Google’s new AI tool turns boring documents at work into eye-catching videos

Google Workspace is already packed with helpful productivity resources. However, as the world becomes more visual and attention spans shorten, Google is using Gemini to add an AI-powered video generator to its collaboration suite.

Google Vids is coming to the workspace

Following the concise style of Docs and Sheets, Google is introducing Vids, an AI-powered video creator, for select Workspace editions. That means if you use the productivity suite in the office, you can look forward to a fun new visual tool that, according to an announcement on Google’s Workspace Updates blog, is intended as a way to “tell compelling stories at work.”

The time-saving power of Google Vids

Google Vids will reportedly be able to generate videos using Google’s AI-powered assistant, Gemini. The app, which can create content based on text input, an uploaded document or a recording of your voice, appears to be the latest example of how Google’s Gemini extension is making Workspace more efficient.

The tool puts together scene suggestions based on your initial input, essentially providing a first draft of a video presentation. The draft includes background music, recommended stock footage and text, and can even create a script for recording voice-over.

But don’t worry: if you hate the sound of your own voice, Vids can do that for you too. Similar to other online tools that generate voice overs for you, Vids gives you multiple voice options to choose from.

The idea is that videos could be an incredible time saver for work presentations that you may have spent days agonizing over, such as:

• Product demos
• How-to tutorials or employee onboarding videos
• Event summaries
• Vendor outreach content
• Project or milestone updates
• Campaign or design reviews

So: Who really has access to Google Vids?

As a reminder, this tool is currently rolling out to those who manage or work on a Google Workspace platform, not general Google customers. To clarify, here is the list of subscriptions that will have access to Vids when it launches in the next few weeks:

Videos are accessible even if you or your company has a “Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education or Education Premium add-on,” says Google’s Workspace Updates blog.

Google Vids may not be capable of producing a Hollywood blockbuster (yet), but it certainly seems like a useful tool for creating productivity resources like training tutorials. As a tutorial author, I can certainly understand how videos can be helpful in walking through steps. And as a video creator, I still believe that the human touch will always be necessary, no matter how advanced AI technology becomes. Maybe it’s just the optimist in me.