AI videos are very hit or miss. We’ve all seen the amorphous, uncanny, and sometimes creepy videos AI tools have created. But we’ve also seen AI videos that we didn’t even know were AI.
The demand for AI video content isn’t going away, and we understand why–people want a quicker, easier way to produce videos. We wanted to explore the state of AI video creation to see if AI really is the answer today. So, we set out and tried five different AI video creation tools to test their capabilities and see how close we can get to the ideal video solely with AI.
TLDR: The state of AI video makers
You still need to use a video editor, but you don’t need to be a video editor.
We wanted to make AI videos online for free, so we tried Sora, invideo AI, Veed, Adobe Firefly, and DeepAI. We created a fake company, a fake product, and highly optimized prompt to see how close we could get to a ready-to-share promo video. The results needed some work.
Where they excel:
AI video generators are great at turning existing media, like product photos, into short video clips, at least when no images of people are involved. They also make manual tasks like writing scripts, adding voiceovers, and writing on-screen captions quick and easy
Where they lack:
Most can’t create entire videos with multiple scenes. You get what you get–you can’t modify your clip. Then, it’s up to you to fire up another video editor, stitch your clips together, add text and audio, and add professional touches.
How you can use AI for video creation:
- Coming up with new video ideas
- Writing compelling video scripts
- Refining audio or adding AI voiceovers
- Writing a caption and SEO-optimizing your content
- Sometimes creating new product photos and video clips
The nitty gritty: How we put AI to the test
We wanted to give each tool a fair shot at creating a great video. So, with the help of ChatGPT, we created a script, we gathered some reference images, and we saw what they could do.
Because we wanted to discover the lowest input and highest result tools, we focused mainly on AI text-to-video generators.
Most of the tools we tested excelled at creating short, specific, non-changing AI-generated videos. Because many couldn’t generate a full, multi-scene video, we also created secondary prompts to create our video scene by scene:
The prompts:
- “Create a polished, 20-second brand awareness video for Sustainable Sips, our eco-friendly line of reusable cups. Highlight that the cups are made from recycled materials and come in a variety of vibrant colors, designed to reduce single-use plastic and paper waste. Visually feature lifestyle scenes: someone holding a cup while walking outdoors, sipping at a café, and a cup placed in a car cupholder. Overlay clean, modern text promoting our Buy 2, Get 20% Off offer. Use upbeat background music and a natural, sustainable aesthetic that appeals to environmentally conscious consumers.”
- “Create a short video of a woman holding this cup, smiling, and walking through a park.”
- “Create a video of two single-color reusable cups side by side on a countertop or a table in a cafe.”
The photos:
Invideo AI
Invideo is considered one of the leading AI-powered video generation tools currently available on the market.
Unlike some AI video generators that create entirely new visual content, Invideo takes a different approach. It transforms a text prompts into videos by stitching together stock media, pre-designed animations, auto-generated scripts, and on-screen captions.
In our evaluation, the tool functioned as expected in terms of execution, successfully generating a video based on the prompt provided. However, the final output did not meet expectations in terms of quality, relevance, or cohesion.
As you can see, it got us closer to a finalized video, but without built-in editing tools, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. Over all, we’re impressed with the output but still craving more editing capabilities.
Pros
- Solid script and accurate captions
- Good-quality stock content
Cons
- Took over ten minutes and multiple attempts to create the first draft
- You have to pay to upload your own photos or generate AI content
- Strange background noises
- Not able to select and edit certain elements, like captions, audio, etc.
Kling AI
We decided to evaluate Kling AI’s text-to-video generation capabilities by providing it with our standard test prompt. The platform processed the input by breaking it down into a scene-by-scene storyboard, which we then submitted to the rendering queue. Approximately thirty minutes later, the resulting video was delivered:
Unfortunately, the outcome fell short of expectations. To give it a fair chance, we gave it a significantly simpler prompt to see if it could create a better clip rather than a full video. The results were an improvement, but the overall quality and coherence still didn’t quite hit the mark.
The long and short of it is this: Kling didn’t deliver in terms of length, adherence to the prompt, or quality. If you’re looking to create entirely new short video clips, you’re better off using a tool that can generate results faster.
Pros
- Intuitive user interface
Cons
- Took 30+ minutes to generate
- Results varied greatly from the original prompt and the proposed video
Canva
Canva has recently introduced a suite of AI-powered features, including both text-to-image and text-to-video generation tools. To evaluate their capabilities, we tested each tool using our standard set of three prompts. Here’s what the platform produced:
Prompt 1:
Prompt 2:
Prompt 3:
Although it wasn’t possible to generate a full-length, multi-scene video, its original AI-generated content was some of the best we’ve seen. The visual results were impressive, especially given the platform's primary focus on design. Canva also offers a range of supplementary editing features, such as the ability to add text overlays and animations. While you can use these tools to add text and animations to your finished product, you can’t edit the actual video clip content.
