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Welcome back to our AI article series!
After looking at AIs for research, AIs for text generation and AIs for image generation and design, we will now turn our attention to a particularly dynamic field: AI-supported video generation. Here, too, modern tools make it possible to produce impressive results with just a few inputs – from avatar presentations for training courses, to stylistically influenced social clips, to photorealistic short films that look almost cinematic.
Video generation with AI can be roughly divided into two areas of application:
- Text-to-video AI tools that create new videos based on text input
- and video editors with AI support that analyze, improve or recombine existing videos. We briefly present these in the separate section on AI-supported video editors.
In the following sections, we compare eight of the currently most important video generation tools: HeyGen, Synthesia, Pika, Runway (Gen-4), Google Veo 3, Adobe Firefly Video, Meta Movie Gen and Sora.
There are also other specialized tools such as Morph Studio, Colossyan, Hour One or BHuman, some of which offer similar functions but are more focused on specific niches (e.g. sales, newsletter personalization).
The tools presented here were selected on the basis of accessibility, familiarity, degree of innovation and variety of possible applications. The aim is to give you a practical overview of which application is best suited for which target group and purpose.
HeyGen
Marketing, content creation, international communication
- Realistic translations with lip-synchronization (60+ languages)
- Limited creative freedom; based on avatars
Synthesia
Company, E-Learning, Human Resources (HR)
- Professional avatar videos with voiceover in 130+ languages
- Fewer visual design options; more ‘talking videos’
Pika
Creators, Artists, TikTok or YouTube
- Variety of styles (anime, 3D, retro), short creative videos
- Limited realism; less control over complex scenes
Runway (Gen-4)
Indie filmmakers, designers, social media
- Many input options (text, image, video), easily accessible
- Limited motion control; not photorealistic
Google Veo 3
Advertising agencies, storytelling on the web
- Seamless scene transitions, audio integration
- Restricted access; part of Gemini Pro / Google Cloud
Adobe Firefly Video
Design teams, branding, commercial use
- License-safe, Adobe integration, simple control
- Still under development; limited creative depth control
Meta Movie Gen
Research, AI labs, Multimodal experiments
- Text, image, audio – combinable; great future opportunities
- Currently not available to the public
Sora (OpenAI)
Future of AI film production, innovation, research
- Most realistic video generation – complex physics & scenes
- Not yet publicly available; high resource requirements
Before we go into a detailed comparison of AI applications in the field of video generation, we will give you an overview of the editing functions mentioned later.
Text-to-video
Creation of a video based on a text input. The AI interprets the prompt and generates visual scenes that correspond to the described content.
Picture-to-video
An existing image is used as a starting point to create animated video sequences. The AI adds movement, perspective or background to match the image content.
Video-to-video
An existing video is changed in terms of style or content by AI – e.g. by applying a new look, motion effects or by changing objects.
Storyboard function
Enables visual planning of the video structure: individual scenes can be specifically prepared, with instructions for content, style and transitions. Ideal for longer or more complex video projects.
Style guidelines
Users can choose from predefined styles (e.g. realistic, comic, 3D render, analog filmed). These influence the look of the entire video and help with consistent branding.
Camera control (zoom, pan, movement)
Some tools offer control over virtual camera movements such as zoom or camera movements – for more dynamics and cinematic depth in the AI-generated video.
Object detection & object removal
AI can detect and seamlessly remove distracting elements in the video – such as people in the background. Tools such as Runway use this function for visual corrections.
Audio generation (music, sound effects)
AIs such as Meta Movie Gen automatically generate suitable background music or sound effects – synchronized with the action. This can also be adapted to voice sequences or moods.
Loop, Recut, Remix, Blend
With Loop, scenes can be repeated seamlessly. Recut rearranges material, Remix changes the content or sequence slightly. Blend combines two pieces of content seamlessly.
Cut & scene recognition
AI automatically recognizes scenes, speakers or visual breaks and creates cuts on this basis. Particularly helpful in video editors such as Wisecut or Pictory.
Text overlay, subtitles
Automatic insertion of subtitles or accompanying text based on language or scene. Ideal for accessibility and content on social media.
