New Google Vids product lets you create custom videos with AI assistance

All major vendors are looking at ways to use artificial intelligence to help customers develop creative content. On Tuesday, at its Google Cloud Next customer conference in Las Vegas, Google unveiled a new artificial intelligence video creation tool called Google Vids. When released, the tool will become part of the Google Workspace productivity suite.

“I want to share something truly new. On Google Cloud Next, we launched Google Vids, a new artificial intelligence-driven work video creation application.” Aparna Pappu, vice president and general manager of Google Workspace, introduced said the tool.

The idea is to provide a video creation tool, along with other workspace tools such as Docs and Sheets, with similar functionality for creating and collaborating in the browser (except for videos in this case). “This is your video editing, writing and production assistant, all in one,” Papp said. “We help you turn an asset you already have—whether it’s marketing copy, images, or something else on your hard drive—into a compelling video.”

Like other Google Workspace tools, you can collaborate with colleagues in real time in your browser. “No need to email files back and forth. You and your team can work on the story at the same time and use all the same access controls and security we provide for all workspaces,” she said.

Image Source: Google Cloud

The types of videos people create using Google Video include product launches, training content, or videos celebrating their team. Like most generative AI tools, Google Vids starts with a prompt. You enter a description of the video’s appearance. You can then access the files in Google Drive or use stock content provided by Google, and the artificial intelligence will go to work creating a storyboard of the video based on your ideas.

You can then reorder different parts of the video, add transitions, choose a template and insert an audio track where you recorded the audio or add a script and a preset voice will read it. Once you’re satisfied, you can generate the video. During this process, colleagues can comment or make changes, just like with any Google Workspace tool.

Google Vids is currently in limited testing. In June, it will be rolled out to other testers in Google Labs and eventually available to Gemini for Workspace subscription customers