How to make music with AI in 2026: a step-by-step guide for Reels, ads and jingles

To make music with AI, you describe where the music will play, the style and mood you want, decide whether it will have lyrics and vocals, and the generator delivers the track in a few minutes. Knowing how to make music with AI for a brand comes down to knowing how to ask: the tool matters less than the request. A Reels soundtrack, a jingle and an ad song each need different things, and the table below sums up what to ask for in each case.

Making music with AI has become a common search in Brazil. According to Google’s Keyword Planner, searches for “how to make music with AI” (in Portuguese) nearly tripled in a year (+190% in September 2026 over the same month in 2025), and the whole family of AI music searches tops 80,000 a month. Almost every result teaches you to use a tool. This guide does something else: it shows how to ask for the right music for each use your brand has.

‍In this guide, you will learn:

• How to make music with AI, step by step, from the use case to the final file.
• How to write the request, with the same jingle asked for the wrong way and the right way.
• What music to use in Reels, ads and jingles, and how to keep the video’s voice up front.
• What to know about copyright before you publish or advertise with music made by AI.

Until recently, before there was an AI that makes music on request, a small brand had three ways to put sound in a video: the same trending song everyone uses, a track from a paid library, or a studio. AI opened a fourth: a song made for that post, with the brand name in the lyrics, ready the same day. What stays with you is knowing what to ask for.

How to make music with AI: step by step

Every AI for making music has its own screen, but the path is almost always the same. There are six decisions, in this order. Skipping the first one is the most common reason a song comes out nice and is useless.

1. Decide where the music will play (and how long it needs to be)

Before the style, decide the place. A Reels song has to hook in the first second; a corporate video soundtrack has to stay in the background for a full minute without getting tiring. The place sets the length, the structure and whether the music can have vocals.

Ask for the length the video needs, not the length the song “deserves”. For Reels, 15 to 30 seconds covers most videos, even though Instagram accepts much longer videos (see how long a Reel can be). If the track comes out short, many generators let you extend the song from a chosen point.

2. Choose the type: jingle, viral, soundtrack, campaign or parody

Think about the goal of the music, not the genre. “Jingle” tells the generator the song is short, has a chorus and repeats a name. “Soundtrack” tells it the music sits behind something else. Choosing the right type solves half the request.

• Brand jingle: short, with the name in the chorus. For ads, video intros and Reels.
• Viral song: a quick hook and a beat for cuts, made for Reels, TikTok and Shorts.
• Video soundtrack: instrumental, it backs the voiceover or the product without stealing attention.
• Campaign song: longer, with a build-up and a strong chorus, for launches and promotions.
• Original parody: a fun take on a theme, with brand-new lyrics and melody. Never the melody of a song that already exists.

3. Write the request

The request is the music’s brief. It works best short and concrete: one or two sentences that state the use, the style, the mood, the instruments and the voice. Many generators limit the length of the text, and anything past the limit tends to be ignored, so every word has to pull its weight.

Here is the same jingle requested two ways:

• Not like this: “Make a nice song for my bakery.”
• Like this: “A 20-second Reels jingle for a neighborhood bakery, upbeat pop with acoustic guitar and claps, female vocals, the name Golden Wheat repeated in the chorus.”

The second request answers the questions the generator would ask: where (Reels), how long (20 seconds), what sound (upbeat pop, guitar, claps), what voice (female) and what the lyrics must say (the name in the chorus). Describe the sound in words, never by an artist’s name: besides many generators refusing artist names, imitating the voice or style of someone recognizable is the shortest route to a legal problem.

4. Lyrics: let the AI write them or use your own

If you leave the lyrics blank, the AI writes them along with the music. It’s the fastest option, and it works well for soundtracks and viral songs. For a jingle or a campaign, ask for the lyrics first, review them and only then generate the track: that’s where you check that the brand name, the product and the promise are right. The section on song lyrics with AI below shows how to review them.

5. With vocals, instrumental or vocals only

Music with vocals grabs attention and carries the brand name. Instrumental stays in the background, which is what a video with a voiceover or on-screen text needs. Some generators also deliver vocals only, useful if you will assemble the music in another program.

For the voice, you usually choose the timbre (female, male or neutral) and, in some generators, a specific voice by name. Lyrics and vocals come out in the language the request and the lyrics were written in; if you need another language, say so in the request.

6. Listen, adjust and extend

The first track is rarely the final one. Many generators deliver two versions per request: listen to all of them on your phone, which is where your audience will hear them, with the video playing at the same time. If none works, change one thing at a time in the request (the tempo, the voice or the instruments) and generate again. If the song is right but short, extend it from the point where it still sounds good.

How to create music with AI for your brand

Music for a brand has a requirement that “loose” music doesn’t: it has to sound like the brand every time. An upbeat jingle one month and a dark soundtrack the next confuse the people who follow the profile. So, before asking for the first track, write down three things that will repeat in every request:

• The brand’s mood in three words (for example: light, friendly, playful).
• The instruments that suit it (acoustic guitar and claps for a bakery, synthesizer for a tech brand).
• The line that can become a chorus: the brand name, the slogan or the main promise.

