I spend a lot of time testing and reviewing AI, especially image and video generators. During my review process, I came up with some go-to prompts that would help me direct and give me a sense of the capabilities of each program. The first prompt I try is kind of a hopeful idea for me. I ask the program to imagine me and my friends in a warm place where you can smell the salty air and Jimmy Buffett plays nearby. (This is more atmosphere than the actual prompt.) This is what Google's latest AI video model, the VEO 3, came up with.
I admit that I had low expectations for the Veo 3 before starting with the Dream Prompt on the Beach. I've seen a few social media posts that keep an eye on Veo 3's capabilities, and have seen enough slops and hallucinations to approach them skeptically. In particular, Google's AI creative products have always felt like they were being thought a little bit for me. This is what the company adds to its wide range of Gemini products to compete with other tech heavyweights. However, this year at the company's annual I/O developer conference, Google's Imagen 4, VEO 3 and Flow all took the central stage. So I'm going to jump into veo3.
Without ruining anything, I'm off VEO and feel this is the next natural step for Google. However, there are serious limitations and nuisances I hope to deal with soon. This is how my experience went and what you need to know.
VEO 3 Availability, Pricing, Privacy
VEO 3 is currently available to Gemini Ultra users, US and Enterprise Vertex users. In other words, you need to pay to play with the new VEO. Ultra is Gemini's latest and best tier, costing $250 a month. (Currently for three months, it's half off at $125 a month.) Vertex is Google's AI enterprise platform, and you'll know if it's accessible.
If you don't want to pay hundreds of dollars to access Google's AI video tools – and I won't blame you – you can try VEO 2 with Google AI Pro plan. I found that a free trial of a month is enough time to figure out if I'll pay a $20/month fee to continue doing it. For more information, you can see practical testing on that model.
According to Google's Gemini Privacy Policy, the company recommends not sharing sensitive information with Gemini, as it can collect information and improve its technology. I also agree to Google's prohibited usage policy. This prohibits the creation of abusive or illegal content.
My Wild Ride in VEO 3
The most impressive thing about VEO 3 is its new audio generation features. You don't need to tell the Gemini what you want to make a sound at the prompt. It will be added automatically. This is the first of its competitors such as Openai's Sora and Adobe's Firefly, giving Google a huge advantage.
AI audio is a great perk, but it's not perfect. If you are familiar with the somewhat clunky nature of AI-generated music and dialogue, you can quickly identify it. But there was a time when it flowed more naturally. The clashing metal sounds and groans in my alien battle scene were perfectly timed for their attacks. But instead of making those sounds, dinosaur-like aliens literally say “ro” and “hiss.”
My kayaker's paddling almost coincided with the sound of water sloshing. The natural vibe of that video is particularly lovely, adding a layer of depth that AI videos lack. My dream beach bonfire party didn't sound like any party I've ever been to, but it's still relatively unissential in the first place.
Of course, the audio was great, but it doesn't take away the strange eccentricity that continues to bother the AI generator. I came across some hiccups. It's mostly people's faces, and it's notorious that AI imitates it. However, it appears that the new generation has made a real improvement, as Google claimed, compared to the obvious and obvious errors I encountered with VEO 2.
As I'm encountering hallucinations when testing AI images and video generators, the first thing I do is look for whether the service gives me the ability to edit it. VEO 3 does not offer any of these. This is a shame. Certainly, it's not very useful for professional creators who are used to more tweaking editing tools and need to make accurate adjustments to their projects. You can send a follow-up prompt to ask for specific changes. For example, I asked VEO to change the angle of the previous video and was able to see her face, which had the program handled well.
However, with VEO 3, you usually have to wait 3-5 minutes for a new edited video to load. VEO 3 has the longest generation of time among the AI video generators I have tested. However, adding audio to the video excuses a long wait in my eyes.
The worst part about VEO 3 is how quickly the daily generation limits hit. After just five videos, I was banned for the entire 24 hours. Josh Woodward, VP of Google's Gemini and Google Labs, said in a X/Twitter post that Ultra subscribers like me are the most common generations who reset daily with the regular Gemini app and Flow. And for me, the limits of Gemini were five videos. According to Woodward, the Flow limit is 125.
I reached out to Google to clarify what the daily limits ultra users will create through Gemini, as Woodward refers to. “Google AI Ultra subscribers will receive the highest level of access to VEO 3, the cutting edge video generation model that can be used in both the Gemini app and Flow.”
The limitation is another indication that this is not a tool aimed at professional creation and repetitive editing. You need to spend time thinking about creating prompts. If Google covers your face or glitches, your credits can run out quickly and become unlucky. VEO 3 is suitable for AI enthusiasts who want to dip their toes into video creation, not creators experimenting with AI.
Is VEO 3 worth the cost?
After gaining overwhelming experience with VEO 2, I have reserved what to expect from the usefulness and accuracy of VEO 3. However, the new model was impressive.
Let me be clear: there is no reasonable reason to spend hundreds of dollars on a Gemini Ultra Plan. Just use Veo3. If you want to dabble for fun, you can do it with hundreds of people per month with Veo 2. Ultra Plan offers other features, including YouTube Premium, 30 terabytes of space and access to the latest Gemini models. So if you want these, yeah, pay with YO 3 and go play. But that's not worth it.
VEO 3 is not an innovative upgrade that will lead these social media posts to believe you. It's the next generation, better than last month's VEO 2, and shows true promise in Google's future AI video efforts. But if you want to try it, be prepared to pay.
