--- title: "TikTok Ad Images with AI: Carousel and App Placements" url: https://www.imagequarry.com/ai-ad-images/tiktok-ads/ last_updated: 2026-10-20 --- # AI images for TikTok's image ads: carousels and app network placements TikTok is a video platform, but it does run still images in a few places: carousel ads that play a sequence of images over music, and image formats on the TikTok Ad Network and Global App Bundle apps. TikTok's carousel specification lists horizontal 1200 by 628, square 640 by 640 and vertical 720 by 1280 images, with at least two images per carousel. In ImageQuarry you describe each card or upload a product photo, then ask for changes in words while naming what should stay, so a set of cards can carry a consistent look. Each request produces a new version, which lets you line up the whole carousel and swap any single card without starting the others again. ImageQuarry does not make video, add music or publish to TikTok Ads Manager, and it lists no output sizes: check each still against TikTok's spec page before you upload. ## Making stills for a TikTok carousel 1. **Plan the sequence, then describe card one** A carousel is watched in order with music under it, so decide the arc first: problem, product, detail, outcome. Describe the first card in plain words, or upload a product photo and describe the scene you want around it. 2. **Build the other cards from the first** Ask for the next card as a change to the approved one, and spell out what carries over: the color palette, the product angle, the light direction. Building each card from a chosen draft keeps the set related instead of five unrelated pictures. 3. **Line them up, download, check the frame** Compare the full set, swap any card that breaks the rhythm, and download the ones you keep. Then check each against the size you picked in TikTok's spec, vertical, square or horizontal, and crop so the product is not hidden under captions or buttons. ## Requests for TikTok image ads Written for the still formats TikTok documents. Each is a request to type, not a description of an image that already exists. - **A vertical card that leaves room for the overlay**: TikTok's ad composition places a brand name, caption and call-to-action button over the picture, so keep the lower part of a tall card quiet. - **Step two of a carousel story**: Carousels play one image after another, so each card should move the story forward while looking like the same campaign. - **Detail card for the close look**: A close detail answers the quality question in a format with no zoom and only a second or two per card. - **Square creative for app placements**: TikTok Ad Network lists horizontal, vertical and square images for native and interstitial formats, and may fill empty space with a colored background or blur. A centered square subject survives that treatment. - **An app ad image with no busy text**: Global App Bundle ads run in apps such as CapCut, with the app name and description in separate fields. A clean image of the app in use carries more than text baked into the picture. - **A seasonal swap for one card**: When a promotion changes, only the final card often needs updating. Branch from it, and the rest of the sequence stays untouched in your history. ## What TikTok's help center documents for image ads - **Carousel images and their sizes**: TikTok's carousel spec lists JPG or PNG images at horizontal 1200 by 628, square 640 by 640 or vertical 720 by 1280 pixels, a minimum of 2 images and up to 35 for a standard carousel, and suggests files of 100 KB or less. - **Music is part of the carousel**: The same page says music is required and loops during playback, and that commercial library music is not available on TikTok Ad Network placements. Plan the stills to work with sound. - **Global App Bundle placements**: TikTok's Global App Bundle image spec lists app open, in-feed, banner, interstitial and native placements in apps including CapCut and Fizzo, with vertical 9:16 recommended at 720 by 1280 or more, JPG or PNG, and a 100 MB limit. - **TikTok Ad Network may fill the gaps**: TikTok's Ad Network formats page says it may fill empty space within a placement with a colored background or a Gaussian blur, so a subject near the edge of the frame can end up framed by blur. - **A carousel built card by card**: Each request builds on the selected card instead of starting over, so the second and third cards can follow the first while you name what to keep. - **Variations for the hook card**: Generate variations of the first card to explore different openings, then compare them and keep the one that holds attention. ## TikTok image formats and the composition to request | Format | TikTok's listed size | Composition to ask for | |---|---|---| | Carousel, vertical | 720 by 1280 pixels | "Product in the upper half, quiet lower third." | | Carousel, square | 640 by 640 pixels | "Subject centered with space on every side." | | Carousel, horizontal | 1200 by 628 pixels | "A wide scene, product on the left third." | | Global App Bundle, vertical 9:16 | At least 720 by 1280 pixels | "A tall scene with the app on a phone screen." | | Global App Bundle, square 1:1 | At least 640 by 640 pixels | "A tight square with one clear subject." | As of 2026-10-20. ## What an AI TikTok ad image is An AI TikTok ad image is a still picture for one of TikTok's image formats, a carousel card or an app placement, made from a written description or by changing a photo you upload. In ImageQuarry a carousel becomes a set of drafts with a consistent look, each adjustable in words. _It is not a TikTok video, a cover frame for a post or a music track. For organic photo posts and covers, see the social media pages for TikTok._ ## Questions about AI images for TikTok ads ### Does TikTok run image ads at all? Yes, in specific formats. TikTok's help center documents carousel ads with 2 or more images over music, and image placements on the TikTok Ad Network and the Global App Bundle apps. Standard in-feed ads on TikTok are built around video. ### Which size should a TikTok carousel image be? TikTok lists 720 by 1280 vertical, 640 by 640 square and 1200 by 628 horizontal. ImageQuarry does not publish output sizes, so ask for a tall, square or wide composition in words and crop the download to the listed size. ### How do I keep a carousel looking like one campaign? Make the first card, then ask for each following card as a change to it, naming the palette, light and product angle to keep. Compare the set side by side and redo any card that drifts. ### Why is my image surrounded by blur on some apps? TikTok's Ad Network page says it may fill empty space in a placement with a colored background or a Gaussian blur. Using the shape the placement expects reduces that. ### Can ImageQuarry make the video or add music? No. It makes and edits still images. Music, captions and the call-to-action are added in TikTok Ads Manager. ### Is there a plan for occasional campaigns? Every plan is a paid monthly subscription: Starter at $9 per month with 100 image credits a month, or Pro at $29 per month with 300 image credits a month. ## More social ad formats - [Carousel ad images](https://www.imagequarry.com/ai-ad-images/carousel-ads/): Multi-card sequences across ad platforms. - [Instagram ad images](https://www.imagequarry.com/ai-ad-images/instagram-ads/): Feed, Stories and Reels placements on Instagram. - [All ai ad images](https://www.imagequarry.com/ai-ad-images/) ## Sources Checked 2026-10-20. - [TikTok: specifications for carousel ads](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/specifications-for-carousel-ads?lang=en) - [TikTok: Global App Bundle image ad specifications](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/image-ads-specification?lang=en) - [TikTok: available ad formats for TikTok Ad Network (formerly Pangle)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/available-ad-formats-for-pangle) ## Pricing - Starter: Starter at $9 per month with 100 image credits a month - Pro: Pro at $29 per month with 300 image credits a month ## Describe the first card. Build the carousel from it. Write the opening image in words, ask for each next card as a change to it, and keep every draft until the sequence plays the way you planned.