The evolution of AI visuals: From image generators to GIFs and microanimations

AI visuals are now part of daily marketing work. More than a third of companies say that they already generate images with generative AI.

For email teams, the question has changed. It’s no longer “can AI image generation create something that looks real enough for a campaign header.” We already solved that in 2024. The real question is: Can that same AI-created image move properly, loop for seconds, and still display correctly in Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail without breaking?

That is where short clips, micro-animations, and optimized GIFs come in.

Marketing leaders are already shifting their budgets and workflows in this direction. The median share of all marketing work now done with generative AI is 10%, with some teams reporting usage near 50% or more. This is no longer an experiment — this is production.

Key takeaways

1. AI visuals have moved from still images to motion. Marketers can take one generated product shot, run it through a tool like Runway, Luma, Veo, or Pika to create a short, controlled clip, and use that clip across channels.
2. Email can’t rely on embedded video. Many inboxes block video playback or support it only partially, so the reliable format for motion in newsletters is still an optimized animated GIF with a smart first frame fallback for Outlook. GIFs might not be as fun as videos, but they work.
3. Micro-animations in email do not “make everything move.” They are targeted: a slow product spin, a soft price highlight, a pan across a room for a property listing. UX research backs this style of motion because it helps direct readers’ attention without distracting them.
4. Production costs dropped. Klarna says generative AI helped cut about 10 million dollars a year from marketing costs, largely by producing campaign visuals faster instead of booking shoots or buying more external creative work.
5. Now the hard part is compliance, not generation. Legal and brand teams want proof that assets are safe to ship at scale. This is why tools like Adobe Firefly position themselves as commercially safe, and why newer video models include watermarking and provenance controls like SynthID and C2PA.

From photorealism to production: How AI visuals matured

The year 2024 proved that generative AI could replace traditional photo shoots for email campaigns. Marketers learned how to create realistic product shots, lifestyle images, and even event visuals that feature real people placed into generated scenes. Their experiments showed that AI could deliver photorealism close enough to pass brand checks.

Now, the focus has shifted from testing to scaling. Generative AI currently supports about 10% of all marketing work, covering creative production, personalization, and campaign visuals. Many teams already treat AI as part of their regular workflow, not as a side project.

One reason for this growth is trust. Early versions of AI image models raised questions about rights and data sources. Tools like Adobe Firefly helped remove those barriers by using licensed training data and offering commercial-use guarantees. This made it possible for large brands to create campaign images without copyright or likeness concerns.

As a result, AI visuals have become a reliable foundation for email design. Photorealistic stills turned into the default format for banners, product cards, and event promotions. The next step is movement — adding short, controlled motion to make those visuals feel alive while keeping them inbox safe.

The new frontier: Short AI motion clips

New image-to-video tools have changed how marketers create motion content. Platforms such as Runway (Gen-3 and Gen-4), Luma Dream Machine, Veo 3, Pika, Sora, and Stable Video Diffusion can now turn a single image into a short, realistic video. Each one adds smooth motion, consistent lighting, and camera depth that used to require a motion designer.

These tools bring cinematic control into daily marketing work. You can tilt or pan the virtual camera, add parallax for depth, and keep object edges clean as the scene moves. Veo 3 even supports 1080p vertical video through an API, making it easy to reuse the same clip for social feeds, websites, and email banners without paying for full video production.

That workflow gives teams new creative options. A still product image or logo can now rotate once, glide across a background, or fade under a lighting change. Marketers can create dozens of motion variations from a single asset and select the one that performs best.

(Source: Logo Diffusion)

Brand safety also improved. Runway supports the C2PA provenance standard to record asset origin, while Veo adds SynthID watermarking so that every video carries a traceable digital signature. These features make AI-generated motion content safer to publish under brand guidelines.

Real companies are already proving the business case. As mentioned before, Klarna reported saving around 10 million dollars a year after switching much of its campaign imagery to generative pipelines, and IBM saw engagement increase by 26 times in tests using Firefly-based visuals.

Why micro-animations work in email (and full video doesn’t)

Video still doesn’t play reliably inside emails. Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail handle embedded clips differently, and most versions either block playback or increase load times to the point that recipients close the message before it fully loads. Because of this, sending a full video inside an email is still risky.

Animated GIFs remain the only motion format that works almost everywhere, but they have limits. Outlook desktop versions often display only the first frame instead of the full animation. To avoid a blank image, that first frame should clearly show the main message or offer. File size also matters. For stable delivery and fast loading, the ideal GIF should stay below one megabyte, around six hundred pixels wide, and play at about 15 frames per second.

APNG, a newer animated format, looks smoother but fails in Gmail and Outlook, where it reverts to a still image. Animated WebP is even less dependable because Gmail converts it to JPEG, while Outlook may break rendering entirely.

For now, the best setup is an optimized GIF in which the first frame serves as the static fallback. It loads quickly, plays in most email clients, and still displays clearly in those that don’t support animation.

Designing micro-animations that enhance UX

Good motion in email isn’t about decoration. Research from Nielsen Norman Group shows that animation should help with feedback, focus, and clarity. When used correctly, it draws attention to what matters and makes interaction smoother.

In email design, the same rule applies.

• rotate a shoe once to show available color options;
• blink a discount badge softly one time instead of looping it forever;
• pan slowly across a property image to lead the reader’s eye toward the call to action.

