What It Does

Audio Ad Production is a full pipeline for creating ready-to-upload audio ads for Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and programmatic audio platforms. You provide a topic and a few settings. ILLIXIS handles the rest: AI script writing, professional voiceover, original background music, and broadcast-standard mixing.

The pipeline runs in three automated stages. First, ILLIXIS writes three distinct script variations so you can A/B test different creative angles. Second, after you pick a script, AI voice generation creates a professional voiceover and AI music generation composes original royalty-free music (no stock library, no licensing issues). Third, the mixing engine combines voiceover and music with volume ducking, fade in/out, and LUFS normalization to meet platform loudness standards. The output is a downloadable MP3 and WAV file.

Total production time is roughly 90 seconds after you approve a script.

Getting Started

The Audio Ads dashboard shows all your audio ads organized by status. Filter using the tabs at the top:

Tab	What It Shows
All	Every audio ad regardless of status
Draft	Ads being created or generating scripts
Script	Ads with scripts ready for review
Producing	Ads currently generating voiceover, music, or mixing
Complete	Finished ads ready for download

To create your first audio ad, click the "Create Audio Ad" button on the dashboard.

Creating an Audio Ad

The create form collects the information ILLIXIS needs to write your scripts. Required fields are marked with an asterisk.

Field	Required	Description
Ad Title	Yes	A name for this ad (e.g., "Summer Sale 30s Spotify Ad"). Internal only -- not used in the script.
What are you advertising?	Yes	Describe the product, offer, or message. Include key selling points, pricing, and any details the ad should mention. The more specific you are, the better the scripts.
Duration	No	15, 30, or 60 seconds. Defaults to 30 seconds. See "Duration Options" below for word count targets.
Ad Type	No	The structural template for the ad. Defaults to Direct Response. See "Ad Types" below.
Voice	No	The AI voice for the voiceover. 7 options: 4 female (Rachel, Charlotte, Matilda, Lily) and 3 male (Adam, Daniel, Charlie). Defaults to Rachel.
Tone	No	The delivery style. Options: Professional, Energetic, Conversational, Warm, Urgent, Authoritative, Friendly. Defaults to Professional.
Music Style	No	The background music genre. Options: Acoustic, Modern, Cinematic, Electronic, Ambient. Defaults to Modern.
Target Audience	No	Who the ad is aimed at (e.g., "Small business owners aged 30-50"). If left empty, falls back to the target audience configured in your brand settings.
Call to Action	No	What the listener should do (e.g., "Visit example.com" or "Call 1-800-EXAMPLE"). Included at the end of each script variation.

After submitting, ILLIXIS immediately begins generating three script variations. You are redirected to the Script Review page, which polls for completion automatically. Script generation typically takes 15-20 seconds.

Script Review

Once generation completes, you see three script cards laid out in a grid. Each card represents a different creative approach:

Variation	Approach	Description
1	Emotional Hook	Leads with a feeling, aspiration, or relatable moment
2	Stat-Driven Hook	Leads with a surprising number, fact, or bold claim
3	Question Hook	Leads with a thought-provoking question

Each card displays:

The script text
Word count and estimated duration
A music suggestion (the AI's recommended background music mood for that variation)

Selecting a script. Click "Select This Script" on the card you want. The selected card gets a highlighted border, and an edit area appears below the grid.

Editing a script. After selecting, you can modify the script text in the editor. A live word count shows your current count relative to the target, color-coded:

Green: within 10% of target
Yellow: within 25% of target
Red: more than 25% off target

Click "Save Edits" to save changes. The word count and estimated duration update immediately.

Regenerating scripts. If none of the three variations work, click "Regenerate All Scripts" at the bottom of the page. This creates three entirely new variations using the same ad settings.

Production Pipeline

After selecting (and optionally editing) a script, click "Produce Audio Ad" in the page header. Production runs three steps sequentially, all fully automated:

Step	Service	Duration	What Happens
Voiceover	AI voice generation	~30 seconds	Converts your script to spoken audio using the selected voice. Generates word-level timestamps for precision.
Music	AI music generation	~50 seconds	Composes original royalty-free background music based on the music style and the selected variation's music suggestion. Duration is matched to the voiceover plus a 2-second tail.
Mixing	Audio engine	~2 seconds	Combines voiceover and music. Trims or loops music to fit. Applies volume ducking during speech, fade in/out, and LUFS normalization to -14 LUFS (Spotify/IAB standard). Exports MP3 (192kbps) and WAV (16-bit, 44.1kHz).

