's voice on a sound layer.
Use the Video Editor timeline, not the Montage node. Montage outputs a file with no audio track, so a presenter's read would be silent.
Which model for which step
| Step | Model | Price | Why this one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote card background | Nano Banana 2 | 11 at 1K | text goes on as a layer, so the cheaper still is enough |
| Product stills | Nano Banana Pro | 21 at 1K or 2K, 42 at 4K | label and product detail at full size |
| B-roll, draft | Kling v3 Standard | 57 silent for 5 s | the voice or music comes from the timeline |
| B-roll, longer move | Seedance 2.0 | 108 for 5 s at 720p, 4 to 15 s | one take for a longer action |
| Presenter | Pruna Avatar | 17 for 5 s at 720p; max 35 s | keeps the portrait's shape |
| Presenter, longer | OmniHuman v2 | 71 for 5 s, 14.175 per second of audio | 4 to 35 s |
Where it breaks
- Paraphrasing the quote. Presented as a quote, it must be the customer's words. Shortening is fine only if the meaning stays the same; when in doubt, use the screenshot.
- Generating text into images. Type in the Video Editor, never inside the image prompt.
- Composite customers. Merging three reviews into one "customer" creates a testimonialist who does not exist, which the FTC's 2024 rule names directly.
- Results the product does not reliably give. Disclose typical results or cut the claim. On TikTok, misleading before-and-after product comparisons are banned (TikTok Ads Policy, last updated April 2026).
- An old review. The customer may have stopped using the product. Re-check before re-running.
- A presenter who looks like the customer. If a viewer would take the presenter for the reviewer, disclose more clearly, or drop the presenter.
- Montage. No audio. Video Editor only.
FAQ
Can I use a real review in an AI-made ad? Yes, with the customer's permission, in their own words, and without implying results that are not typical. The generated parts are the visuals around the review.
Can an AI avatar read a real customer review? Yes, if the ad clearly discloses that the person on screen is not the customer. Put the disclosure on screen, where it is easy to notice.
Can I fix typos in the review? Presented as a quote, keep the words. If you must, show the screenshot as is and put a cleaned version in a caption that does not change the meaning.
Do I need to label the ad as AI on TikTok? Yes, if it contains AI-generated content. TikTok rejects or restricts AI content that is not disclosed.
How long can I run a testimonial ad? The Guides say only as long as you have good reason to believe the endorser still uses the product. Re-check periodically.
Sources
- 8frame prices, defaults and limits: the 8frame app, checked 2026-11-09.
- 16 CFR 255.0, 255.1, 255.2 (Cornell LII): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/255.0, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/255.1, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/255.2, checked 2026-11-09.
- FTC, Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers, checked 2026-11-09.
- FTC press release, final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (2024-08-14): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials, checked 2026-11-09.
- TikTok Ads Policy, Misleading and false content (last updated April 2026): https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/tiktok-ads-policy-misleading-and-false-content, checked 2026-11-09.
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