Google has announced the rollout of Veo 2, its advanced AI-powered video generation model, for users subscribed to Gemini Advanced, the tech giant’s premium artificial intelligence plan.
This strategic move signals Google’s response to the competitive generative video AI space, as it positions Veo 2 as a direct challenger to OpenAI’s Sora platform.
The launch comes just weeks after leading AI media firm Runway unveiled the fourth generation of its own video model, while also securing over $300 million in new funding, underscoring the rapidly growing investor appetite in synthetic media.
Access to the tool
Starting Tuesday, Gemini Advanced users can access Veo 2 through the model selection menu within Google’s Gemini apps.
The tool allows users to create eight-second video clips in 720p resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
- These clips can be shared directly to platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, or downloaded in MP4 format.
- Each video carries a watermark enabled by SynthID, Google’s proprietary AI content tagging technology.
- However, Veo 2 comes with limitations. There is a cap on the number of videos that users can generate monthly, and the feature is currently unavailable to those on Google Workspace business and education plans.
Integration into Whisk
In tandem with the Veo 2 expansion, Google is also integrating the model into Whisk, an experimental feature within Google Labs.
- Whisk allows users to generate images using visual prompts, and a new addition—Whisk Animate—lets users animate those images into short videos using Veo 2.
- These features are gated behind Google’s $20-per-month Google One AI Premium subscription, which offers early access to the company’s experimental AI tools.
- While Veo 2’s applications remain relatively simple for now, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has hinted at more ambitious plans.
The company aims to eventually merge its Gemini models with Veo to enhance AI’s comprehension of real-world physics and dynamics.
Concerns over AI video generator
Meanwhile, the rise of generative video tools like Veo 2 has sparked concern among creative professionals.
- A 2024 study commissioned by the Animation Guild, a U.S. union representing animators and cartoonists, projects that over 100,000 film, TV, and animation jobs in the U.S. could be disrupted by AI technologies by 2026.
- Last year, Google’s major competitor in the AI space, OpenAI, launched Sora, a generative AI that can take a short text description and turn it into a vividly realistic AI video clip.
Sora can generate 1080p movie-like scenes with multiple characters, different types of motion, and background details when given a brief or detailed description or a still image. Sora can also “extend” existing video clips — doing its best to fill in the missing details, the company claims.
