Bing Offers Free AI Video But Quality Lags

The world of AI video generation is evolving at a breakneck speed, with giants like Google and OpenAI continually pushing the boundaries. We're fast approaching an era where telling AI-generated videos apart from reality could become a real challenge. However, these cutting-edge advancements are often locked behind hefty paywalls. For instance, accessing Google's top-tier Veo 3 model, capable of generating dialogue, can set you back a significant 250 dollars a month. Until recently, free AI video generation seemed like a distant dream due to its resource-intensive nature. But Microsoft is now stepping into this arena.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

In a surprising move, Microsoft is integrating a free video creator into its Bing app. While it comes with limitations, this tool, powered by OpenAI’s Sora model, allows users to generate short videos for free. But is it a viable alternative to paid services, and how does it stack up against options like Gemini’s Veo 2, which is part of Google’s $20/month AI Pro subscription?

How Bings Free AI Videos Work

Microsoft is initially rolling out its Video Creator feature on the Bing iPhone and Android apps, with web and desktop versions planned for the future. It's completely free to use, but there are some catches.

The feature is built on OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video platform, which is still in public beta and typically part of the $20/month ChatGPT Plus subscription. While Sora allows for editing and adjustments post-creation, Bing Video Creator currently lacks these options.

Bing Video Creator restricts users to 5-second videos at 480p resolution, and initially, only in a portrait 9:16 aspect ratio, though landscape options are promised soon.

Being a free platform, it operates on a system of Fast Generation credits. New users receive 10 credits, which can be used to generate videos quickly. Once these are exhausted, video generation can take a couple of hours (the app will notify you upon completion). Currently, there's no direct way to purchase more credits, but users can redeem 100 Microsoft Rewards Points for additional fast generations.

How to Generate Free Short AI Videos Using Bing Video Creator

Getting started with Bing Video Creator is straightforward. First, download the Bing app on your smartphone. Tap the Menu button (usually on the right edge of the toolbar) and select the Video Creator feature.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

You'll find a text box for your prompt and a Settings icon. Here, you can adjust aspect ratio, video duration, and generation speed. While aspect ratio and duration options are expected to expand, you can currently set generation speed to Standard to conserve your fast generation credits. Once you're ready, click "Create" to start the video generation process.

Completed videos are saved in a gallery, and you have 90 days to share or download them.

How Does Bings Free AI Video Generator Compare to Paid Options

Truly free AI video tools are rare and usually very limited. For example, Canva offers five free video generations before requiring an upgrade to Canva Pro. Runway offers a free plan with 125 credits, but in testing, this appeared to be limited to image generation, not video.

I put Bing's free video generator to the test with three prompts. The results were mixed. A prompt for a "bride in a wedding dress" produced a video of a bride twirling her body but not her head, which was quite eerie.

Next, I requested a video of someone removing a carrot cake from an oven. The AI struggled to depict the motion of a person interacting with a physical object realistically.

However, it performed well on one task: a video of a freshly brewed cup of coffee with people in the background.

Canva’s output was similarly unsettling. While there was a nice camera flash effect, hands appeared distorted, and facial expressions were far from natural.

Google’s Veo 2, a paid option, performed much better. It successfully generated a video of a smiling bride in her white dress. Although the framing was a bit too cropped, there were no issues with distorted anatomy like dislocated elbows or necks.

Currently, the video quality from paid AI video generators is significantly superior. Free options often resemble the early days of AI image generators like DALL-E, where details like fingers and hands were frequently problematic.

If your goal is to generate a very short, simple video for a company social media post or just for fun, Bing Video Creator is worth trying out. For anything requiring higher quality or more complex scenes, it's probably best to explore paid options like Google's Veo. According to testing by my colleague, David Nield, Veo is currently one of the top AI video generators available.