Consumer behaviour with brands has changed. Individuals believe in actual and real experience from real customers rather than a polished advertisement. This has transformed User Generated Content (UGC) into one of the most potent forms of marketing, as it has been in the recent past, especially when it is presented in video format. The UGC videos are authentic views of the use of the product, and they help in generating trust and more influence over the choices of purchasing the products than the conversational branded content.
However, with the rise in demand for UGC, brands struggle to collect, manage, and create video content on a large scale. AI is taking a significant role here. The creation, organisation, editing, and distribution of UGC videos are undergoing changes with the help of AI, enabling businesses to create more in less time, even at a lower cost, and achieve better results.
This guide explains what UGC videos are, why they matter, the types of UGC videos brands use, and how AI is reshaping the entire process.
Key Takeaways
- UGC videos are created by real customers and build stronger trust than traditional ads.
- They boost conversions, credibility, and engagement across marketing channels.
- AI is transforming UGC by automating editing, improving quality, and scaling production.
- Brands use AI-powered UGC to save time, reduce cost, and optimise performance.
- Authentic storytelling combined with AI delivers higher marketing impact.
What Are UGC Videos?
UGC videos are the videos that have been created by customers, users, or everyday people rather than by a professional production team. These videos depict actual experience and actual use of the product. They can be recorded on phones and may include reviews, unboxing reactions, tutorials, or before-and-after results.
In contrast to commercials produced by brands, UGC videos feel natural and honest. Consumers connect better with real people sharing real experiences than actors reading scripts in controlled environments. This authenticity is what makes UGC highly effective in today’s digital environment.
Types of UGC Videos Every Brand Should Use
There are several types of UGC videos that brands can leverage across eCommerce, social media, performance marketing and advertising campaigns. Here are the most common formats used today:
1. Real-Use or In-Action Videos
These videos show customers using a product in real life. It helps viewers understand how the product fits into a lifestyle or solves a real problem. For example, fitness enthusiasts using gym equipment or homeowners installing a smart device.
2. Product Reviews and Testimonial Videos
Honest reviews from actual customers help potential buyers understand real experiences, results, and expectations. Testimonial videos are especially effective for building trust and increasing conversion rates on product pages and landing pages.
3. Unboxing and Haul Videos
Unboxing videos showcase packaging, first impressions, and product reactions. These videos create excitement and influence early buying decisions. They work well for tech gadgets, beauty, retail, lifestyle, and subscription boxes.
4. Tutorials and How-To Videos
These videos help customers learn how to use a product step-by-step. They also highlight product features and benefits clearly. Tutorial videos work well for beauty products, electronics, software, home improvement, and creative tools.
5. Before and After Videos
Before-and-after transformations are powerful proof of product results. These videos are commonly used in skincare, fitness, wellness, health devices, home design, and cleaning products because they demonstrate visible outcomes.
6. Lifestyle or Day-in-the-Life Videos
In these videos, customers integrate the product naturally into their daily routines. Lifestyle videos are effective for travel, fashion, home appliances, and wellness brands because they help audiences imagine using the product personally.
These formats can overlap. For example, a haul video may include an unboxing and early review. Brands should experiment to find what resonates most with their audience.
Benefits of Using UGC Videos in Marketing
UGC videos offer measurable advantages for businesses, especially compared to traditional branded content. Here are the key benefits:
Builds Trust and Authenticity
Consumers trust real customer content more than polished advertising. When they see real users speaking honestly, it increases credibility and reduces skepticism.
Boosts Conversions and Sales
Brands often see higher conversion rates when UGC videos are placed on product pages, eCommerce listings, and ad campaigns. Shoppers feel more confident buying products they see others using.
Encourages Community Engagement
UGC gives customers a voice and strengthens their connection with the brand. When customers are featured or appreciated, others are encouraged to contribute as well.
Reduces Production Costs
UGC videos do not require expensive cameras, sets, or production teams. They are often filmed with smartphones, making them more cost-effective for campaigns.
Works Across Multiple Marketing Channels
UGC content can be repurposed for:
- Instagram, YouTube Shorts, Facebook
- Product pages and landing pages
- Social Media campaigns
- Paid ads
- Digital displays and social walls
How AI Is Transforming UGC Video Creation
AI is changing every stage of UGC content production and management. It helps create faster, smarter, and more scalable workflows without compromising authenticity.
Automated editing and post-production
AI tools automatically trim clips, adjust lighting, fix audio, add subtitles, remove noise, and resize videos for different platforms. What used to take hours can now be completed in minutes.
Improved quality while keeping a natural look
AI enhances clarity and stability without making videos look overly edited or scripted.
Content tagging and organisation
AI can analyse video content and identify product types, themes, emotions, and objects. This makes organising and retrieving content easier, especially for large libraries.