- Provider (year of release): HeyGen Inc (2020)
- Free to use: Yes, with restrictions (e.g. watermark, limited video length)
- Account required: Yes
- Premium access: Yes – from 29 $/month in the Creator plan; other options: Pro, Team and Enterprise solutions (price overview)
- Models used: Proprietary AI models for text-to-speech, avatar animation, video translation (Lip Sync); Model Context Protocol (MCP) for controlling multiple functions
- Editing options: Custom avatars (photo/video-based), over 100 AI avatars, video translation with lip-sync in over 40 languages, text-to-video function with templates, easy editing (text, music, images, background)
Who is HeyGen suitable for?
HeyGen is aimed at companies, educational institutions, marketing teams and creators who want to create professional videos quickly – without a camera, recording studio or complex post-production. The tool is particularly strong in the areas of e-learning, corporate communication and social media, especially for multilingual content with avatar presentation.
Notes on use
A precise script, the right avatar selection and targeted language settings significantly increase the quality. HeyGen offers helpful templates and AI-supported scripting. Videos can be exported quickly – but extensive post-processing should be done externally, as editing options in HeyGen are rather limited.
Legal aspects
Copyright and data protection must be observed during use. Own avatars and data may only be used with the consent of the persons concerned. Content such as brands, music or images must be protected by licensing rights – especially in the case of publication or commercial use.
Advantages and disadvantages of HeyGen summarized
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- Provider (year of release): Synthesia Ltd (2017)
- Free to use: Yes, with restrictions (e.g. watermark, limited video length)
- Account required: Yes
- Premium access: Yes – from 18 $/month in the Starter plan; further options: Creator plan and Enterprise solutions with individual prices (price overview)
- Models used: Proprietary AI models for text-to-speech, avatar animation, video translation (Lip Sync)
- Editing options: Create your own avatars, choose from over 140 AI avatars, video translation with lip-sync in over 120 languages, text-to-video function with templates, easy editing (text, music, images, background changes)
Who is Synthesia suitable for?
Synthesia is aimed at companies, educational institutions, marketing teams and content creators who want to create professional videos with AI avatars without using expensive production equipment. It is particularly suitable for e-learning, internal communication and social media content with a multilingual focus.
Notes on use
A well thought-out script and the right choice of avatar, background and language significantly increase the impact. Synthesia offers helpful templates and AI-supported scripting. Videos can be exported quickly – but extensive post-processing should be done externally, as editing options in Synthesia are rather limited.
Legal aspects
Copyright and data protection must be observed during use. Own avatars and data may only be used with the consent of the persons concerned. Content such as brands, music or images must be protected by licensing rights – especially in the case of publication or commercial use.
Advantages and disadvantages of Synthesia summarized
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- Provider (year of release): Pika Labs (2023)
- Free to use: Yes, with watermark and limited credits
- Account required: No (optional for advanced features)
- Premium access: Yes – from 8 $/month (Standard), 28 $/month (Pro) and 76 $/month (Fancy)
- Models used: Pika 2.2 (current), turbo model for fast generation
- Editing options: Text-to-video, picture-to-video, video-to-video, keyframe animation (Pikaframes), special effects (Pikaffects, PikaTwists), Lip-Sync (Beta)
Who is Pika suitable for?
Pika is aimed at creatives, content creators, marketers and educational institutions who want to quickly create visually appealing videos – without any prior knowledge of video editing. It is particularly suitable for social media content, storytelling, prototyping and creative experiments.
Notes on use
Detailed and precise prompts lead to better results. The use of keyframes (picaframes) enables smooth transitions between scenes. Slow, clear text is recommended for realistic lip-sync videos. The combination of text and image inputs can further enhance the visual quality.
Legal aspects
Pika allows the commercial use of the videos created, even in the free plan. However, users should ensure that their prompts do not violate any copyrighted content or personal rights of third parties. The responsibility for lawful use lies with the user.
Advantages and disadvantages of Pika summarized
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- Provider (year of release): Runway (2023)
- Free to use: No
- Account required: Yes
- Premium access: Yes – from $12/month (standard); other options: Pro, Unlimited and Enterprise (price overview)
- Models used: Gen-4, Gen-4Turbo
- Editing options: Text-to-video, picture-to-video, video-to-video, keyframing, camera and motion control, style transfers, lip-sync, video extension, upscaling
Who is Runway Gen-4 suitable for?
Runway Gen-4 is aimed at professional content creators, filmmakers, advertising agencies and educational institutions who want to create realistic videos with precise control over movement, style and camera work. It is particularly suitable for projects that require high-quality visual content, such as commercials, music videos or training videos.