(Source: Sora)

Short loops of two to three seconds are enough. Longer or faster movement becomes distracting and can trigger accessibility issues, especially for subscribers sensitive to flashing visuals. Always add descriptive alt text and design the first frame so that it communicates the core message, even if the motion doesn’t play.

Animations can also reflect seasonal or event-based campaigns. A subtle snowfall effect for winter sales, a spark of confetti for an anniversary email, or a light wave animation for a summer theme can make a message feel timely without redesigning the layout. The same technique works for discounts, product launches, or activity-based emails, where motion helps signal that something new is happening. Keeping the movement minimal ensures that it feels like part of the brand’s rhythm rather than a one-off decoration.

(Source: Runway)

Micro-animations built this way help readers notice key details, understand the offer faster, and click through without feeling overwhelmed.

Building motion for the inbox: Practical workflow

Creating motion for email is now a clear, repeatable process. It’s no longer limited to design studios or motion specialists. Teams can produce short, inbox-safe animations using a simple step sequence:

1. Generate a product still. Create the base image with tools such as Midjourney, Firefly, or SDXL. Keep lighting and framing simple to make later animation easier.
2. Animate the image. Use Runway, Luma, Veo, or Pika to add a short, controlled motion of two to four seconds. Limit camera movement to gentle pans, spins, or lighting changes.
3. Export MP4 or WebM. These video versions work for websites and social channels before you compress them for email.
4. Convert to an optimized GIF. Keep it under one megabyte, about 600 pixels wide, and use palette compression with a set loop count.
5. Design the first frame. It should work as a standalone still, because Outlook often displays only that frame.
6. Ensure accessibility. Add alt text, and avoid flashing or looping at high speed.
7. Insert into a Stripo module. Place it inside a product card, hero image, or interactive block while keeping the file size balanced with the rest of the email.
8. Run QA tests. Check how the animation looks in Litmus or Email on Acid across Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail to confirm that it plays and loads correctly.
9. Check dark mode. Verify visibility and prevent inverted edges or washed-out colors.
10. Confirm legal and provenance safety. Use assets generated by licensed datasets or tools that apply watermarking, such as Firefly, Veo, or Runway.

How AI motion redefines product cards

Adding motion to email layouts changes how subscribers view and interact with product blocks. A short, well-placed animation turns a static section into a clear attention point that guides the reader’s eye toward the main offer or button.

The key is restraint. Keep only one moving element per screen so that motion supports the message rather than competing with it.

Practical examples work best:

• rotate a gadget once to show its shape or design;
• add a soft shimmer over a “new” or “sale” label;
• apply a slow zoom-in on the main product photo to create depth without redrawing the layout.

Animated product cards often improve click-through rates because visual movement highlights the clickable area naturally. Early experiments by Dell with animated product GIFs already verified revenue growth from small motion changes. With AI tools now able to create these effects in minutes, adding subtle animation to standard modules is becoming part of routine email production.

Governance, brand safety, and standardization

As AI visuals become part of daily production, large marketing teams are starting to standardize how they use them. Adobe’s 2025 Digital Trends report describes this as building “connected content supply chains,” where every image, animation, and variation follows clear rules for creation, review, and storage.

A few principles help teams keep AI motion content compliant and consistent:

• rights-cleared models, such as Firefly or Stable Video Diffusion;
• provenance data through systems like C2PA or SynthID for asset traceability;
• internal policies for watermarking, disclosure, and legal review;
• clear QA and approval steps before a campaign goes live.

These checks protect both the brand and the creative team. They make it possible to use AI at scale without running into copyright or authenticity problems.

Analysts also warn against chasing hype. Gartner expects that around 40% of complex “agentic AI” projects will be dropped by 2027 because they fail to show return on investment. For email teams, this means focusing on simple, useful motion that adds value. One well-tested micro-animation that always renders properly is worth more than several flashy clips that break inboxes in half.

What’s next for AI visuals in email

The next stage for AI visuals will focus on personalization and automation. Teams will soon be able to generate short motion variants for each subscriber segment. A product card could rotate to show a color based on location or preference, or display a sale label in the language defined by recipient data.

Email editors are also moving toward built-in motion generation. Instead of exporting assets from external tools, marketers will create and fine-tune animations directly in the builder, adjusting loop length, lighting, or speed within the same workflow used for text and layout.

(Source: Runway)

Format support will change over time, and higher-quality animated formats will matter more. APNG delivers smoother motion and transparency than GIF, but many inboxes still treat it as a static image. Animated WebP is even less reliable because Gmail converts it to JPEG, and Outlook can fail to render it at all. For now, GIF is still the only safe baseline for motion in email.

In the long term, AI visuals will become modular assets shared across channels. The same core image could serve as a social post, a website hero, or an email header, with each version adapting automatically to motion length, aspect ratio, and brand rules.

This evolution isn’t just about better visuals. It’s about building a repeatable system for creativity, one that keeps campaigns consistent, compliant, and ready for any platform where subscribers engage.

Wrapping up

AI visuals in email have moved from static images to short, purposeful motion. The shift is already reshaping how brands present products and steer attention inside the inbox. Teams that treat animation as a structured workflow — not a design experiment — will gain faster production cycles and cleaner campaign performance.