Best AI Video Generators For Content Creation

AI Improve Tools
Aug 4
15 min read

Updated: Aug 5

AI generated videos have arrived, and it's time to welcome them. The AI video generators discussed here will help streamline your content creation process, save you time, and improve the quality of your final product. Many offer free plans or at least a trial period, allowing you to explore them before committing. Be sure to allocate some time to determine which one best fits your needs and those of your team. Then, start creating.

From advanced video editing software to generative text-to-video applications, there are tools available to assist with any task you have in mind: whether it's managing your own YouTube channel, producing more engaging social media content, or repurposing material to keep your business's online presence fresh.

The top AI tools for video creation enable you to enhance your production quantity and quality without increasing the time spent on it. They reduce the time from script to final product by offering templates, tools to speed up editing, and shortcuts for refining audio and video.

There are three broad categories in this list.

Video editors with AI editing tools, meant for speeding up the editing process.
Generative apps that take your prompts and generate a video output on the spot using a generative AI text, audio, image, or video.
Video productivity apps that use AI to help you create content faster for multiple marketing channels or platforms.

Regardless of these sub-categories, here's what I looked for as I searched for the best AI video generator:

AI. All these apps use artificial intelligence to power their features.
High-quality video output. These apps should let you export video that can run beautifully on small or large screens. All the apps on this list export to 720p at worst and 4k at best, in a variety of aspect ratios.
Customization. Can you add your own content? How much can you customize? Is it easy to make changes?
Support and ease of use. Since AI video editing is a new-ish thing, I was looking for apps that beginners could use; that includes offering content to help you take advantage of all the possibilities.
Unique features. Some apps bring their unique spin to video creation or offer something that's useful to improve productivity, production value, or both.

Best AI video generator for amazing videos with simple prompts

Sora (Web)

Sora pros:

Unique toolbox of AI video generation features
Easy to control the AI model

Sora cons:

Watermark in the lowest paid plan

After much anticipation, OpenAI's Sora video model is now available, capable of creating stunning scenes from simple text prompts. This sets it apart from competitors that require significant engineering and trial-and-error. Currently, it's only accessible in the US: residing in the UK, I watch with envy and anticipation.

Accessible through ChatGPT, there are two ways to begin from scratch. The first is the traditional text-to-video method: type your desired scene, press enter, and wait for it to render. The second method is unique compared to competitors: Storyboard allows you to add scenes sequentially, writing a prompt for each. Upon rendering, Sora generates the video in sequence, ensuring visual consistency across cuts.

Besides starting from your own words, you can also remix others' creations. Select your favorite creation from the dashboard to view the original prompt. You can modify or edit this, determining its influence on the final result. If you prefer to start from an image, you can upload your content to the app and animate it with your instructions.

Although Sora is an advanced video model, it still faces challenges with object permanence, interactions, and dynamic movements. Human and animal movements may appear odd, but landscapes are breathtaking. The uncanny movements don't affect cartoon-like aesthetics at all.

If you're fortunate enough to be in the US and a ChatGPT Plus subscriber, open a new browser tab and explore. For those of us elsewhere, let's resist refreshing too often: check out Marques Brownlee's video for the best insights on the tool.

Best AI video generator for generative AI with advanced tools

Runway (Web, iOS)

Runway pros:

Advanced AI tools for unique results
Great help content

Runway cons:

Steep learning curve, it's hard to control the AI model

Runway acts like a magic wand, transforming your imagination into pixels using just words and an initial image. It requires more prompt engineering than Sora, but there's a top-notch Academy to help enhance your skills.

The main highlight is Gen-3 Alpha, a high-fidelity video generation model. Begin crafting your prompt by detailing the camera movement and aesthetics, then describe the scene's content, and finish with extra details (here's a prompting guide to help you predict the results). It's available only with a paid plan and consumes credits quickly, but it's incredibly enjoyable to brainstorm ways to control the output.

One of its standout features is Act One. Choose a skilled actor from the real world, provide them with a script, and start filming. Then direct them on emotions, facial expressions, and voice inflections. Finally, upload the recording into Runway and integrate that performance into any character, bringing AI-generated content to life.

However, text-to-video isn't the only capability. Runway offers a wide range of AI-powered tools to remove backgrounds, create super-slow motion videos, and generate subtitles—among many others that work with sound and static images. The platform has a strong video-editing feel, yet all the tools are surprisingly user-friendly, even if the underlying processes are complex.

Can Runway fully replace real-world footage? Not yet, and perhaps never. But if you have imaginative, abstract projects needing mind-bending visuals, this is definitely your best choice. Be sure to click the Runway Watch tab to view AI film festival submissions and explore the narrative and visual possibilities.

Best AI video generator for editing video by editing the script

Descript (Web, Windows, Mac)

Descript pros:

Intuitive controls
Edit video by editing the transcription

Descript cons:

Transcription is inaccurate from time to time

Initially, it creates a transcript of everything you say and organizes the video track into scenes automatically. Instead of scrolling through the timeline to split or trim, you can simply highlight the sections of the transcript you want to remove, and Descript will edit them out for you. There's no need to constantly check if the cut is smooth: you can edit video just like editing a text document.

Once you've managed the script, you can break your video into scenes. To do this, type a forward slash in the script to separate each scene. You'll see this action splits the video on the vertical timeline on the left. This allows you to add elements like B-roll: click on the scene's image, then access the media library at the top. You can search for high-quality stock video and incorporate it into your project without leaving the editor window.

With these editing capabilities, you can speak freely while recording, knowing you won't need to review everything from start to finish to find the best parts. But there's more: Descript provides additional impressive AI features with its Underlord toolkit, enabling you to enhance audio to studio quality, use auto multicam to switch to the current speaker, and even create highlights and clips for posting on short-form social media platforms.

Best AI video editor for polishing your video with AI tools

Wondershare Filmora (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android)

Wondershare Filmora pros:

Traditional video editing tool with AI features
Lots of learning resources

Wondershare Filmora cons:

Runs slow on low-end computers

So, what are these AI features? Here's the shortlist:

AI smart cutout lets you cut objects out of scenes by painting their area on the screen.
AI audio denoise helps you keep background noise under control.
AI audio stretch helps you stretch music for eight seconds longer to match a cut to another scene.
AI motion tracking lets you identify and blur faces to maintain privacy (or paste funny faces to make meme videos—your choice).
AI remove background lets you paste an image of a runner jogging on the moon without the billions in space program investment (or risk of death).
AI silence detection lets you remove hesitations and make snappy jump cuts without hassle.
Audio-to-video turns your podcast talks into videos that look good on social media.

All these features are user-friendly, coming together to form a comprehensive video editing app. If you encounter any difficulties, Wondershare provides detailed landing pages on their website for each feature. There are numerous other creative and productivity tools, including a template library that quickly assembles a video from your footage, and auto beat sync, which ensures your cuts are in sync with the music on your audio track.

If you're interested in exploring Wondershare's approach to AI avatar media, be sure to check out Virbo, their platform for creating synthetic talking head videos.

Best AI video editor for simplifying video production workflows with AI

Capsule (Web, prefers Google Chrome)

Capsule pros:

Easy to create and apply design systems
Apply dynamic visual elements with a few clicks

Capsule cons:

Requires tweaking before exporting to different channels

Producing videos with precise editing, sharp visuals, and consistent branding is challenging, especially without an in-house media expert for final refinements. With Capsule, you don't have to compromise on quality or spend a fortune on talent to achieve a polished look.

The platform's features are designed to assist businesses in overcoming video challenges as they grow. After uploading your clips, you'll receive a transcript, and you can edit the video simply by deleting words you wish to remove. Adding effects may seem complex initially, but becomes intuitive once you learn: highlight the transcript section and choose whether to add a Capsule design or your own media as B-roll.

Capsule designs significantly enhance the platform's value. There's no need to manually add and format text based on the information you want to display. Instead, these elements are pre-designed for specific uses, making it easy to incorporate speaker identification, dynamic captions, and stylish calls to action into your videos.

All of these elements are animated, subtly fading in and out, sometimes expanding or contracting to draw attention in a minimalist way. The aesthetic is appealing and complements the content, adding a professional touch that would take hours to achieve in a traditional video editor. While AI operates in the background, you can click CoProducer at the top of the screen to automatically cut gaps, suggest a soundtrack, and elevate your original audio to studio quality.

Best AI stock assembler for producing social media videos

invideo AI (Web)

invideo AI pros:

AI tool extras available, such as text-to-clip
Editing with text prompts is accurate

invideo AI cons:

Interface is a bit confusing

Invideo AI is committed to the idea of transforming a prompt into a nearly publish-ready video with just one input.