Smart optimisation for different platforms
AI can create multiple versions of the same video, each tailored for Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or websites.
Performance-driven decisions
AI tools measure engagement, watch time, and conversion impact, helping brands select top-performing clips.
Automated moderation and rights management
AI can check for copyright issues, inappropriate material, and consent tracking to reduce legal risk.
Personalised content delivery
AI recommends UGC videos based on user behaviour and interest, improving conversion.
Why Modern Brands Are Shifting to AI-Powered UGC Videos
With the growing need for real and relatable content, more brands are incorporating AI-based workflows to work on UGC video production at scale. The time-consuming aspect of the traditional UGC creation and management has been noted to be a problem, particularly when handling huge amounts of raw videos contributed by customers. AI addresses most of these issues by automated editing, content organisation, performance tracking, and facilitating the distribution within a variety of platforms.
Faster video production with automated editing
AI enables brands to process UGC videos faster by automating video editing, including trimming, formatting, captioning, audio cleanup, background improvement, and resizing to fit various channels. Rather than spending time on editing hundreds of thousands of clips manually, AI software can generate platform-ready content in minutes, and this scale of UGC campaigns is feasible.
Better quality without losing authenticity
AI increases the quality of videos and audio without interfering with the authentic and natural sound of UGC. This ensures that the videos do not mislead the experience of the customer, and yet meet brand standards for clarity and professionalism. Because of it, brands can apply UGC in high-impact placements, such as advertisements and product pages on websites.
Lower production costs
Traditional brand videos can also demand a professional camera, studio, a large crew, and a lengthy turnaround time. AI-powered UGC eliminates these expenses by using real customer footage combined with automated editing and processing. This significantly minimizes the production expenses and helps brands to produce more content using the same or a smaller budget.
Smarter selection and optimisation
AI has the capability to interpret UGC performance metrics (including engagement, watch time, sentiment, conversion impact). This will assist marketers in knowing the best videos and automatically make variations to be tested. Brands are able to make decisions that are data-driven instead of making the guesses on what kind of content to create.
Scaling video content across all marketing channels
AI makes it easier to repurpose UGC into multiple formats for social platforms, ads, email, landing pages, and eCommerce stores. Instead of producing separate videos manually, brands can create many variations from a single piece of content.
Modern brands prefer AI-powered UGC because it combines authenticity with speed, efficiency, and measurable results. As competition grows, companies that adopt AI-enabled content workflows can scale video production, improve performance, and build stronger connections with their audiences. AI is not replacing real human stories—it is amplifying them to achieve greater business impact.
Trigital Solutions: The Best AI-Powered UGC Video Production Service Company
Trigital Solutions provides end-to-end AI-powered UGC video production services for brands looking to scale authentic video marketing efficiently. We support brands with strategy, sourcing, editing, compliance, and distribution to maximise impact and conversions.
Type of UGC Content We Create:
- Product review and testimonial videos
- Unboxing and first-impression videos
- How-to and tutorial videos
- Before-and-after transformation videos
- Real-use and lifestyle demonstration videos
- Scripted UGC videos with natural storytelling
- Ad-ready UGC videos for paid social and performance marketing
Whether you are an eCommerce business, D2C brand, SaaS product, or agency, we help you turn real customer stories into powerful marketing assets that drive measurable results.
Conclusion
UGC videos have become a crucial part of modern marketing because they provide real stories and honest experiences. When powered by AI, UGC becomes easier to create, manage, scale, and optimise. Brands using AI-driven UGC strategies are gaining competitive advantages through faster production, lower costs, and better performance. UGC is not replacing professional content; it is strengthening it with authenticity and data-driven insights. The brands that invest in AI-powered UGC today will lead tomorrow’s digital marketing landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is a UGC video?
A UGC video (User-Generated Content video) is a video created by real customers or users rather than a brand’s production team. These videos show honest opinions, product experiences, reviews, tutorials, or lifestyle usage. They are more authentic and relatable than traditional ads.
2. Why are UGC videos important for marketing?
UGC videos help build trust and credibility because they come from real users. They also improve engagement, increase conversions, offer social proof, and cost less than professional advertising videos. Many brands see better performance from UGC than from influencer or branded content.
3. What types of UGC videos work best for brands?
Popular types include product reviews, testimonial videos, unboxing videos, before-and-after videos, how-to tutorials, lifestyle videos, and real-use experience videos. The best format depends on your industry and audience.
4. Can UGC videos be used in paid ads and on product pages?
Yes. UGC videos are effective across social ads, product detail pages, landing pages, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and whatsapp marketing. Many brands see higher conversions when using UGC in ads.
5. Are UGC videos only useful for eCommerce brands?
No. UGC videos work for almost all industries, including SaaS, fitness, wellness, beauty, travel, hospitality, education, and B2B. Any brand that benefits from testimonials and real user proof can use UGC effectively.
