Icon vs. Arcads
Products
AdGPT
Save time creating ads (think ChatGPT for ads).
Replaces ChatGPT ($20/month), Claude ($20/month)
AdCut
Save time editing ads (think CapCut for ads).
Replaces CapCut ($9.99/month), Premiere ($54.99/month)
Creative Library
Save time by storing, tagging, creating, & splitting videos with AI.
Replaces Recharm ($500-$3K+/month), Air ($600-$5K+/month) which both mark up storage costs
UGC Creators
Save time & money with free AI-generated UGC.
Disclaimer: All AI UGC companies (Arcads, MakeUGC) use HeyGen under the hood (+mark the price up).
Create videos free (using our creators) & add custom avatars at cost (0% markup) or use HeyGen directly & share videos with us.
Replaces Arcads ($130+/month), MakeUGC ($119+/month), Billo ($99+/video)
Creative Analytics
Save money with free creative analytics (we don't charge more for more adspend).
Replaces Motion ($1K-$10K+/month depending on adspend)
Adspy
Save time with free AI-powered ad cloning.
Replaces Foreplay ($99/month + $20/user + $50/competitor tracked), AdSpy ($149/month)
Ads Manager
Save time with free ad manager auto-upload.
Replaces Meta Ads Manager (direct use)
AdGPT
AdGPT
Save time creating ads. It's like ChatGPT for ads. AdGPT gets your ads 80-99% complete. Example prompt: "Make an ad comparing Ridge Wallet to bulky wallets."
Bring a script
Save time by finding matching videos for your script with Icon. We'll split your script into shots and pick matching videos (to get your ad 80-99% complete). From there, use AdCut to take it to the finish line.
Bring a creative brief
Save time by finding matching videos for your brief with Icon. We'll make an ad using your brief (to get your ad 80-99% complete). From there, use AdCut to take it to the finish line.
B-roll cutting
Save time by cutting in B-roll on your talking head videos with Icon. We'll pick matching videos to cut in on your talking head videos (to get your ad 80-99% complete). From there, use AdCut to take it to the finish line.
Long form to ad
Save time by turning reviews & interviews into ads with Icon. We'll identify the most interesting parts of your long form video and assemble it into an ad (to get your ad 80-99% complete). From there, use AdCut to take it to the finish line.
Clone script from ad
Save time by cloning winning ad scripts from top brands with Icon. We'll clone an ad using your videos (to get your ad 80-99% complete). From there, use AdCut to take it to the finish line.
Write me an ad
Save time by doing nothing & getting ads from Icon. We'll make an ad using your videos (to get your ad 80-99% complete). From there, use AdCut to take it to the finish line.
Ad from voiceover
Save time by creating an ad from a voiceover with Icon. We'll pick matching videos for your voiceover (to get your ad 80-99% complete). From there, use AdCut to take it to the finish line.
AdCut
AdCut
Save time editing ads. Think CapCut, but for ads. After AdGPT gets your ads 80-99% complete, use AdCut to make edits until you're happy.
Voiceovers
Save time & money with AI-generated voiceovers. Voiceovers are conversion-optimized.
Captions
Save time with AI-generated captions. Caption styling is customizable.
Background music
Save time with AI-picked background music. Music is conversion-optimized.
Relevancy ranking
Save time by easily finding relevant videos for a shot (for when you disagree with Icon on the best match). Options are given a match score by Icon. You can also see why Icon picked a video.
Permutations
Increase creative volume with built-in permutation A/B testing.
Aspect ratios
Save time with aspect ratio export settings. Supports 9:16, 4:5, 1:1.
Ad settings
Easily enable or disable AI UGC and/or AI B-roll in ad settings. You can also choose between brand ads vs product-specific ads (using the "Products shown" filter). Disable AI UGC if you're a big brand and worried about backlash.
Ads Manager
Auto-launch
Save time by auto-launching on all channels (Meta, TikTok, & more). Pick Meta campaigns or adsets to launch Admaker ads into.
Auto-naming
Save time by defining a naming convention for launched creatives. Example: hook1_cta_1, hook1_cta2, & so on.
Adspy
Clone script from ad
Increase creative volume with AI-powered ad cloning. We'll clone an ad using your videos (to get your ad 80-99% complete). From there, use AdCut to take it to the finish line.
Win detection
Save time by using Icon to detect winning ads. You can narrow down winning ads with filters like: specific brands (e.g. competitive), time running (2+ weeks), like to comment ratio (10:1+), & more.
Creative Library
Auto-splitting
Save time by auto-splitting videos into clips (building blocks) with Icon.
Auto-tagging
Save time by auto-tagging creatives with Icon.
