Google Vids adds personal AI avatars and Gemini Omni video tools

In short: Google updated Google Vids so people can make videos starring a digital version of themselves, and can also generate and edit videos using Google’s Gemini Omni.

What happened

Google announced an update to Google Vids, a video tool in Google Workspace. The update adds “personal avatars” that look and sound like the user.

To create one, a user uploads a selfie and a voice recording. Vids then makes a digital version of that person that can appear in videos, like a stand-in presenter (similar to having a virtual spokesperson read your script).

Google is also bringing Gemini Omni to Vids. Gemini Omni is Google’s AI system that can work with different types of input, like text, images, and audio. In Vids, it lets you make a video by writing what you want and adding reference images, and the system combines those inputs to produce the video.

Google says Omni can also edit existing video. For example, it can swap the background, fix lighting in a phone video, or add effects. It also supports step-by-step editing, so you can change parts of the video as you go instead of starting over.

Google says these avatars are tied to the account holder’s likeness and their Google account. The videos are also marked with an invisible SynthID watermark (a hidden label that helps identify AI-made content). Access is limited to users age 18 or older in certain regions.

Why it matters

For workplaces, this could make it easier to create training videos and company updates without getting on camera each time. It also shows Google moving Vids closer to other services that sell AI avatar videos, such as HeyGen and Synthesia.

Source: TechCrunch AI