Bing Wants To Lure You Away From Google With A Free AI Video Generator
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Summary
- Microsoft’s Bing app now offers access to AI video creation without a subscription, as an alternative to Google’s Veo and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
- While Bing doesn’t charge, it has limitations like 5-second clips, lower resolution, and a relatively long wait.
- Powered by OpenAI’s Sora AI model, the Bing Video Creator appears poised to encourage user engagement with the Bing app and Microsoft’s overall ecosystem.
AI-generated video is quickly coming into its own, after Google’s Veo 3 introduced the most realistic artificial video available to consumers yet. But most people don’t need its cutting-edge abilities or want to shell out a monthly fee for access. Google’s Veo, and its OpenAI competitor Sora, require a $20/month subscription that casual users might not find worth it.
In an effort to remind people it exists and works about as well as Google these days, Bing is bringing generative AI video to the masses via its mobile app. The new Video Creator tool does come with some restrictions, but it doesn’t demand you pay up for a taste of what AI can do today (via The Verge).
Related
Meet Sora: OpenAI’s text-to-video AI
Create pro-level videos with nothing but your words
Automated video creation at no charge
With some strings attached
Source: Microsoft
The Bing Video Creator relies on Sora, the text-to-video model developed by OpenAI. The main Sora portal offers a decent amount of functionality for editing, merging, and otherwise adjusting videos after generation. It’s technically still in public beta, and only available through a ChatGPT subscription.
Bing is giving away Sora access for free, but with some caveats. It limits clips to 5 seconds instead of 20, and can (for now) only output in a 9:16 aspect ratio at a 480p resolution. Bing’s interface doesn’t offer anywhere near the diverse functionality that OpenAI’s does, and the more casual implementation is still subject to the AI model’s often-changing general use limitations on problematic content such as violence or defamatory mimicry.
Bing video generation isn’t particularly quick, either (despite the short duration), as the app cites a wait time of “a few hours” unless you use one of your allotted Fast Generations. Those prioritized prompts don’t appear to be live right after launch, but once they’re up and running, you’ll get 10 for free before you need to pony up Microsoft Rewards Points to the tune of 100 points per generation.
Given the 5-second limitation, minimal post-processing and editing tools, and lack of any way to directly purchase Fast Generations, Bing clearly isn’t trying to lure content creators or corporate marketers to its mobile app. More realistically, it’s offering something no other major app is: a taste of ever-advancing, AI-generated video running on one of today’s top models. Intertwining it with the Rewards points program implies Microsoft wants users to engage with its entire search and software ecosystem, and the Video Creator tool is one more in a long list of ways to do so.
To use the Video Creator, open the Bing app and tap the menu icon in the bottom-right corner. You’ll find the new tool in the list of apps. Just click on it, enter a carefully crafted prompt, and get ready to wait a little while.
