TikTok Auto-Selection for lead gen: what to upload as a UGC clip

For a TikTok Lead Generation campaign with Auto-Selection on, upload several short vertical clips that differ in the first seconds, because TikTok rotates assets from three pools: your own uploads, creator content and AI-generated content. Your uploads are the only pool you fully control, so give it variety. A talking-avatar clip made with the Sume API is one way to fill that pool: one request returns one 9:16 MP4 you can upload to the Creative Library.

TikTok's Product Preview for Q3 2026 says Auto-Selection is now available for Lead Generation campaigns, alongside Sales and Growth Max objectives. It describes the feature as sourcing, testing and scaling top-performing assets from brand uploads, creator content and AI-generated content, with Custom Selection controls to add, exclude or accept recommendations. Both TikTok pages were read on 2026-10-02.

What does Auto-Selection do with my uploads?

TikTok's help page on auto-selected creatives (last updated April 2026) says the system pulls approved content from creator content, your own content and content generated for you. It ranks them using historical and predicted performance data and refreshes delivery in real time during the campaign. You can review and reject any video and add new assets at any time.

Your own content means videos from your organic TikTok account and assets in your Creative Library. That is where a clip you produce elsewhere lands.

Why make several clips instead of one?

TikTok's own pitch for Auto-Selection is creative variety: its help page says more creative variety increases the chance of finding winning ads. A single upload gives the ranker nothing to compare inside your own pool. Three to six clips that share a body and differ in the opening line give it a real choice. Hook variations for UGC ads covers how to vary the opening.

How do I produce the clips with the Sume API?

Sume's avatar video endpoint takes a ready avatar handle and either a script or ordered video_inputs, never both. The target duration must estimate at 4 to 60 seconds. aspect_ratio defaults to 9:16. quality defaults to plus. Optional captions burn into the final MP4. One call per variant, each with its own Idempotency-Key.

The job finishes asynchronously: poll GET /v1/jobs/{id}/status, then read /result for a public media.sume.com video URL. Download the MP4 and upload it to your Creative Library yourself; this post does not claim any Sume connection to TikTok Ads Manager.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/avatar-1.0/talking-video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: lead-hook-a-001" \
  -d '{
    "avatar_handle": "sume_clawra",
    "aspect_ratio": "9:16",
    "script": "Still filling in forms by hand? Watch this.",
    "captions": { "enabled": true, "style": "slam" }
  }'

What should I check before launch?

Three checks before you rely on it:

• Whether your account has Auto-Selection for Lead Generation at all. The April help page limits it to select lead generation customers, and the July preview says it is now available; see why the option may be missing.
• That every clip is vertical and inside your platform's length rules; TikTok in-feed specs lists them.
• That you exclude any variant you do not want rotated: Custom Selection and exclusion rules decide, not the upload.