Stock footage was created as a way to give people access to things they couldn\u2019t film themselves. Today, it\u2019s easier than ever for someone in one part of the world to find high quality video of cities and places thousands of miles away to use in their projects. But with the advancements of generative AI video the internet is buzzing with discussions on what artificial intelligence means for creators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are the implications of simply being able to describe a scene and have an AI generator create it for you? What are the ethical considerations? How will it impact creative roles like filmmakers and video editors<\/a>? In this post, we\u2019ll dive into recent advancements in generative AI video, its reception among creators, why it\u2019s too early to throw away your camera gear, and why resources like stock footage won\u2019t be going anywhere anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial intelligence has quickly advanced in recent years, including video technology and tools<\/a>. Video generation synthesis, which allows AI algorithms to create highly realistic videos from textual or graphic input, has been one major milestone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In January 2024, Google Research put out a paper on Lumiere<\/a>, \u201ca text-to-video diffusion model designed for synthesizing videos that portray realistic, diverse and coherent motion.\u201d Right on the heels of that release, OpenAI announced S<\/a>ora<\/a>, their own text-to-video model that can generate videos up to a minute long, setting a new standard for the length generative video is able to create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then in May 2024, Google announced Veo, their multimodal video generation model. Now, Google offers Veo 3.1, their video model that generates clips up to 8 seconds long in 4K and 9:16 vertical formats as of January 2026. While generative video models are improving quickly, many of them still have kinks and issues to refine and work out. This also means not all of them will survive \u2013 just over two years after being announced, OpenAI announced in late March 2026 that they are sunsetting Sora<\/a> as well as its video platform app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But a lot of competition is being stirred up from Chinese labs. Kling 3.0 is the fastest AI video platform in history to reach $300 million in annual recurring revenue, while Seedance\u2019s 2.5 model rolled out<\/a> at the end of July 2026 with claims that it can create 30-second 4K clips with audio while<\/em> using up to 50 reference image inputs. It\u2019s clear that the competition to roll out improvements and update models the fastest is fierce, though time will tell which ones actually deliver and which are just hype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deepfake technology has also made significant strides in development. This technology creates AI-generated media that has been digitally manipulated. It\u2019s capable of manipulating video to swap out faces, change facial expressions, and even create entirely new content based off of existing video. More so than any other kind of generative AI video technology, deepfakes have been very controversial<\/a> due to the different ways that they can be used to create harmful or fake content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In May 2025, The TAKE IT DOWN Act<\/a> became law, which gives people a direct legal path to take against non-consensual AI-generated content. It, and statutes passed in California, Texas, New York, and Minnesota, are all good first steps in helping address the real damage and threat that deepfakes and other AI-generated content can have, but there\u2019s still a long way to go to give people true protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, these recent developments have been met with mixed feelings from creators. We surveyed over 700 Storyblocks members to learn more about how they are (or aren\u2019t) using generative AI, where it works, where it falls flat, their concerns, and how audiences are responding. You can read the full report, Authenticity in the Age of Generative AI<\/em><\/a>, for free \u2013 just sign up to download your copy!<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe latest advancements with generative AI video technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The fast-paced race to develop generative video models<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
As generative video develops, so does deepfake technology – and laws are slow to catch up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reception among creators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n