Generative AI is quickly becoming a new norm for creative experimentation and agile marketing programs. Marketers are using machine learning to produce rapid prototypes in a matter of days. But understanding whether AI-generated content can drive brand lift requires testing it with real consumers versus synthetic respondents.
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At the Quirk’s Event 2025 in Chicago, Swayable CEO and Founder James Slezak unpacked key insights about how brands are using AI to dramatically speed up the brand development and lift measurement process. Slezak spotlighted a new use case where Outlaw Sake—a sparkling sake brand in development—deployed rapid RCT pre-testing to quickly understand how its AI-produced ads impacted lift and authenticity. With this approach, Outlaw Sake created, pre-tested, iterated, and validated its creative in just four weeks.
Here are some key takeaways from James's session:
- AI won’t replace consumers, but it can dramatically increase the efficiency of rapid creative prototyping—and testing and generating evidence of lift.
- To create value, marketers must continually ground AI predictions in real consumer measurements, which have more validity than LLM-simulated responses.
- Don’t trick the consumer. Pre-testing results revealed the Outlaw Sake ads that were transparent about using AI were deemed more authentic by respondents.
Watch James's full Quirk's session below for a deep dive into how marketers successfully use AI for creative development: