You can produce video ads in seconds with Amazon's new AI tool – here's how

The process of creating advertisements is becoming a whole lot quicker with the help of generative AI.

On Tuesday, Amazon Ads announced that its new Video Generation platform — initially launched in beta in September — is now generally available for all US customers. The tool has also been given some technical upgrades. Most notably, its AI-generated videos are smoother and more realistic, and it also generates a series of six different videos, giving advertisers a set of creative options to choose from.

A brand selling a coffee mug, for example, might upload an image of their product to the system, which would then generate a series of short videos displaying the product in various contexts: someone taking a sip from the mug as they read a book, maybe, or the cup sitting on a windowsill as the camera pans in front of it.

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“Over the last nine months, we’ve continued to push the boundaries of what’s possible, resulting in an enhanced version of Video Generator that creates more sophisticated, high-motion video ads where the product blends seamlessly into the action or scene,” Jay Richman, Amazon’s VP of product and technology, said in a statement.

The idea is to bring still images to life, giving viewers a more dynamic perspective, all while saving brands the time and expenses that traditionally would be required to complete a lengthy ad filming and production process. With that in mind, Amazon Ads is marketing its video-generating tool primarily to small-to-midsize businesses, whose budgets and production timelines are more constrained than their more deep-pocketed competitors.

The videos are generated in five minutes or less, and they also come with text animations, background music, and branded logo placement options.

AI-generated video has been advancing at a rapid pace recently, as is evident in a short demo video (see link above) for the new Video Generation tool: the AI-generated depictions of people in motion are fluid and lifelike, with none of the unsettling extra fingers that were so prevalent in earlier video-generating models.

There are still some glitches, however. If you look closely at the watch depicted in the demo video, you’ll notice the numbers on its face are improperly placed or illegible. It’s not the sort of detail that most viewers are likely to notice, however, while they’re quickly scrolling through product options on their phone or laptop. Most brands would probably reason that such imperfections are worthwhile in light of the savings the tool affords them. 

Amazon isn’t the only major tech brand that’s been equipping advertisers with new generative AI tools. Adobe, for example, has been promoting its suite of Firefly models in large part as a new and powerful creative tool for marketing teams. And last week it was reported that Meta is aiming to automate the entirety of the advertising production process.

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Big tech developers like Amazon and Meta are promoting their generative AI tools as enhancements, rather than replacements, to human creativity. And despite some widely aired speculation in recent years about the supposedly inevitable job losses that will be caused by the proliferation of AI, such large-scale displacement doesn’t seem to be happening — not yet, anyway.

Still, the release of Video Generator and tools of its ilk are likely to feed into fears of job displacement among professionals in advertising and other creative industries, no matter how much the companies in Silicon Valley promise that that isn’t their intention.

You can access Video Generator now through Amazon Ads.

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