What you need to know
- Google Vids is a new AI video generation tool that is currently being rolled out for testing in Workspace Labs.
- The web app creates presentation-style animations using text, images, and even narration.
- The new tool joins a growing number of AI features in Google Workspace, including “Help me write” and the Gemini sidebar.
With the flurry of consumer technology events over the past few months, you may have forgotten that Google held its Cloud Next 2024 conference in early April, where the company showed off Google Vids, an AI-based video generation app that will eventually be built into Google Workspace. Compared to OpenAI's Sora model, Google positions Vids as a more practical alternative that can be used to create presentations, slideshows, and other informational content.
The company is currently testing Vids through its Workspace Labs program, which gives beta testers the opportunity to try out experimental Workspace features before anyone else. In an email sent to people who signed up for the Labs program this week, Google urged users to try out Vids.
“Vids is an AI-powered video creation app designed for work and tightly integrated with the Workspace suite you use every day,” the email explains. “Build your story with high-quality templates or quickly create a first draft with Vids Gemini. Unleash your creativity with our royalty-free stock content library and get your message across with Vids Recording Studio — all without leaving Workspace.”
Google says Vids is currently invite-only, so not everyone can try it out. You have to sign up for Workspace Labs, but Google may randomly decide which Labs testers get access to Vids first. If you have access to Google Vids, you should have received an email from Google with a link that you can click to create your first Vids.
Notably, Google Vids appears to be built on top of Google Docs, and if you have access to the new tools in Workspace Labs, new Google Drive drop-down menu. Click it to Google Video You'll be prompted to select a Vids template from that list (the same way you would create a new Doc or Slides project), but if you look at the URL for your document, you'll see that Vids is google.com/docs/google_com/docs_google_com Japanese Domains. In the future, Vids may have its own site, but for the purposes of this Workspace Labs test, it is part of Docs.
When you try to use Google Vids for the first time, Google displays a pop-up window explaining how it works. As with other AI-based experimental features, the prompts can be reviewed by human judges, so the company warns users not to share any confidential or private information. Because the tool uses artificial intelligence, its accuracy is also not guaranteed.
The main features of Google Vids are Help me create,and it is Help me write Essentially, one of the easiest ways to get started with Vids is to fill out a few simple prompts: tell Google how you want your video to look, and it will use AI to bring your vision to life. Integration with Workspace means Vids can be served alongside the rest of your files in Drive. @ Symbol for searching saved documents.
Google then uses AI to create a sample outline for your project. If the prompt was vague or Google didn't give you an outline that matches what you were looking for, you can edit, remove, or add parts of the outline. Google Vids uses your outline to generate your video, so it's worth taking the time to refine your outline before proceeding.
You then choose from three sample designs, which are like Google Slides templates: select the one you want, and Google will prompt you to click on it. Create a draft videoAfter a little processing, your finished video will appear in Google Vids, ready to play, share, or edit to your liking.
How to use Google Vids
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Scroll through the gallery above to see how creating a Google Vid works from start to finish. I was impressed with how quick the whole process was, especially the video generation part. If you can get through the prompts easily, New Google Video From the Drive menu, you can complete your project in just a few minutes, an impressive feat considering the AI ​​has to generate the video, content, and design.
But AI is AI. While I liked the video design and transitions, the actual content was hit or miss. Google partially uses a database of stock photos and videos as source material, and sometimes the choices don't make sense. For example, my video about Android somehow included an image of the cover of a pharmacist's prescription form in the title card.
It's also worth mentioning that while Google calls it an AI video generator, Google Vids really just creates high-end slideshow presentations — it's not a true video generation model like OpenAI's Sora, which creates cinematic videos from scratch, or even something like TCL's clunky AI Movie.
That said, I think this is a perfect fit for Google Vids. If you keep your expectations reasonable, you will be impressed with this new Workspace Labs feature. I haven't been in college that long, but I would definitely have used it for presentations. I just didn't feel like learning everything it takes to create a quality PowerPoint or slide presentation. Vids does the heavy lifting for you. However, you should not trust the photos, images, or text that Vids creates. If you use Vids, be prepared to spend a lot of time polishing the final product to your liking.