Notes on use
Detailed and precise prompts lead to better results. The use of keyframes enables smooth transitions between scenes. Clear, slow text is recommended for realistic lip-sync videos. The combination of text, image and video inputs can further enhance the visual quality.
Legal aspects
Runway permits the commercial use of the videos created in the paid plans. However, users should ensure that their submissions do not violate any copyrighted content or personal rights of third parties. The responsibility for lawful use lies with the user.
Advantages and disadvantages of Runway Gen-4 summarized
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- Provider (year of release): Google DeepMind (2025)
- Free to use: No
- Account required: Yes
- Premium access: Yes – from €21.99/month in the Google AI Pro subscription
- Models used: Veo 3 (text-to-video with audio, based on Gemini)
- Editing options: Text or image-to-video, native audio generation (dialog, sounds, music), camera control, style presets, integration with Google Flow for longer sequences
Who is Veo 3 suitable for?
Veo 3 is aimed at professional content creators, filmmakers, marketing teams and educational institutions who want to create realistic videos with synchronized audio. It is particularly suitable for projects that require high-quality visual content, such as commercials, music videos or training videos.
Notes on use
Precise prompts and the selection of suitable styles lead to better results. Activation of ‘Experiential Mode’ is required to use audio functions. For complex scenes, integration with Google Flow is recommended to create longer sequences.
Legal aspects
Veo 3 generates realistic videos that are provided with a visible watermark and an invisible SynthID. Users should ensure that their entries do not violate any copyrighted content or personal rights of third parties. The responsibility for lawful use lies with the user.
Advantages and disadvantages of Google Veo 3 summarized
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- Provider (year of release): Adobe Inc (2023)
- Free to use: Yes, with restrictions (e.g. limited credits)
- Account required: Yes
- Premium access: Yes – from €10.98/month in the Standard plan (2,000 credits); other options: Pro, Premium and one team version each (price overview)
- Models used: Adobe Firefly Video Model, based on Adobe Sensei
- Editing options: Text-to-video, picture-to-video, camera control (zoom, pan, tilt), style presets, integration with Adobe Creative Cloud apps such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro
Who is Adobe Firefly Video suitable for?
Adobe Firefly Video is aimed at creative professionals, companies and educational institutions that want to create legally compliant AI-generated videos. It is particularly suitable for projects that require high-quality visual content, such as commercials, training videos or social media content.
Notes on use
Instructions for usePrecise prompts and the selection of suitable styles lead to better results. Integration with Adobe Creative Cloud enables seamless editing of generated videos in applications such as Premiere Pro. The use of keyframes and camera controls offers additional creative possibilities.
Legal aspects
Adobe Firefly Video has been trained with licensed content and public domain data, which enables legally compliant commercial use. Generated content contains content credentials for authentication. Users should nevertheless ensure that their input does not infringe any copyrighted content or personal rights of third parties.
Advantages and disadvantages of Adobe Firefly as a video generator summarized
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- Provider (year of release): Meta Platforms Inc (2024)
- Free to use: Currently not publicly available
- Account required: Not yet available
- Premium access: Not yet available
- Models used: Movie Gen Video (30 billion parameters), Movie Gen Audio (13 billion parameters), Movie Gen Edit, personalized Movie Gen
- Editing options: Text-to-video, image-to-video, video-to-video, precise video editing, audio generation (background music, sound effects), personalized videos
Who is Meta Movie Gen suitable for?
Meta Movie Gen is aimed at professional content creators, filmmakers, marketing teams and educational institutions who want to create realistic videos with synchronized audio. It is particularly suitable for projects that require high-quality visual content, such as commercials, music videos or training videos.
Notes on use
Usage notesMeta Movie Gen is currently not publicly available. However, Meta plans to integrate it into its social media platforms such as Instagram in the future. Its use requires precise text input and, if necessary, image material for personalized videos. The generated videos can be up to 16 seconds long, with a resolution of 1080p and synchronized audio.
Legal aspects
Meta Movie Gen was trained with licensed and publicly available data sets. The generated content contains visible watermarks and invisible markings for authentication. Users should ensure that their entries do not violate any copyrighted content or personal rights of third parties.
