Should Your Brand Be Using AI-Generated Videos?
We’ve reached a point where AI-generated content is everywhere you look. From fun social media trends to written content, we’re far past being surprised at what AI can actually do. The challenge now is to work out what we should or shouldn’t be using it for and, in cases where we do embrace AI, finding out how we can do so more effectively.
AI-generated videos and AI video generator tools are a clear example of where this kind of technology is being used more and more. Tools are now sophisticated enough to generate hyper-realistic voice clones or instantly produce visuals from pretty much anywhere in the world, and this can pose a huge opportunity for brands looking to grow quickly and cost-effectively. However, the practice of using AI-generated videos is not without its downsides. If your brand is considering this to get its message out there, our response would be to approach with caution.
Why Your Brand Should Use Video In The First Place
When it comes to engaging with an audience in an authentic way, video is king. Video content helps to convey your brand and your message in a way that audiences can’t help but engage with. Whether you create product demonstrations, how-to guides (see below for an awesome recent example we created for our client, Agile Comms), or convey a sense of personality through more lighthearted content or social trends, video content portrays both what you sell or do and who you are. It’s this latter message and the unique ability to convey the right level of authenticity that proves why your brand must be using video.
Where AI-Generated Videos Might Be Handy
Whether AI-generated video can portray your brand in an authentic way is another debate entirely. There are areas where using AI-generated videos can provide a real lift. For example, if you want to visualise something incredibly abstract or need footage of a location or situation that would be physically impossible, AI might be able to help.
AI video generator tools can also help to break through creative fatigue and give you ideas or concepts to work from and put your own spin on. Tools like TikTok’s Symphony Creative Studio are genuinely exciting, with vast capabilities spanning easy remixing, avatar generation, and quick dubbing, which allow you to test new ideas and move faster when it comes to trends. It’s these kinds of enhancing and streamlining tools that encapsulate where using AI-generated videos can and will work for your brand: idea generation and bettering content that is already working, not as a shortcut to avoid building a genuine and authentic video strategy.
Why Authentic Content Is Best
Where using AI-generated videos starts to become trickier and potentially troublesome is when your content starts to lean on AI too heavily. AI video generation tools can absolutely be helpful, but there are some particularly heavy caveats to bear in mind if you’re thinking of going all-in with this video content method.
Plagiarism is a real problem
When using any form of AI tool to generate content (this applies just as much to written content as it does to video), it’s important to bear in mind that it will do so based on vast data and an ability to trawl existing content on the internet. AI is not sophisticated enough (yet…) to come up with its own original thoughts, and while you can provide it with very clear and specific prompts, what it generates will ultimately be based on creative work which already exists. If you’re leaning into AI-generated videos too heavily, you could effectively be plagiarising someone else’s work without permission and being a brand that steals creative ideas from others is never a good look.
The question of brand representation
Creating video yourself, with real people in real settings, guarantees that your brand will be represented correctly. It’s much harder to ensure that AI-generated videos feel like you, and we can promise that if you are noticing any shifts in tone or message, then your audience will notice too. This is where it becomes really obvious that there are certain things that AI video generator tools are great for, like creating footage that you might otherwise use stock footage for. What they can’t do is be you, so rule them out for things like case study videos and brand storytelling where your people simply cannot be outperformed.
Check out the promotional video we made for our clients Arborcure, which simply wouldn’t be able to convey their expertise and brand message without authentic footage:
SEO risks
Adding video content to your website can deliver a real SEO boost. However, it can also harm your site’s performance if you don’t think carefully about how the content you are using will be viewed by Google. Google (and other search engines) offer pretty clear guidance when it comes to the wider use of AI. In short, AI content that is designed to spam and manipulate rankings will be penalised and could even lead to your site as a whole being viewed pretty negatively and ranked poorly.
However, Google does state that not all AI content is viewed as spam. In its guidance, Google states:
“Automation has long been used to generate helpful content, such as sports scores, weather forecasts, and transcripts. AI has the ability to power new levels of expression and creativity, and to serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web.”
If you do want to use AI-generated videos on your website, it’s therefore vital that you make sure they offer genuinely helpful and new insights and aren’t just ripping off other people’s work to get instant rather than long-term results.
The Answer
Whether your brand should use AI-generated videos is a tricky question to answer, and our response is maybe. When used strategically and as a source of inspiration rather than your only means of creation, AI can unlock ideas that might otherwise be out of reach.
However, if every single piece of video content you put out starts to feel like it has come from the same template, your audience will probably tune out. When everything and anything is automated, the authenticity that makes video so powerful in the first place tends to get lost. It all comes back to the questions of who you are and how you want to come across. Unpick this and it will likely be clear that there is a place for AI-generated content, but it should never replace what makes your brand human.
At Fuel, we can help you shape your video content and help you to strike a balance between embracing new tools while still allowing you to do what you do best. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you want to put in place a strategy but aren’t sure where to start amidst the backdrop of AI.
In short: Video content is a must-have for brand storytelling, but the rise of AI-generated videos is starting to alter how it is made and the messages it conveys. While AI-generated video can be useful, particularly for idea generation, relying on it too heavily can land you in some pretty murky waters. Authenticity wins and you should only be using AI-generated videos to enhance your brand’s message, not replace it.