Version 3.0 is significantly more advanced than its previous version. Simply enter your prompt, tweak the controls to set the style or audience, and click Generate. As the video is being created, which takes some time, you can switch tabs and attend to other tasks.

Behind the scenes, invideo AI is hard at work:

It's turning your prompt into a video script.
Based on that script, it searches stock media libraries for the best-matching content based on the topics—or generates video with AI, if you chose that setting at the start.
It assembles all the clips into a single video, adding an AI voiceover, text overlays, music, and transitions.

If you wish to refine this initial draft, there are two methods to consider. The first involves clicking the Edit button, which opens a pop-up with basic controls. You can replace suggested footage with your own, modify the script, or change the music. However, the most effective and impressive way to edit is by using prompts: type "add subtitles" into the editing input field, and instantly, subtitles appear in your video. This applies to almost everything else, allowing for quick adjustments on the go.

This makes invideo AI an excellent choice if you're managing a social media channel that relies on faceless videos or requires a lot of B-roll footage, streamlining the production process and enhancing scalability. For more variety in stock media, consider upgrading to one of the higher-tier paid plans, as the lower tiers don't provide complete access to all the resources.

Best AI video generator for content marketing teams

Peech (Web, prefers Google Chrome)

Peech pros:

Intuitive workflow
Customizable design for video visual elements

Peech cons:

Steep pricing

Does the thought of repurposing content exhaust you before you even begin? I completely understand. Continuously working with the same materials to produce content for various channels, each with its specific audience and technical requirements, isn't anyone's idea of fun. Peech will streamline this process for you.

Start by adding your brand kit. Input your logo and color scheme, and Peech will automatically apply these elements to brand all your videos. It will also recognize faces and prompt you to enter their name and role in your company as you upload content.

With each new video you add, Peech incorporates these elements along with customizable subtitles—I appreciate how you can emphasize specific words by applying your brand colors to make them stand out. The initial draft Peech provides is already quite good, so you won't need much time for adjustments. However, if you wish to make changes, the app offers a transcript and timeline to help you select additional sections. In this editing screen, you can also remove awkward pauses and cut filler words to keep your content concise and engaging.

Peech is designed for scalability, offering shortcuts to enhance content quality without taking up more of your time. Adding a background will make your video stand out, facilitating the integration of text and other visual elements with real-world footage. You can also click the Intro & Outro tab in the editor to quickly add these segments to each video, reinforcing branding and introducing a call to action. You can even add a song directly from the platform, completing the editing process.

Afterward, proceed to choose aspect ratios and video length, then move on to exporting. Repeat the process, but now with time to analyze data, develop content strategies, and fill your calendar with more scheduled posts.

Best AI video generator for using digital avatars

Synthesia (Web)

Synthesia pros:

High-quality AI avatars
Multi-language support

Synthesia cons:

Not entirely believable when seen on large screens

What do you do when you need to create training videos, but everyone in the office is too shy for the camera? If hiring a crew and an actor isn't feasible, Synthesia is the next best option: you can explore a library filled with numerous digital avatars that look real, representing various parts of the world. Then, select the voice that best suits the avatar, and you're set to enter your script.

The user interface is straightforward and heavily emphasizes this main feature. After you add the script, Synthesia will work its magic to animate the avatar's lips and body convincingly. You can easily translate the entire text into another language by selecting an option from a dropdown menu. The avatar will switch from English to French faster than you can say quoi.

You might wonder: how effective are these avatars? They're impressive, but they still can't completely replace humans.

Synthesia is by far the best. Its text-to-speech video generation is superior, and the avatars' movements are the most natural. It's at the forefront of avatar-based AI video technology—not only due to its advanced technology but also as the first ISO 42001 AI video company to achieve certification, demonstrating its commitment to security and governance.

While you have AI avatar assistants to handle on-camera tasks, you can also integrate Synthesia with your other applications effortlessly. Connect Synthesia to Zapier and begin automating across your entire tech ecosystem. Learn more about how to automate Synthesia, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows.

Best AI video generator for creating animated characters from a prompt

Vyond (Web)

Vyond pros:

Versatile: video editor, AI avatars, character videos, and more
Plenty of help content

Vyond cons:

You can't customize the cartoon's overall visual aesthetics

When you're having trouble finding quality stock footage for a training video, it's time to get creative. Animated character videos can illustrate actions and scenarios without the need for a live creative team. Instead, you can create them using a prompt with Vyond.

