Google is rolling out a new AI-powered video creation tool for work related projects, called Google Vids. The new AI tool can generate a storyboard that can be edited, and after choosing a style, it can piece together a first draft with suggested scenes, images, and background music.
It is no secret that companies like Google have been going all in on AI. With the AI craze has come nifty tools that have already helped businesses and individuals streamline their workflow, with solutions such as AI-enabled search, chatbots, text-to-image generators, and more recently AI-powered video creation tools. One of the more astounding AI-generated video tools announced has been OpenAI’s Sora. So, it is no surprise that Google is placing some of its focus on its own video creation tool to stay relevant in the overall AI race.
In Google’s press release, it highlighted several new tools coming to Google Workspace, with Vids being one of them. The tech giant remarked “Vids includes a simple, easy-to-use interface, and the ability to collaborate and share projects securely from one’s browser.” It added that this “new app can help anyone become a talented storyteller at work.”
In an interview, Google’s VP of product management for the Workspace collaboration apps, Kristina Behr, remarked the main goal for apps like Vids is to make everything as easy as possible for everyone. “The Ethos that we have is, if you can make a slide, you can make a video in Vids,” explained Behr. “No video production is required.”
For those hoping that Vids will magically create Sora-like videos, they will be greatly disappointed, it seems. While Vids will take a lot of the work out of creating a video presentation, it will still only be a glamorized moving slide presentation in the end.
With that said, there are still major advantages to this upcoming tool, such as access to stock videos, images, and backgrounds that can be used to spice up the presentation. It will also give access to other tools, such as being able to use Google’s pre-set voice overs, or the individual’s own voice. Google adds collaboration between workmates will also be made easy and secure from any browser. Google sums it up as being a video, writing, production, and editing assistant all-in-one.
Behr adds that once someone has created something in Vids, the production can be shared with others who can leave feedback, and even edit the video themselves. “You can export it to an MP4 if you wanted,” explained Behr in her interview with The Verge. She also added that Google aims to integrate Vids with all the other Workspace apps, making it a work product for workers. She commented, “We’re trying to make sure we’re really supporting that use case, you know?”
Google Vids will launch in June 2024 in Workspace Labs.