In recent years, content creation has undergone numerous transformations. But few have been as radical as the arrival of video tools with artificial intelligence. What once required a camera, locations, a team, editing, and time, today can start with a simple sentence typed on the screen.

If you work in marketing, social media, audiovisual, or design, you have probably heard about this topic. These are not just new software: they are gateways to a new way of creating. In this article, you will understand how AI videos work, what the main available tools are, the differences between text-to-video and image-to-video, as well as practical tips for creating your first high-quality prompts.

Get ready: creating videos has never been so accessible and, at the same time, so full of creative possibilities.

What is AI video and why does it change everything

AI video is the term used to describe the automatic generation of videos from instructions such as text or images. The technology behind this uses machine learning models trained on huge visual and temporal databases, capable of predicting movements and constructing scenes frame by frame.

In other words: you describe a scene “a woman walks through a forest at sunset, camera follows in lateral movement”, and the AI generates a video based on this description. In seconds.

This logic enables anyone, even without technical experience, to transform ideas into videos, which directly impacts not only independent creators but also agencies, brands, and companies of all sizes. Besides the obvious cost reduction, the great differential is in agility and potential for experimentation. This changes everything.

Text-to-video or image-to-video? Understand the differences

In practice, there are two main paths to generating videos with AI:

1. Text-to-video

This is when you start solely with a textual description. The AI takes care of creating everything else: characters, settings, lighting, movements, scene duration. It’s like writing a script for an invisible crew that turns words into moving images.

This approach is ideal when you want to test ideas from scratch, simulate scenes that do not yet exist, or create highly visual materials without being tied to a reference.

2. Image-to-video

Here, the process starts with an image. It could be a photograph, a frame generated in Midjourney, or a concept art. The AI uses this image as a starting point and inserts smooth movements, facial expressions, animations in the setting, and camera movements.

If you are already familiar with image tools, like Midjourney or Visual Electric, image-to-video can be an excellent next step. In fact, if your goal is to keep the same character in different videos or images, it’s worth studying good practices for character consistency to avoid unwanted variations between takes.

The main AI video tools today

The race for the best AI video platform is well underway. Each tool has its focus, audience, and strengths. Here are some of the most relevant ones currently:

• Runway: it is one of the most complete and professional tools. It allows both text-to-video and image-to-video, and has advanced editing features. Ideal for those seeking results with a cinematic finish.

• Kling AI: generates longer videos, with impressive physical realism and features like facial expressions and narrative continuity.

• Luma AI (Dream Machine): has stood out for generating videos with smooth and realistic movements, in addition to good consistency between frames. It is an excellent choice for those who already have a more defined aesthetic.

• Pika Labs: a favorite among social media content creators. Easy to use, with rapid generation and formats optimized for Reels, Shorts, and TikTok.

• LTX Studio and Krea AI: these two have been proposing a broader approach. LTX focuses on storytelling, creating connected scenes, soundtracks, and effects. Krea AI stands out for almost real-time creation, ideal for those wanting to adjust small details frame by frame.

If you are still exploring image tools and want to understand how they compare in terms of visual quality, I recommend this comparison between 5 AI tools for image creation.

AI video tools shaping the market in 2025

The corporate and institutional market has also begun to adopt AI tools focused on producing high-quality videos, realism, and scalability.

The Veo 3, for example, is the latest model from DeepMind (Google) and has been standing out for its ability to generate long videos, with advanced camera control, realistic physics, and impressive visual fidelity. It represents a leap compared to previous models by offering visual storytelling with temporal consistency, a critical aspect in longer productions.

Meanwhile, Higgsfield, developed from Hugging Face’s open models, bets on a more customizable and technical approach. It is one of the best options for those who want total control over the generation, manipulation, and rendering pipeline, especially in internal development or research environments.

For those working in digital marketing and institutional content, tools like Freepik Video Generator offer an important differential: integration with design libraries, ready-made templates, and direct focus on formats for ads, social media, and e-commerce.

Other names that are gaining traction include:

• Synthesia: generates videos with realistic avatars and automatic dubbing, widely used by companies in training sessions, pitches, and presentations.

• HeyGen: a similar alternative, focusing on humanized videos and generating hyper-realistic faces.

• Pictory: ideal for creating videos from scripts or blog articles, commonly used by content marketing teams.

• Descript: a hybrid between video editor and automatic transcriber, which now also includes generative AI features to create takes, cuts, and narrations.

These tools represent not only a technological evolution but also a mindset shift: from videos as one-time productions to videos as scalable, automatable assets present in the entire communication strategy of the company.

The secret lies in the prompt: how to write effective instructions

One of the greatest skills you can develop while working with AI is knowing how to write a good prompt. And for video, this is even more critical because you are dealing with multiple elements: movement, time, light, space, and emotion.

A good prompt describes:

• The focus of the scene (“a solitary violinist in the center of the stage”)

• The action or movement (“playing intensely, eyes closed”)

• The environment (“in an empty theater, blue light coming from above”)

• The visual aesthetic (“cinematic style, light grain, marked shadows”)

• The camera framing (“medium shot, slow lateral movement”)

Instead of relying on abstractions “inspirational video with emotion”, prefer visual details and specific actions. And if you want to dive deeper into this, we recommend the article how to write professional AI prompts, it can make all the difference.

And what about lighting? Yes, it matters too

Many people are surprised to realize that lighting in AI videos is not random. On the contrary, you can (and should) describe how you want the scene to be lit.

Terms like golden hour, backlight, soft shadows, key light lateral, among others, are part of the vocabulary of those who create videos with AI and want to go beyond the basics. If you are looking for videos with a more cinematic finish, mastering the language of light is essential.

This guide we've created on lighting techniques for cinematic results is worth checking out. It is a lesson in itself.

AI is a tool, you are the director

A good way to think about creating video with AI is to compare it to directing a film: the AI is your technical crew, but the director is still you.

It does not decide for you what to tell, how to frame, or what emotion to convey, but gives you the means to test, err, and refine faster than ever. And that’s exactly where the power lies; the clearer your vision, the more incredible the results will be.

For many, this also opens up space for hybrid workflows: using AI to generate raw footage, then finishing in tools like Premiere or DaVinci. Mixing real takes with generated elements. Creating different versions of the same film. AI does not replace human creativity; it multiplies it.

The next step is to start

If you’ve read this far, you already know it’s not just about using tools. Creating videos with AI is a new visual language, and like any language, it is learned through practice.

Start testing with simple prompts. Try the same idea in two different tools. Combine generated images with animated videos. Adjust the light, change the rhythm, switch perspectives.

And more than anything: don't be afraid to test. The beauty of AI is that you can fail as many times as you want. And who knows, in that process, you might discover a new way to tell stories, a way that only you can imagine.