The tool designed for this purpose is called Vyond Go. On the dashboard, click the Create button and select the Text to video option. Enter your prompt, choose the setting, and click Generate. It handles everything from the script, scene objects, movements, to voiceover, producing a first draft that's remarkably close to the final version.

If you wish to adjust the video, click the dropdown button at the top right of the screen and go to Vyond Studio. Similar to other options on this list, Vyond provides a comprehensive timeline-based interface, allowing you to modify soundtracks, add or remove scenes, and incorporate stock media into the project. If a character's movement isn't as desired, you can record yourself performing the action, and the platform will use AI to translate that into the character's movement.

Although using animated character videos is somewhat niche, Vyond also offers general video-editing tools for other purposes. If you upload your own real-world footage for editing, you can utilize all the tools to create quality videos in the browser-based editor. It also features an AI avatar generator, making it a versatile AI video editing tool.

Best AI text-to-video generator for tool variety

revid.ai (Web)

revid.ai pros:

Lots of templates
Plenty of settings when generating content

revid.ai cons:

Inconsistent results

Creativity is unpredictable. If relying solely on the process isn't working for you, it's time to explore a more diverse set of tools, and revid.ai offers numerous starting points to rejuvenate your work.

Originally developed as a viral TikTok generator, it has now integrated Typeframes into a versatile platform. The creative journey begins with inspiration: you can explore trending TikTok content related to your keywords, and as you immerse yourself in popular ideas, save hooks and stories within the app to ensure continuous creativity.

When you strike creative gold, revid.ai can generate something new from any of these prompts and concepts.

The shortlist:

YouTube Long to Short repurposes a long video into short shareable snippets.
Other repurposing templates can turn audio, music, Reddit posts, X posts, and articles into video.
Cinematic style can visualize storytelling moments in a narrative setting.
AI talking avatars work like a mini-Synthesia—you can create a set of fixed avatars and reuse them across videos for consistency.

To maintain an active presence, social media encourages frequent posting. It's beneficial that you can monitor scheduled posts directly on the platform, allowing you to develop a production workflow from your ideas. For assistance with content creation, consider subscribing to one of the paid plans to activate Auto Mode, which generates a new video daily based on your criteria, enabling you to release content more swiftly.

Best AI video generator for extreme creative control

LTX Studio (Web)

LTX Studio pros:

Generates cool posters for every project
Innovative character control tools

LTX Studio cons:

Slow to get results

LTX Studio focuses on short and narrative films over other types of content. Utilizing Lightricks' AI technology, it can create impressive visuals from prompts, though it slightly trails behind Sora or Runway. The production process is thorough and user-friendly, the best I've encountered for AI video creation.

When initiating a new project, you can upload a script or develop an idea. The workflow guides you through screens to provide context for the model. Complete every input for optimal control: this includes selecting a genre, uploading an image for visual style reference, or defining the "essence" of each character with a concise instruction. At the conclusion of this planning phase, you'll have a scene breakdown, which you can rearrange, edit, or expand.

The surprises arise in the following step: each scene is dissected shot by shot, each accompanied by its prompt and instructions. You can click to generate previews for each and modify the text to alter its content. From the characters you included, you can adjust their actions and appearances: they might wear a tuxedo in one scene and swimming trunks in the next. Every alteration will regenerate the video, so be prepared to make numerous edits as you strive for the best results—it will take considerable time to achieve them.

LTX Studio's export options include a pitch deck, an editing package compatible with your preferred professional video editing software, or an MP4 file. While I see the potential for exporting a ready-to-go short film, this app is even more powerful if you're seeking funding for your project. It can also assist in visualizing the final product as you brainstorm locations and casting, serving as a preliminary draft in filmmaking.

Full list of AI video alternatives

AI video is getting very competitive as a category. If you'd like to explore all the alternatives to the main apps that I showcased in this list, here's a quick list for easy reference:

Canva's video editor has a browser-based media editing experience, including generative AI powered by Runway.
Kapwing is a Filmora alternative offering equivalent AI-powered tools as well as an AI stock media video tool.
Virbo is Wondershare's solution for creating AI avatar content.
Munch is a Peech alternative for long-to-short repurposing while exploring trending topics.
HeyGen is a Synthesia alternative for unique AI tools.
Visla for a revid.ai alternative with a different AI-powered toolset.