How to make dropshipping video ads with AI

To make dropshipping video ads, start from a product photo you're allowed to use, turn it into short vertical clips, make a few versions of the opening for each product you test, and check every clip against the real product before it runs. With AI you can do it without holding the product: the photo becomes a clip's first frame, or the input to a ready-made recipe for a UGC-style or hands-on demo video.

Sume facts come from the Video generation, Format catalog, Create a run, and Bulk runs docs and each Format's published description, read on 2026-09-28. For placement sizes, see TikTok video specs and Meta video ad specs.

Can I use my supplier's product photos in ads?

Only if you're allowed to. Use photos you took yourself or have permission to use, and read the supplier's terms; this isn't legal advice.

Accuracy is the other half. A generated clip can show what the photo doesn't, such as the back of the product, its size in a hand, or what's in the box, so compare each clip with the listing before it runs. And don't present a UGC-style clip as a real customer's review.

How do I turn a product photo into a video ad?

Pick one of three routes per product: write the motion yourself, or hand the photo to a catalog Format, whose recipe is private, with your brief in instruction. Product photo to video API walks through both kinds of request.

How do I test many products at once?

Queue them: one bulk request to a catalog Format takes up to 100 items, one per product, as Sume Format bulk runs explains. Each item is an ordinary run body, so each product gets its own photo, brief, and generation_spend_cap_usd, and its own receipt.

• Ask for the shape in each instruction and check what comes back, since the recipe decides the rest.

curl -sS -X POST "https://api.sume.com/v1/formats/sume/sume-product-usage-demo/bulk-runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: product-tests-batch-1" \
  -d '{
    "concurrency": 2,
    "items": [
      { "instruction": "Vertical 9:16 hands-on demo of the attached phone stand.",
        "attachments": [{ "type": "input_image", "image_url": "https://example.com/phone-stand.jpg" }],
        "generation_spend_cap_usd": 15 },
      { "instruction": "Vertical 9:16 hands-on demo of the attached lint roller.",
        "attachments": [{ "type": "input_image", "image_url": "https://example.com/lint-roller.jpg" }],
        "generation_spend_cap_usd": 15 }
    ]
  }'

How do I make hook versions of a product that works?

Keep the body of the ad and change only the opening seconds, so each version tests one thing. Hook variations for UGC ads shows one Timeline render per hook over the same body clips and voice. On the direct route, generate a few first-frame clips of the same photo with different opening motions.

How do I keep the product looking right?

Send the product photo as the clip's first_frame rather than as an input_references guide, and on models that take a last frame, pin a second product shot at the end. Then pull stills from the finished clip and compare them with the listing; Product logo warping in image-to-video explains both steps.

How much do dropshipping video ads cost to make?

Every route is paid. A first-frame clip is reserved at its model's provider list price × 1.25, plus a 5.5% agent fee by default. A Format run's generation is metered at API pricing rates and capped by generation_spend_cap_usd (up to $500), and usage.debited_usd_micros on each run's receipt is that run's full cost, the agent's own turn included.