Google makes free 1080p AI video generation available to anyone

Google makes 1080p AI video generation free in Google Vids for anyone with a Google account. Google announced the rollout on September 23. The browser-based editor uses Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash to turn text prompts, photos, audio, or existing clips into video. A test generated videos at 720p in horizontal and vertical formats. Google added scene extension controls that preserve lighting, characters, and settings. Users can set an exact scene duration for scripts or voiceovers. Users can upscale older AI clips to 1080p. Every generated video contains an invisible SynthID watermark in its frames. Google's SynthID Detector can check whether a clip was AI-generated. A short video took less than 30 seconds to generate in a test. Personal accounts receive a standard free allowance. Paid AI plans provide more generation capacity. Workspace Business and Enterprise subscribers receive larger pools and team administration controls. Gemini Omni launched in May 2026 as a paid feature for Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers. OpenAI shut down the Sora 2 consumer app and website in April 2026. OpenAI's developer API went dark on the same day as Google's free Vids rollout. Google recently cut Veo 3.1 Lite API pricing to $0.05 per second. Google says Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite text-to-speech will provide voiceover narration in more than 100 languages.