Auto-trim fillers
Save time by auto-trimming filler words from your videos with Icon (e.g. "um", "like", "you know").
Auto-cropping
Save time by auto-cropping creatives to your target aspect ratio with Icon.
AI video creation
Save time & money with AI-generated videos (A-roll, B-roll, UGC). Static images also supported.
Caption removal
Save time with AI-powered caption removal.
Creative search
Save time finding relevant videos with AI-powered search.
Creative storage
Save money by storing your creative with Icon.
Creative Analytics
Reports
See ad analytics with custom reports. Report filters: name (campaign, adset, ad), types (video, static), & more.
Creative view
See ad analytics in a creative grid-view. Shows hook rate, conversions, & more. Similar to Motion's Creative View.
UGC Creators
AI video creation
Save time & money with free AI-generated UGC.
Custom creators
Bring 2 minute videos of your creators and then create videos of them. Requires creator consent.
Product holding
Bring 2 minute videos of your creators holding products & then create videos of them (holding your products). Requires creator consent.
Creator looks
Save time by instantly changing a creator's look (outfit, background, etc).
Support
Get help 7 days a week
vs. 5 days a week
Get help within 10 hours (1-3 hour target)
vs. 2-7 days
Misc.
Desktop app (macOS & Windows supported)
vs. web browser only
Integrations for brands on Shopify
Shopify, Klaviyo, Triple Whale, Northbeam, Amazon, & more
GraphQL & REST API support
For developers, custom integrations, & more
Fundamentals
Tier 1 Engineering Team (results in Tier 1 Products)
vs. not Tier 1 Engineering Team or overseas contractors with no equity
Tier 1 Tech Investors (results in Tier 1 Engineering Team)
Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Kevin Hartz (A*, Eventbrite), Max Altman (Saga), Alex Botez (Chess), and founders & executives of OpenAI, Ramp, Flexport, Pika, Karat, & Cognition
Tier 1 Ecommerce Investors (results in Tier 1 Products)
Ron Shah & Ash Melvani (Obvi), Roman Khan, Nick Shackelford, Jimmy Kim (Sendlane), Kevin Lee (Immi), Justin Mares (Kettle & Fire), Steph Liu (Levitate), Sara Du (Alloy), Jason Wong, and founders of Eight Sleep, Yotpo, Siena AI, Replo, Novel, Parker, GR0, DCL Logistics, Aftersell, Platter, Openborder, Prescient AI, & Daasity
CEO/Founder with Tier 1 Engineering Background (results in Tier 1 Engineering Team)
vs. CEO/Founder without Tier 1 Engineering Background who can't hire Tier 1 Engineering Team
CEO/Founder working 100 hours per week & 7 days a week (results in Tier 1 Growth)
vs. CEO/Founder working 50 hours per week & 5 days a week
2nd time CEO/Founder with 1st startup being >$10M ARR (results in Tier 1 Growth)
CEO/Founder of Skio helping grow revenue from $0 to $10M+ ARR (and profitable) in 3 years (along with building a team of 50)
2nd time CEO/Founder in Ecommerce (results in Tier 1 Growth from pre-existing relationships)
CEO/Founder of Skio from 2021-2024 (subscription management software for brands on Shopify)
5.0 rating
Trusted by 155+ brands with $10B+ revenueTrusted by 155+ brands
5.0 rating
Trusted by 155+ brands with $10B+ revenueTrusted by 155+ brands
ridge ($100M+ revenue)
407K followers
missbotez x bloomnu
4.7M followers
immi ($100M+ revenue)
204K followers
Problem
Coming up with 100 unique, 30-second scripts is painful.
Manually matching 3-second clips (from your 10,000-video library) for every shot of your 100 scripts is even more painful.
Creating 3 permutations of each of the 100 ads (for A/B testing) makes the pain even worse.
Now imagine voiceovers, captions, & uploading all 300 ads to Meta & TikTok on top of this. Also imagine you're an agency doing this for 10 brands (now we're at 3K ads).
Products for scriptwriting, video editing, creative storage, UGC, creative analytics, & competitor ad spying exist, but they're not built for making ads (or just built badly).
