What "AI-assisted" means in a Harbourcut ad (and why we label every one)
Drafted with AI assistance; reviewed and approved by the Harbourcut Studio team.
Every ad we make carries the same small tag: AI-assisted. Owners sometimes ask what that actually covers. Is the whole thing machine-made? Is a person involved at all? Will my customers think it's fake?
Fair questions. Here's a plain answer: what the AI does, what our team does, what we never do, and why the label stays on every ad.
The short version
A Harbourcut ad is made with AI and finished by hand. AI helps us create and extend footage, build motion and try ideas quickly. People choose the idea, write the words, cut the edit, check it against your brand and approve it. Then you approve it before it goes anywhere.
"AI-assisted" is our honest name for that mix.
What the AI does
AI is a production tool for us, the way a camera or an editing suite is. In a typical ad it helps with:
- Footage you don't have. A slow push across a steaming bowl, a sunrise over the North Shore, a moody gym establishing shot. AI can generate or extend short clips like these from a text description, so you don't need a crew or a shoot day.
- Bringing your photos to life. Stills from your menu, your space or your products can be given gentle motion so they work in a vertical video.
- Trying more ideas. Because a first version is fast to make, we can build more than one opening for the same ad and let you compare them. (More on that in our post on hooks.)
- Rough drafts of supporting elements. Background music beds, transitions and layout ideas that a person then picks from and adjusts.
One thing to know up front: archive footage is non-exclusive. The same AI-generated clips may appear in other videos. Your edit, your offer and your brand assets are made for you.
What our team does by hand
Everything that decides whether an ad is any good:
- The idea and the hook. What's the one thing about your business worth stopping for? A person decides that, using what you've told us about your customers and your offer.
- The words. On-screen text, captions and the call to action are written and checked by a person, so prices, hours and offers match what you actually sell.
- The edit. Pacing, cuts, timing to the music, where your logo end card sits. AI can't decide whether the cut "feels right"; that's craft.
- The brand check. Colours, fonts, tone and the details that make it look like your business and not a template.
- Approval. A human approves everything before it leaves the studio, and you approve it before it's posted or boosted.
What we never do
Some things are off the table, every time:
- No fake customers. We don't generate people pretending to be your diners, members or clients.
- No fake reviews or testimonials. No invented quotes and no made-up star ratings.
- No real-person likenesses. We don't recreate real people, staff or celebrities with AI.
- No made-up results. We won't put a number in your ad you can't back up.
- No public spec samples of real businesses. If we make a sample for you, it's for you. We don't post it.
We only use photos and footage you own or give us permission to use.
How the label works
"AI-assisted" shows up in up to three places:
- On the video itself, as a small burned-in tag, so the label travels with the file wherever it's shared.
- In the caption, as a short line saying the ad was made with AI.
- In the platform's own AI-content setting, where one exists. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube have each introduced ways to mark AI-made content. We turn those on where they apply.
Why we label every one
Three reasons.
Viewers deserve to know. People are getting better at spotting AI. An ad that's upfront about it reads as confident. One that's caught hiding it reads as a trick, and the trick reflects on your business, not ours.
Platforms increasingly expect it. The major platforms have been adding AI-disclosure tools and rules. Labelling by default means we're not scrambling to keep up each time a policy changes.
It's how we work everywhere. Our sister line, Harbourcut Automations, runs on the same principle: the AI receptionist on our own line tells callers it's an AI in its first sentence. We don't pretend to be human on the phone, and we don't pretend an ad was shot by a film crew.
Will my customers think less of the ad?
Honestly, it depends on the ad. A label doesn't make a weak idea strong, and it doesn't make a strong idea weak. What moves people is a clear hook, a real offer and a business that looks like itself. That's where our team spends its time.
If you'd like to judge for yourself, ask for a free 10-second sample. We'll make one from photos you've already posted publicly. It's yours to keep, we won't post it anywhere, and there's no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Harbourcut ad made with AI? Yes. It's made with AI and finished by hand, and every ad is labelled AI-assisted.
Is the footage exclusive to me? No. Archive footage is non-exclusive, so AI clips may appear in other videos. Your edit, offer and brand assets are made for you.
Do you use fake customers or reviews in ads? Never. We don't generate fake customers, fake reviews or real-person likenesses.
Can I approve the ad before it's posted? Yes. You approve everything before it goes anywhere.
What photos and footage do you use? Only photos and footage you own or give us permission to use, plus AI-generated footage that's labelled as such.
Want to see what it looks like for your business?
Book a 15-minute call with our team (weekdays 1-5 PM PT). No pitch deck: we'll look at what you sell, what you want to promote, and whether short video ads make sense for you.
About Harbourcut Studio. Harbourcut Studio makes short vertical video ads for Metro Vancouver restaurants, cafés, gyms, salons and service businesses, built for Reels, TikTok and Shorts. Made with AI, finished by hand, labelled AI-assisted. See how it works. Cut for the scroll.