CapCut templates
Many trends spread as templates: find the right one, drop your photos in.
October 2026
Doing the AI trend on TikTok: the October list
Pick the trend, add a clear photo of yourself (or one of each person), and the clip is ready a few minutes later. Then post the trend on TikTok with its sound and the AI-generated label on. An effect is 5 seconds for 4 credits.
- Raindance is set up below
- 5 s effect: 4 credits
- In the browser, no app
1
Your photo
One photo is enough: solo or the two of you.
2
Effect
3
Video
This video: 4 credits. Ready in about 2 to 5 minutes; failed generations return your credits. View pricing
The trends
Nine AI trends on TikTok this October, and where to make each
Updated
Most AI trends on TikTok this fall start the same way: an ordinary photo goes in, and a short clip comes out with that person in a scene they never stood in. Here is what each one looks like, the photos you need, and where people are posting it.
Raindance
You on a wooden pier at golden hour as warm rain starts, singing softly to the camera like a music video. People post it with “Raindance” by Dave and Tems, a UK Number 1 in January 2026 (Official Charts); see the tutorials. You need one photo, or one photo of each person. Make it: Raindance AI trend.
Gas station dance
Three golden-hour shots: a dance on an empty forecourt, a close selfie, a step out of a black luxury car. It grew out of a real dance clip filmed at a gas station (posts). You need one full-length or waist-up photo, or one photo of each person. Make it: gas station AI trend.
AI zombie hug
On a foggy street at dusk, one of two people turns into a zombie but keeps the same face, and the other holds them in a long hug instead of running. No gore. Couples and families post it (posts). You need two people: one photo of each person, or one of both. Make it: AI zombie trend.
Halloween costume
It is October, so costume clips are in season. At a house party with carved pumpkins, a swirl of sparkles turns your clothes into a homemade costume: a witch, a vampire, a skeleton or a pumpkin. No film or brand characters. A single photo is enough. Make it: AI Halloween costume.
80s camcorder
“What would I have looked like in the 80s?” is a question people type into ChatGPT for a still (posts). This one moves: a 1985 VHS home video of you with big 80s hair in a sunny backyard, waving at the camcorder. A single photo works. Make it: 80s AI video.
Hug your younger self
You today and you as a child inside a white-framed Polaroid, turning to share a long hug. AI hugs with younger selves and lost loved ones have circulated since 2024 (Dexerto). You need a photo of you now and one from childhood. Make it: hug your younger self, or the gentler memorial hug for someone you lost.
Hotel Lobby, the rap duo
Two people in a bright orange booth with one hanging mic, rapping the way Quavo and Takeoff did on COLORS in 2022. The AI version took off from September 16, 2026 (Know Your Meme, Complex). You need one photo of each person, or one of both, on the Rap video tab: Hotel Lobby AI. Not affiliated with Quavo, Takeoff or COLORS.
Earth zoom out
The camera starts on your face and pulls back through the clouds until the whole planet hangs in space: a hook in use since 2025, often reversed as a transition (posts). You need one photo, solo or the two of you. Make it: Earth zoom out.
AI dance
You dancing head to toe in a neon-lit studio, footwork, a spin and a final pose, from just a photo of you. Make it: AI dance video. The same photo fills a court with copies of you in an AI clone video, and there are 28 AI video effects in all.
Four steps
From one photo to your TikTok post
Pick the trend
Each of the trends above is an effect in the studio. Raindance is already selected here; open the effect list for the others.
Effects → Effect
RapVideo editor · View full screenshot ↗
Open the effect picker to choose a different effect. Add a photo
A clear, front-facing photo of yourself. For two people, add two photos, or one photo of both.
Effects → Photos
RapVideo editor · View full screenshot ↗
Start with a clear photo; add a second person when the effect needs one. Keep it vertical
9:16 is already set, the shape of the For You feed and Reels.
Video settings → Format
RapVideo editor · View full screenshot ↗
Choose the frame shape in Video settings; this screenshot shows 9:16. Render, download, post
The provider estimates up to about 5 minutes. Download the MP4, upload it to TikTok, add the sound and turn on the AI-generated label.