Advantages and disadvantages of Meta Movie Gen summarized
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- Provider (year of release): OpenAI (2024)
- Free to use: Yes, limited via the Microsoft Bing app
- Account required: Yes
- Premium access: Yes – from €23/month (ChatGPT Plus) for 720p videos up to 10 seconds; also: ChatGPT Pro for 1080p videos up to 20 seconds
- Models used: Sora, based on DALL-E 3 and GPT-4
- Editing options: Text-to-video, image-to-video, video-to-video, storyboard, remix, recut, loop, blend, style presets
Who is Sora suitable for?
Sora is aimed at creatives, content creators, marketers and educational institutions who want to create realistic videos with AI support. It is particularly suitable for short clips, social media content, commercials and training videos.
Notes on use
Instructions for usePrecise and detailed prompts lead to better results. The use of storyboards and style guides allows videos to be customized. For longer or more complex scenes, we recommend using the Pro Plan.
Legal aspects
Sora generates videos with visible watermarks and C2PA metadata to identify them as AI-generated. Users should ensure that their submissions do not violate any copyrighted content or personal rights of third parties.
Advantages and disadvantages of Sora summarized
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In addition to tools for complete video generation, AI-supported video editors are also becoming increasingly important. These applications do not replace creative work from scratch, but provide targeted support in post-production: they analyse video material, recognize scenes, cut automatically, optimize image and sound or insert text and effects appropriately. They are particularly useful for creators, agencies or marketing teams who want to edit a lot of video material efficiently.
Well-known tools in this area are:
- Descript – video editing via text editor, automatic transcription and speaker recognition
- Wisecut – automatic cutting, pause removal, subtitles, background music
- Pictory – social media clips from long videos, automatic highlights and text overlay
- Runway (Editor-Features) – AI-supported object removal, color correction, motion tracking
- Adobe Premiere Pro (KI-Tools via Sensei) – automatic cuts, suggestions for color looks, audio matching
These editors can be perfectly combined with video AI generators – for example, to create a social video with text, jump cuts and music from a clip generated with Sora.
AI-supported video generation has developed rapidly – from simple avatar presentations to photorealistic short films with sound and movement. Depending on the goal, budget and technical experience, various tools are available:
HeyGen and Synthesia are ideal solutions for beginners and companies who want to create professional explainer videos or multilingual content without production costs. Both tools impress with their ease of use, versatile voice output and realistic avatar technology.
Creative content creators and social media professionals who want to create short, dynamic clips with style and movement should take a look at Pika and Runway (Gen-4). These tools focus on stylized animations, smooth transitions and high aesthetic control – ideal for TikTok, Instagram or music visuals.
Google Veo 3 and Sora (OpenAI) currently lead the field in photorealistic AI videos with audio. They are particularly suitable for campaigns, advertising clips or innovation projects where realistic presentation is required – with the disadvantage of limited availability or high entry costs.
Adobe Firefly Video impresses above all with its legally compliant implementation and close integration with Creative Cloud apps – a clear advantage for professional designers and agencies.
Meta Movie Gen is still a dream of the future. However, when it is released, it is likely to become particularly interesting for mass-market, AI-generated video content thanks to personalization and integration into social platforms.
Some tools such as Sora or Meta Movie Gen are not yet fully accessible to the public, but their development clearly shows that AI video production will become even simpler, more accessible and more powerful in the future. At the same time, questions about copyright, transparency and limits of use are becoming increasingly important. In addition, AI-supported video editors open up new ways to efficiently cut, optimize or add automated effects to existing video material – ideal for marketing, education and content creation in everyday life.
Recommendation: If you want to create fast, professional business videos with avatars and speech synthesis, HeyGen or Synthesia are the best choice. They are ideal for explanatory videos, internal communication or e-learning. For creative short clips in social media style that impress with their aesthetics and movement, Pika and Runway offer the right tools – especially for content creators and visual storytelling. When it comes to realistic video content with sound, such as for advertising or simulations, Sora and Veo 3 deliver impressive results – provided you have access to the corresponding versions. For those who value legal compliance and design integration, Adobe Firefly Video is the best choice – especially in combination with other Creative Cloud applications.
Next, we turn to another important category: AI tools for language processing. These support the translation, transcription, summarization or rephrasing of language – both written and spoken. Especially in an increasingly globalized and digitalized world of communication, these tools play a key role – be it in everyday working life, in reducing barriers or in media production. So stay tuned – because here too there are exciting developments and powerful tools that you should know about.
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