summary
- Google has begun testing an AI-powered video editing app called Vids.
- The app is only available to Workspace Labs testers, but will be available to paid users later this year.
- Once you explain the theme and purpose of your video, Vids will use Google's Gemini AI to quickly create a storyboard and script.
Earlier this year, Google announced a new AI-powered video creation app within its Google Workspace suite. Called Google Vids, the tool helps companies quickly create internal video content, and the results look like a souped-up version of PowerPoint presentations. At the time, Google said it would start testing the feature in June, and now it looks like the company is keeping its promise: an eagle-eyed Workspace Labs user has confirmed that the app is now live and fully functional (Courtesy of Artem Russakovskii).
While you can start your video project from scratch, Google Vids has a Gemini AI integration that does all the heavy lifting for you. There's a lot that the AI can do for you – it can create slides, write a script, find relevant stock footage from Shutterstock, create a storyboard for your entire video, and more. You can then edit your video by adding or removing elements like slides, text fields, images, recordings, and export it as an MP4 file.
Compared to Google Docs, where the AI-powered Help me Write feature is tucked away to the side, Vids puts the Gemini prompt front and center. When you open a new project, you're greeted with a text field where you can describe the topic or goal of your video in a few sentences. You can also tell the AI to use a document from your Google Drive. Or, you can skip the AI integration entirely and start with one of the existing templates.
Check out this screenshot of a video created using the prompt, “Inform your employees of the latest research findings on the benefits of video games. Highlight how video games improve cognitive function, problem-solving skills, and social interaction.”
As you can see, the AI attempt is pretty basic right now, and it's not a fully automated experience. However, the app should improve in the weeks ahead before Google Vids rolls out to paid Google Workspace users. We also didn't get to see the AI-powered voice-over feature that Google demonstrated onstage in April. Still, you can try Vids for free by signing up for access to Workspace Labs.
The overall experience is reminiscent of iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, with some feature differences. In other words, Google Vids is good enough for short, disposable videos that you might only use once for school or work, and the Gemini integration means that creating these videos doesn't take much time.