In BestContent Social, the music generator follows this same path. You choose the type by goal (brand jingle, viral song, video soundtrack, campaign song, original parody or your own way), decide whether to start from your brand, from scratch or from a reference audio, and write what you want to create. Each request delivers two versions of the track, and you can ask for a variation or extend the song from any point.

When you start from your brand, the AI builds the request with the identity and tone already saved, so next month’s music sounds like this month’s. The track goes to your Library, alongside your posts, and when you schedule a Reel you can swap the video’s audio for it. To see the types of music and the step by step on screen, open the BestContent Social AI music generator.

How to create a jingle with AI?

A jingle is the short song that makes people remember a brand’s name. For decades it belonged to radio and TV, because it took a composer, a singer and a studio. With AI, a neighborhood store can get a jingle for this week’s Reels, and changing the lyrics for the next campaign costs one new request.

To create a jingle with AI, ask for a 15 to 30-second song, with vocals, a chorus that repeats and the brand name inside it. The structure that works best is simple: one line that sets up the problem or the moment, the chorus with the name, and the chorus again at the end.

• Advantages: the brand name sticks in the viewer’s head, the same song works as a signature across several videos, and a short version (5 seconds, just the chorus) becomes an intro sting.
• Watch out: the name has to be easy to sing. If the AI voice mispronounces it, write the name in the lyrics the way it’s said. And don’t use another brand’s name, slogan or well-known chorus, not even as a joke.

A quick test before publishing: play the jingle to someone who doesn’t know the brand and ask, right afterward, what the name was. If they don’t remember, the chorus needs more repetition or a more prominent name.

How to write song lyrics with AI?

The AI writes the lyrics from your request, with rhyme and a chorus. To write song lyrics with AI that work for the brand, the work is in the review, not the writing. Read the lyrics out loud before generating the track and check four things:

• The name and the product are right. The AI may invent a flavor, a price or a promise the brand doesn’t make.
• The chorus is short. One line you can sing without taking a breath in the middle.
• No line promises what you don’t deliver, like “the cheapest in town” or “delivery in 10 minutes”.
• No passage repeats the lyrics of a known song. Even if the AI wrote it, the line still belongs to whoever created it first.

If you already have lyrics, paste your own. The generator sings the text as written, so it needs to be split into verses and chorus, with the chorus written out in full every time it repeats.

What music should you use in Reels and ads?

The right music depends on what else is happening in the video. If someone is speaking, the music is scenery. If no one is speaking, the music leads.

Music for Reels

In Reels, the first second decides whether people stay. Ask for a hook right at the opening (a beat, a “hey”, the chorus) instead of an intro that builds slowly. If the video has on-screen text, prefer instrumental or short lyrics, so people can read without competing with a sung voice.

Music for voiceover videos

In a video where someone explains a product, the soundtrack has to be instrumental and sit well below the voice. Ask for “background soundtrack, no vocals, no sudden changes” and keep the music volume low in the edit. A good video soundtrack is one nobody comments on. If the video is also made with AI, the guide on how to create videos with AI covers the rest of the path, and the AI video generator takes the track as its soundtrack.

Music for advertising, stores and corporate videos

In a paid ad, the music has to fit the cut: a strong start, no pause in the middle and an ending that lands with the offer. For store advertising (the music on the in-store radio or the storefront video), a chorus with the store’s name works better than a neutral soundtrack. For a corporate video, the opposite: an instrumental soundtrack, calm and longer, from one to two minutes.

In every case, check the video in the format it will go live in. The guide to Instagram post sizes has the dimensions for each format.

Does music created with AI have copyright?

In Brazil, the law only recognizes a natural person as the author of a work, and there is still no specific rule for music made by AI. In practice, what you can do with the track is set by the terms of the generator you used. That’s why music made with AI is not the same as copyright-free music: someone owns the usage rules, and you need to know who.

What Brazilian law says

Brazil’s Copyright Law (Law 9,610/1998) says, in article 11, that the author is the natural person who created the work. The law predates AI and says nothing about machine-generated music. Brazil’s AI framework bill, PL 2338/2023, was approved by the Senate in December 2024 and, as of October 27, 2026, was awaiting the rapporteur’s opinion in a special committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate text deals with another side of the problem: it provides that commercial use of works to train AI gives their creators a right to compensation.

Outside Brazil, the most cited reference is the U.S. Copyright Office report from January 2025: material generated by AI alone is not protected, and writing the prompt, on its own, is not enough. Protection appears when there is a perceptible human contribution, such as lyrics you wrote or an arrangement you put together.

Can I use music made with AI in an ad?

Yes, if the generator’s terms allow commercial use. It’s the first thing to check, and it often differs between the free and the paid plan. After that, three precautions that apply to any generator:

• Don’t imitate an artist or a known song. A voice that sounds like a famous singer, a recognizable melody or a piece of existing lyrics still belong to whoever created them.
• Save the request, the lyrics and the date. If anyone questions the track, it’s your record of how it was made.
• Playing it in public is a different matter. If the music will play in a store or at an event in Brazil, the collection rules of ECAD, Brazil’s public performance rights office (April 2026 revision), say that using AI does not exempt it from public performance fees.

