Sky Media, the advertising arm of Sky, has announced the launch of its’ AI-powered creative advertising toolkit.

This toolkit is aimed at helping small- and medium-sized businesses advertise on TV, with a service designed to reduce the cost, time and complexity of producing TV advertising.

The toolkit gives advertisers access to Waymark, an AI creative studio that enables brands to generate TV-ready ads using content from their own websites.

Sky Media says Waymark can create 10-, 15- or 30-second ads in seconds, including scripts and built-in compliance, and tailor them to different audiences or locations.

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It says the toolkit combines Waymark’s AI-generated creative with its own creative intelligence, targeting tools and prediction engine, enabling SMEs to test, refine and launch TV campaigns with “speed and confidence”.

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Steven McHenry, investment director at Sky Media, says TV has long “set the standard for attention and trust”, but the creative process can act as a barrier for smaller businesses.

“Our new AI-powered toolkit removes that barrier. It allows brands who are new to TV to create cost-effective ads, test and refine them, and launch campaigns with real confidence in their impact,” he adds.

The toolkit also integrates the Clearcast BCAP approval process, ensuring ads meet TV advertising standards and are ready for formal sign-off.

Next month, Sky Media plans to enhance the service with data from its effectiveness databank, Norman. Drawing on insights from thousands of campaigns, Norman will help advertisers assess the potential impact of TV investment, predicting outcomes based on factors such as brand size, category, and budget.

Sky Media’s move follows similar initiatives from Channel 4 and ITV.

In November, Channel 4 launched its Smart Ad Engine to encourage SMEs to consider TV advertising. The broadcaster offers the tool at no cost, with a tiered model that varies the level of human and AI involvement.

ITV launched a similar tool in September 2024, initially launching two AI-generated TV ads for small businesses.

At the time, commercial director Jason Spencer told Marketing Week the broadcaster would avoid AI-generated people, instead using real actors.

Spencer said, “We’ve been quite selective in the criteria.”

“What we want to do is make sure that we are using this alongside voiceover artists or actors where there’s the opportunity to do so,” he added.