Pros
- Lots of visual editing tools are available post-generation
- Created decent video clips for two of the three prompts
- Created video clips in under two minutes
Cons
- Not able to create full-length, multi-scene videos
- Limited prompt text field
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is a generative content tool designed to create videos entirely from scratch, rather than assembling them from pre-existing stock assets. Its strength lies in producing visually rich, imaginative fantasy-style content with impressive detail and creativity.
However, during our testing, a seemingly straightforward prompt—“Create a woman holding a cup”—produced unexpected and inconsistent results, highlighting some limitations in handling basic or literal requests.
It’s also worth noting that Firefly currently generates only short video segments, not full-length videos composed of multiple scenes.
Pros
- Created an AI-generated video in about a minute
Cons
- Could not handle text generation
- Only two attempts available with a free plan
- Have to create your video frame by frame, so you need to have a clear vision of your video before you begin
DeepAI
DeepAI also offers a text-to-video generation tool, promising fast results from open-ended prompts. To evaluate its performance, we submitted one of our standard test inputs. Here’s what it produced:
The outcome was not quite what we had anticipated. To help improve clarity and relevance, we gave it a simplified prompt and ran another test:
Not much of an improvement, right? Overall, DeepAI's output lacked the quality and consistency needed to serve as either a final asset or a foundational element for a longer video.
Pros
- Generated a one-of-a-kind clip in under a minute
Cons
- Not able to create an entire video or edit your output
- Unrealistic, unprofessional output
How to use AI to simplify video creation
As it currently stands, creating a video 100% from scratch using AI isn’t viable, so it got us thinking… is that even what video creators want? We don’t think so.
After fifteen years in the video creation space, we have seen time and time again that people still want control over their videos; they just don’t want to spend hours working on them. What we really want is a starting point, inspiration, and assistance with some of the more manual and tedious parts of video editing.
Our test revealed that in 2025, you still need to use a video editor, but you don’t need to be a video editor. Thanks to AI and user-friendly video creators, anyone can produce professional-quality videos fast.
Here’s how AI can genuinely streamline your video production process and help you cut down the effort.
Generate scripts
Your video script can save you tons of time and brainpower. By using an AI scriptwriter, you can create a perfectly tailored script that hits all your key talking points. Then, all you have to do is add your script to a video editor, add your media, and customize as normal.
Animoto’s AI scriptwriter automatically feeds your script into a drag-and-drop video editor. For each part of your script, it will even recommend what media to use so you can fill in from your library, generate a new AI image, or pull from Animoto’s stock library.
Add motion to your media
If you want to make your existing media library more dynamic, you can turn your photos into videos. That’s where Adobe Firefly can come in handy. You can use AI to build up your own image library, improve existing photos, and add motion. Then, it’s just plug and play to create a video!
Create an AI voice-over
If you’re nervous about speaking in your video but still want the personal touch of a voice-over, AI can help. Murf AI has lots of different voices and speaking styles to choose from. All you need is a script!
Refine audio
If you previously recorded a voiceover or video clip but the audio isn’t exactly professional quality, you can use AI to fix that too. LALAL makes it easy to pull exactly what you want from your audio file and leave all the background noise behind.
Come up with video ideas
In need of a little inspiration? ChatGPT, Gemini, and the like can be great sources of inspiration for your content calendar. In fact, they can build entire video content calendars for you! You can feed these tools a bit of information about your brand, product, and the type of content you want to create (engagement videos, educational content, etc.), and AI will provide you with a list of creative video ideas to choose from. Then just grab your favorite and ask it to write your script!
Write video captions & optimize for search
Creating the video is only part of the process. In order to share it with the world and ensure that it’s seen, it needs some fine-tuned copy to go with it. With ChatGPT and similar tools, you can create platform-specific captions and metadata for your video. It’s easy to tailor your prompt to produce consistently impressive results so you can fast-track this step for every video you create.
Here’s a great guide on how you can use AI for SEO.
How to make videos fast with Animoto
At the heart of AI video makers is the desire to make stunning videos fast. That has always been our goal at Animoto, and not that we have so many AI tools on our side, it’s easier than ever. Here’s how you can create a video from scratch in minutes.
- Generate your AI video script: Use Animoto’s integrated script generator to lay the foundation of your video. This guide tells you everything you need to know to create the best scripts! Then just add it to your video to get started.
- Use your script to guide the visuals: Select layouts or media frames that best showcase your content. Upload your own media or explore our free stock library to find what fits.
- Choose how to deliver your message – text, voice-over, or both: Text can highlight key points, while voice-overs add a human touch. Combine them to enhance clarity and engagement without overwhelming your viewers.
- Pick music that sets the tone: Choose a soundtrack that matches the mood of your video. If using voice-over, keep the music at a subtle background level for balance.
- Make it yours: Personalize your video with your logo, brand colors, fonts, and other elements to stay on-brand.
- Review and share with the world: Once you're happy with your video, hit the share button to download it to your device. If you’re sharing it online, you can leverage another AI tool to write your caption and metadata to ensure that your video is seen!
