Google Adds Veo 3.1 Video Generation and AI Avatars to Workspace's Vids Tool

Google has updated its Vids video creation tool within Google Workspace with its latest AI video and audio models, including Veo 3.1 for video generation and Lyria for music, along with controllable AI avatars that can appear in generated content, Ars Technica reported. The upgrade positions Google Vids as a direct competitor to AI video tools from startups like Runway and Pika as well as OpenAI's Sora, which the company announced it was shutting down after just 15 months. While OpenAI retreats from standalone video generation, Google is deepening its investment through Workspace integration. Veo 3.1, first deployed in Gemini late last year, delivers improvements in realism and temporal consistency in generated video -- two persistent weaknesses of earlier AI video models. Google is positioning Vids not for filmmakers but for business use cases: animated marketing assets, internal sizzle reels, video greeting cards, and company presentations. The AI avatar feature allows users to select from a set of directable virtual presenters that can appear in generated videos, reducing the need for humans to appear on camera for simple video communications. Similar avatar tools have gained traction in corporate training and internal communications. Integration with YouTube has also been added, making it easier to publish Vids-created content directly from the Workspace environment. The AI features in Vids are available to paid Google Workspace subscribers with AI add-ons; free users face generation limits. Google did not disclose pricing for the standalone AI tier.