November 12, 2025
Workshop recap: AI and the next wave of B2C content creation
On November 12, we hosted a live workshop with Alisa Wu, co-founder and CEO of Bluma, to explore how AI is reshaping short-form content creation for B2C brands. Drawing from her experience building Bluma during Y Combinator’s Fall 2025 batch, Alisa shared how templates, automation, and creative iteration are redefining how brands stay consistent and relevant on fast-moving platforms like TikTok.
From idea to product
Alisa explained that Bluma was born out of a simple observation: small consumer brands were struggling to keep up with the pace of social media. During an internship in San Francisco, she noticed founders spending hundreds of dollars on individual videos that occasionally went viral but with no repeatable process behind them.
Her insight was that successful videos often followed a repeatable structure rather than one-off creativity. Bluma was built to automate that structure, giving brands plug-and-play templates that capture what works on social platforms without requiring teams of editors or influencers. In her words, it is about helping brands “get started with something of taste and consistency, the same way Canva did for design.”
What UGC really means today
User-generated content has evolved from traditional influencer marketing into a more authentic, peer-to-peer storytelling model. Alisa described UGC creators as “the new creative workforce,” which are often university students producing relatable, entertainment-first videos that weave products naturally into their storytelling.
This format, she explained, is why organic short-form video has become one of the most powerful growth channels for consumer brands in 2025. The challenge is not the demand for content, it is the speed and consistency required to keep up with trends. That is where Bluma’s templated approach comes in.
Staying on trend without burning out
When asked how Bluma helps brands stay current, Alisa explained that templates let teams “front-load creativity.” Instead of editing every video from scratch, Bluma users edit a template once, locking in quality and aesthetic.
The platform identifies trending video formats on TikTok, clones their structure into templates, and lets users generate endless variations aligned with those trends. A human is still in the loop. Alisa personally reviews what is performing well on TikTok and adapts it into reusable frameworks, but the heavy lifting of editing and adaptation is automated.
Authenticity in AI-generated content
A recurring question from the audience was how AI content can stay authentic. Alisa emphasized that Bluma offers flexibility depending on the brand’s comfort level. Some teams use their own real-life clips while letting AI handle editing, while others experiment with fully AI-generated avatars.
The focus, she said, is always on the story and the tone, not just the visuals. For younger audiences, that might mean using slang and a casual cadence. For older ones, it is about clarity and informational content. Each customer has a customized “system prompt” that defines their brand voice so AI-generated videos still sound human and on-brand.
Scaling distribution and measuring success
When it comes to output, Alisa noted that some customers want a few high-quality videos per week, while others run multiple accounts and post up to 100 videos per day. The platform supports both, depending on the brand’s goals. Performance is tracked through metrics like views, click-through rates, and follower growth, but consistency remains the most important measure. On average, Bluma’s videos outperform typical UGC creators in steady engagement across campaigns.
Ethics and accuracy in AI video
Alisa discussed how brands can maintain integrity when using AI to generate product videos. She explained that ethical use depends on the source material. Some clients use real tweets or product clips, while others rely on existing stock footage. The focus, she said, is on transparency and ensuring that automation enhances storytelling without misrepresenting the product.
Bluma’s approach centers on automating editing rather than fabricating visuals, which helps brands maintain trust while adopting AI in their marketing workflows.
Paid media and platform algorithms
While Bluma focuses primarily on organic content, several clients have used its videos for paid campaigns with success. Alisa said that boosting performance depends more on the content’s quality and engagement than whether it is AI-generated.
She added that platforms like TikTok and Instagram do not seem to deprioritize AI content. What matters is whether it captures attention. “If a video is engaging, the algorithm rewards it,” she explained.
The path ahead for short-form content
Looking ahead, Alisa sees short-form video entering a new phase defined by accessibility and automation. Bluma is evolving from an agency-style model to a self-serve platform, giving brands the ability to generate videos directly from customizable templates. Over time, she hopes to open a marketplace where creators can design and sell their own templates, continuously refreshing the ecosystem with new formats and ideas.
Her vision is for tools like Bluma to become the Canva of video, functioning as platforms that democratize creation by combining taste, automation, and community. As AI becomes more deeply integrated into the creative process, short-form content will become faster to produce, easier to personalize, and more scalable than ever before.
A huge thank you to Alisa for sharing her insights, and to everyone who joined us live.