ChatGPT
Scriptwriting
$20/month
Capcut
Video editing
$9.99/month
Adobe Premiere
Video editing
$54.99/month
Recharm
Creative storage
$500-$3K/month
Foreplay
Ad spying
$99/month
AdSpy
Ad spying
$149/month
Air
Creative storage
$600-$5K+/month
Billo
UGC
$99/video
Motion
Creative analytics
$1K-$10K+/month
Capcut
Video editing
$9.99/month
Adobe Premiere
Video editing
$54.99/month
ChatGPT
Scriptwriting
$20/month
Foreplay
Ad spying
$99/month
AdSpy
Ad spying
$149/month
Recharm
Creative storage
$500-$3K/month
Motion
Creative analytics
$1K-$10K+/month
Billo
UGC
$99/video
Air
Creative storage
$600-$5K+/month
+10 other tools
Solution
Icon solves this with the first AI Admaker. Think ChatGPT + CapCut, but for making winning ads with AI in minutes.
Icon starts by looking at your video library & tagging scenes (e.g. "sofa," "unboxing"). These scenes become reusable clips used as lego blocks for making ads.
From there, just enter ideas into AdGPT (ChatGPT for ads) to generate ads with perfectly matching clips for every scene.
AdGPT gets your ads 80-99% complete. Make edits with AdCut (CapCut for ads) or prompt AdGPT until you're happy.
3-person creative teams make 30 ads per month. With Icon, they make 300 (& get more winners).
We also replace $2K-$30K in monthly costs: scriptwriting (ChatGPT), video editing (CapCut, Premiere), creative storage (Air, Recharm), UGC (Arcads, MakeUGC, Billo), creative analytics (Motion), competitor ad spying (Foreplay), & more.
How it works
1. Share your existing videosIcon looks at your video library & tags scenes (e.g. "unboxing"). These scenes become reusable clips used as lego blocks for making ads.
2. Create ads with AdGPTUse AdGPT to create ads that are 80-99% complete with perfectly matching clips for every scene.
3. Edit ads with AdCutUse AdCut to edit your 80-99% complete AdGPT ads until you're happy.
AdGPT Workflows
Bring a scriptSave time by finding matching videos for your script with Icon.
Bring a creative briefSave time by finding matching videos for your brief with Icon.
B-roll cuttingSave time by cutting in B-roll on your talking head videos with Icon.
Long form to adSave time by turning reviews & interviews into ads with Icon.
Clone script from adSave time by cloning winning ad scripts from top brands with Icon.
Ad from voiceoverSave time by creating an ad from a voiceover with Icon.
Products
- AdGPTSave time creating ads (think ChatGPT for ads).Replaces ChatGPT ($20/month), Claude ($20/month)
- AdCutSave time editing ads (think CapCut for ads).Replaces CapCut ($9.99/month), Premiere ($54.99/month)
Audience ResearchSave time researching & tracking audiences.(and help AdGPT write ads that match your audience's voice)Replaces tedious work ($2K+/month)- Creative LibrarySave time by storing, tagging, creating, & splitting videos with AI.Replaces Recharm ($500-$3K+/month), Air ($600-$5K+/month)
UGC CreatorsSave time & money with free AI-generated UGC.Replaces Arcads, MakeUGC ($119+/month), Billo ($99+/video)
Creative AnalyticsSave money with free creative analytics.Replaces Motion ($1K-$10K+/month depending on adspend)
AdspySave time with free AI-powered ad cloning.Replaces Foreplay ($99/month + $20/user + $50/tracked competitor)
Ads ManagerSave time with free ad manager auto-upload.Replaces Meta Ads Manager (direct use)
What they're saying
"We went from spending hours making each ad to building entire campaigns in minutes. Icon helps us shape perfect creatives at incredible speed."
Ron Shah
CEO, Obvi
$100M+ revenue
"Manual ad creation was limiting our testing potential. Icon lets us scale to hundreds of high-performing variants without headaches."
Maneet Khaira
CEO, Backbone
$100M+ revenue
"Going from scripts to finished ads was a mountain of manual work. Icon handles everything from scriptwriting to ad uploads with a few clicks."
Tim Chen
CEO, Dog Is Human
$100M+ revenue
"We went from spending hours making each ad to building entire campaigns in minutes. Icon helps us shape perfect creatives at incredible speed."
Ron Shah
CEO, Obvi
"Manual ad creation was limiting our testing potential. Icon lets us scale to hundreds of high-performing variants without headaches."
Maneet Khaira
CEO, Backbone
"We went from spending hours making each ad to building entire campaigns in minutes. Icon helps us shape perfect creatives at incredible speed."
Ron Shah
CEO, Obvi
Story
Kennan Davison
CEO, Founder
Previously: Skio (CEO 2021-2024, $10M+ ARR in 3 years, profitable), Pinterest, Hulu, W+K (ad agency), Top 200 NA LoL, YC S20 (solo founder), Dropout.
Hi, I'm Kennan!
Growing up, I loved competitive gaming and eventually reached Top 200 North America in LoL (out of 100M+ players).
Read more of the story...