After rendering
- Create video
- My videos
- Download MP4
Workflow diagram. After a successful render, open the video in My videos and download the MP4.
Which app?
No single app makes every AI trend
AI video apps
Some make one trend each; others want a prompt and a model picked by you.
AI Alive, inside the app
TikTok’s own AI Alive animates a single photo in Stories and labels it AI-generated (newsroom, May 2025).
This page
Runs in your browser on a phone or laptop. Nothing to install or write: each effect already describes the place, the action and the camera.
Before you post: sound, label and photos
- Add the song in the app. Each effect clip has its own original soundtrack; the song people use with the trend, such as Raindance, comes from TikTok’s sound library when you post. Pick it and turn the clip’s own sound down. Where someone sings, the mouth follows the clip’s own song, not the official one.
- Turn on the label. TikTok requires one on realistic AI-generated video: tap Add post, upload the clip, tap Next, then More options, and switch on AI-generated content (TikTok Help). It says the label does not change how the video is shown if it follows the Community Guidelines.
- Mind the faces. TikTok’s Community Guidelines do not allow AI content that uses a private person’s likeness without consent, and they count everyone under 18 as a private person. Think twice before posting a child’s face, including younger-self and family clips.
- Use a sharp, front-facing photo, and only photos you may use: your own, or a friend’s with their OK. No strangers or public figures.
What each trend costs here
| Trend | You need | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Raindance, gas station dance, Earth zoom out | One photo, or one per person | 4 for 5 s |
| Halloween costume, 80s camcorder, AI dance | One photo | 4 for 5 s |
| Zombie hug, hug your younger self | Two photos, or one of both | 4 for 5 s |
| Hotel Lobby rap | Two people | 6 for 12 s (Wan 3.0, 480p) |
The effects for these trends are 720p on Seedance 2.0 Mini, the same for one photo or two; longer or sharper clips cost more. No free video: packs start at 10 credits for $9.99, and a failed render gives its credits back. See RapVideo pricing.
Watch
TikTok AI trend tutorials on YouTube and X
Videos and posts from creators and other tools, each credited and linked to the original. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
How do I do an AI trend on TikTok?
Pick the trend here, add a clear photo of yourself or one of each person, and render. A few minutes later, download the clip, upload it, add the trend’s sound and switch on the AI-generated label.
Which AI app are people using?
There is no single one for all the trends: CapCut templates, various AI video apps, and AI Alive for photos in Stories. Here nothing is installed; each trend runs in the browser from your own photos.
How are people putting themselves in AI videos?
A video model takes the face from an ordinary photo and places it in a scene that is already written: the golden-hour pier, the gas station forecourt, the orange booth. You add the photo; the effect brings the scene and the camera move.
Can I make an AI video from a picture without an app?
Yes. This page works in a phone or computer browser. Add a photo, pick an effect, and the AI renders a short clip with your face.
How do I post the trend on TikTok with its song?
Upload the vertical MP4, choose the song from the sound library and lower the clip’s own audio. No chart song is ever inside an effect clip: each effect writes its own original soundtrack, which you can keep or mute.
How do I do the trend with my younger self?
Use the Polaroid Hug: a photo of you today and a childhood photo, and the two of you hug inside an instant-photo frame. An old print photographed with a phone works. Read TikTok’s rules on minors before posting a childhood face.
What does a trend clip cost, and how long does it take?
It is not free: AI video costs real money to render. An effect is 4 credits for 5 seconds; a Hotel Lobby rap is 6 for 12. Pack credits never expire. The provider estimates up to about 5 minutes for an effect.
Do I have to label it as AI?
For realistic AI video on TikTok, yes. Turn on AI-generated content under More options before you post; TikTok may also add a label on its own.
Which trends need two people?
Hug, Memorial Hug, Slow Dance, Polaroid Hug and Zombie; every other effect works from one photo of you, or with a friend too. The Hotel Lobby rap always has two performers.
Can I use my friends’ photos?
With their permission, or a family photo you have the right to use. Please no strangers, celebrities or other public figures.
Your turn
Pick a trend and post it tonight
One photo, 5 seconds, 4 credits.