You are redirected to the Preview page, which shows a spinner and the current production step. The page polls every 3 seconds and refreshes automatically when production completes.

Preview and Download

The preview page appears once production finishes. It contains four sections:

Stats bar. Four metrics at the top:

Duration (seconds)
LUFS (loudness measurement -- target is -14 LUFS)
Word count
Total production cost

Waveform players. Three audio tracks with waveform visualization powered by wavesurfer.js:

Track	Waveform Color	Description
Final Mix	Gold	The complete audio ad, ready for upload
Voiceover	Blue	The isolated spoken audio
Music	Green	The isolated background music

Each track has play/pause controls and a time display. Playing one track automatically pauses the others.

Download cards. Two download options:

Format	Specs	Best For
MP3	192kbps	Uploading to ad platforms (Spotify Ad Studio, Pandora AMP, etc.)
WAV	16-bit, 44.1kHz	Lossless audio for further editing in external tools

Regeneration options. Three buttons at the bottom:

"New Voiceover" -- regenerates only the voiceover (keeps existing music, then re-mixes). You can also change the voice during regeneration.
"New Music" -- regenerates only the background music (keeps existing voiceover, then re-mixes). You can provide a custom music prompt.
"Re-Mix" -- re-runs the mixing step with the existing voiceover and music. Useful after adjusting mix settings (volume, ducking, fades).

Regeneration

After production, you can regenerate individual components without starting from scratch. Each regeneration triggers a new mix automatically.

Voiceover regeneration. Generates a new voiceover from the same script text. You can switch to a different voice at the same time. After the new voiceover is generated, the system automatically re-mixes it with the existing music.

Music regeneration. Generates new background music. You can optionally provide a custom music prompt to override the AI's suggestion. After the new music is generated, the system automatically re-mixes it with the existing voiceover.

Re-mix. Re-runs the mixing step with adjusted parameters. The mixing service uses the following settings:

Setting	Default	Description
Music volume	-12 dB	Volume of music relative to voiceover
Duck during voice	Enabled	Lowers music by an additional -8 dB during voiceover sections
Fade in	500 ms	Music fade-in at the start
Fade out	1000 ms	Music fade-out at the end

Regeneration counts are tracked per ad. There is no hard limit on regenerations, but each regeneration incurs the same usage cost as initial generation.

Ad Types

Each ad type provides a specific structural template that guides the AI's script writing.

Ad Type	Structure	Best For
Direct Response	Hook > Offer > Urgency > CTA	Sales, promotions, limited-time offers
Brand Awareness	Scene-setting > Brand story > Emotional connection > Tagline	Building brand affinity, top-of-funnel
Testimonial	Problem (before) > Discovery > Result (after) > CTA	Social proof, customer stories
Problem / Solution	Pain point > Agitate > Solution > Proof > CTA	Addressing specific pain points
Announcement	News hook > What's new > Why it matters > How to get it	Product launches, new features, events

Duration Options

Duration determines the target word count. Scripts are written at approximately 2.7 words per second, which is standard pacing for audio advertising.

Duration	Word Count Target	Tolerance	Best For
15 seconds	~40 words	36-44 words	Quick recall, retargeting, bumper ads
30 seconds	~80 words	72-88 words	Standard ad unit, most common format
60 seconds	~160 words	144-176 words	Storytelling, detailed offers, brand building

The 30-second format is the most widely used in audio advertising and is the default.

Usage Limits

Audio ad production is a quota-based feature. Usage is checked before script generation.

Plan	Audio Ads per Month	Overage
Trial	2 total	N/A
Starter	5	$1 per additional ad
Professional	20	$1 per additional ad
Enterprise	100	$1 per additional ad

One "audio ad" counts as one complete production -- script generation through final mix. Regenerating voiceover, music, or re-mixing an existing ad does not count against your quota.

Related Guides

Spotify Ads -- Setting up and managing Spotify Ad Studio campaigns
Voice Library -- Custom voice cloning and voice management
Brand Music -- Music generation and brand sound identity

Audio Ad Production