Google avatars shake up workplace video making
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Google Vids AI avatars. Image credit: Google
Google Vids is now providing users of the workplace video creation tool with a set of pre-made avatars for use in brief AI-generated videos, the company said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The rise of cheap, convenient AI video generation threatens jobs for video producers, editors, camera operators and even commercial actors.
How it works: Users write a script, select an AI avatar and generate videos for training, demos, onboarding and more.
- Teams can collaborate directly in the Vids app, the same way you can simultaneously work on a Google Doc or Sheet.
- Those who prefer to appear as themselves can record video and let AI clean up their look and sound.
- Google says the tool is ideal for teams without the budget for pro video or as a starting point for bigger companies to create initial drafts quickly and cost-effectively, even though they might ultimately hire an agency and professional actors.
Zoom in: The new features are available to Google Workspace business and enterprise customers and subscribers to Google AI Pro or Ultra.
- Vids includes noise cancellation, new backgrounds, filters and appearance options, similar to Google Meet.
- A "transcript trim" feature lets users automatically remove filler words and awkward pauses — tedious work once done by paid professional editors.
- A basic Vids editor (without AI capabilities) is now free for all users.
What they're saying: Vishnu Sivaji, director of product management at Google Workspace, told Axios that he often has to record videos of himself for projects at work and he hates doing it.
- "Most of the time I'm speaking too fast, too slow, or I'm using a lot of filler words," Sivaji says. Vids cleans up the video in a few clicks.
- And if you're not in a position to record the video at all, you can use one of the AI avatars. "You always have an actor who is studio ready," Sivaji adds.
Catch up quick: Google kicked AI video into high gear in May with the launch of Veo 3.
- Google, OpenAI, Runway and other AI startups already had capable video tools on the market, but Veo 3 generated more realistic videos and added sound.
- Last month Google launched a new feature powered by Veo that allows users to turn still images into eight-second videos with sound. That makes it appealing for companies who want to produce their own promo videos on the cheap by simply uploading a product shot.
Yes, but: Social media is already lousy with AI slop videos that are getting harder to tell from the real thing.
- Uncertainty about what's real creates an environment ripe for malicious actors to spread misinformation.
- Google and OpenAI have strict content rules to try to limit creation of deepfakes. But Elon Musk's Grok Imagine video tool — released earlier this month — reportedly includes a "spicy mode" that "does nudity," according to TechCrunch.
- Vids doesn't allow users to upload photos of famous people or any photos of minors.
The other side: Google Vids and its rivals aren't going to replace all human involvement in video-making anytime soon.
- For now the higher-level work of shaping the story and crafting a product message still requires human creativity.
- Suggesting that AI video tools remove the need for humans in video production is like suggesting that spreadsheets removed the need for humans to do math, Sivaji says.
- "There is always going to be a role. I think just how you operate on that role changes," he says.
The bottom line: AI video is no longer a novelty. With more than a million people already using Google Vids, the shift is happening fast — and the disruption to creative jobs could follow even faster.