Can you create music with AI for free?

Yes, with limits. Anyone looking to create music with AI for free almost always finds the same model: the generator runs on credits or a subscription, and free access is usually for testing, not for producing every week. Before choosing an app or website to create music, check the four limits that show up most in free plans:

• How many songs per day or per month. Each request spends credits, and each variation or extension spends them again.
• Commercial use. In several generators, a track made on the free plan can only be used in personal projects. Ads and brand posts are left out.
• Download. Some only let you listen on the platform, or download at lower quality.
• Length and features. Longer tracks, a voice chosen by name and reference audio are usually paid.

For a brand, the item that weighs most is the second. A free song that can’t go into an ad costs more than it seems, because the work of redoing it comes later, when the post is already done.

App or website to create music?

An app to create music, on your phone, is handy for listening and choosing the version where your audience will hear it. A website on your computer is better for writing the request and the lyrics calmly. What matters more than the format is where the music ends up afterward: if it has to leave the generator, go through an editor and only then reach scheduling, every step is a chance for the file to get lost.

How to add the music to Reels, TikTok and YouTube

The simplest way to use music made with AI is to embed the track in the video before publishing, during editing. That way, the music travels with the file to any network. What changes from one network to another is how it treats that sound and what it asks you to disclose.

Instagram and Facebook

When you upload a video with the music already embedded, Instagram treats the sound as original audio. If the system thinks it recognized licensed music, it switches the credit to the artist; if the detection is wrong, you can remove that credit on the audio page.

• Advantages: the licensed music library may not be available for your account type, and boosted Reels don’t accept licensed music. For these cases, the Instagram Help Center recommends royalty-free music or original audio, which is exactly what your own track is.
• Watch out: Meta’s policy asks you to use the AI disclosure tool on posts with realistic-sounding audio that was digitally created or altered. If the song’s voice sounds like a real person, add the label when you publish.

To choose the day and time of the post with the music, the Instagram posting schedule helps you plan the week.

TikTok

TikTok’s guidelines require a label on AI-made content that shows realistic scenes or people, and unlabeled content may be removed or have its reach restricted. When it launched the labeling tool, TikTok included realistic audio in the rule. When in doubt, label it: the label doesn’t take the video down, the lack of one can.

YouTube and Shorts

YouTube is the most explicit: its page on disclosing AI content lists AI-generated music among what creators must disclose at upload, and repeatedly failing to disclose can lead to the video being removed or to suspension from the Partner Program. On top of that, every uploaded video goes through Content ID, which compares the sound with rights holders’ reference files. An AI song that sounds similar to a known track may get a claim, which is one more reason to describe the sound instead of naming artists in the request.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make music with AI?

Decide where the music will play and its length, choose the type (jingle, viral, soundtrack or campaign), write a short request with style, mood, instruments and voice, decide whether the AI writes the lyrics and generate the track. Listen to the versions and adjust one thing at a time.

Does AI write song lyrics?

Yes. Most generators write the lyrics along with the music or before it, for you to review. You can also paste your own lyrics, which are sung as written.

How do you make a jingle with AI?

Ask for a 15 to 30-second song, with vocals and a short chorus that repeats the brand name at least twice. Review the lyrics before generating and test whether someone who hears it once remembers the name.

Can you create music with AI for free?

You can test it. The free plan of most generators limits the number of songs and, in several of them, doesn’t allow commercial use. To use it in a brand post or an ad, read the terms first.

Does music created with AI have copyright?

In Brazil, the law only recognizes a natural person as an author, and there is no specific rule for music made by AI. In practice, the generator’s terms apply: they say whether the track can go into a brand post or an ad.

Can I use music made with AI in an ad?

Yes, if the generator’s terms allow commercial use. Don’t imitate an artist or known lyrics, and remember that boosted Reels don’t accept licensed music from Instagram’s library: your own track counts as original audio.

How do you add AI-made music to Reels?

Embed the music in the video during editing and publish: Instagram treats the sound as original audio. If the song’s voice sounds like a real person, add the AI label when you publish.

Conclusion

In short, to make music with AI for your brand in 2026:

• Start with the place: where the music will play sets the length, the structure and whether it has vocals.
• Choose by goal: jingle, viral, soundtrack or campaign, not by genre.
• Write a short, concrete request: use, length, style, instruments, voice and what the lyrics say.
• Review the lyrics and the terms before you publish or advertise.

AI took the studio, the composer and the wait out of the way. What it doesn’t take away is the decision about what the brand wants to say and where. Start with a single song, for your next Reel, and use what you learn in the next request. To know when that Reel has the best chance of being seen, check the best time to post on Instagram.

This guide is by BestContent. To create your brand’s music and take it straight to your next post, use the BestContent Social AI music generator.