1. Still in the ‘Toy’ Phase? Absolutely - But That’s Where the Magic Starts
… And Continues. After all, creativity is play. Right now, AI video platforms like Luma Labs, Runway, Moonvalley, Google Veo, and Higgsfield are alive with activity from creatives, AI enthusiasts, and experimenters. People are stress-testing these models, figuring out what works, what doesn’t, and crucially, what can be controlled.
- Luma Labs’ Dream Machine is lauded for its speed and quality.
- Runway’s Gen-4 Turbo is a favorite for its realism and character consistency.
- Moonvalley and Higgsfield are pushing the boundaries of cinematic quality and motion control.
This ‘toy’ phase is essential. It’s where the community collectively learns, breaks things, and pushes the tech to its limits. But for enterprises, the question is - are these now serious tools?
2. The Compliance Grey Area: Who’s Really Playing by the Rules?
Most users (and even some businesses) don’t know if the videos they’re generating are fully compliant. Many platforms are vague about their training data. Are they using unlicensed IP? How much of what’s generated is legit, and how do you even prove it?
For now, the creative world seems happy to play - lawsuits or not. But as brands and the film industry get serious, compliance will move from a nice to have to a must have. The platforms that can prove their legitimacy will win the trust (and budgets) of enterprise buyers.
3. User Experience: From Playground to Powerhouse
Remember when using generative AI felt like hacking together a science project? Those days are fading fast. The latest video tools have made the process as simple as typing a prompt and hitting go.
- This democratisation is great for experimentation, but enterprises want more: advanced controls, creative team collaboration, and robust product functionality.
- The best platforms are building out pro-level features - think versioning, workflow integrations, and advanced human + AI creative options - so that teams can get the best outputs, not just the fastest ones.
4. What Does Best in Class Look Like for Brands?
For brands, the holy grail is an ad campaign (or even product placement) that’s indistinguishable from their best analogue work. CMOs are right to ask: why compromise on quality just to save time or money?
- The top AI video platforms are closing the gap, with outputs that rival traditional production in look and feel.
- The real value? - The ability to test multiple versions of a concept, gather real-time data, and iterate until the creative hits the mark, and at a more efficient pace. One of the most powerful features of AI video generation is the ability to rapidly version creative concepts:
- Test dozens of variations of a single idea.
- Gather audience feedback in real time.
- Adjust and optimise until you find the winning formula.
This isn’t just a cost-saving measure - it’s a creative unlock that lets brands and agencies move at the speed of culture.
6. For Film Studios: From Storyboarding to Blockbusters
Studios and production companies are using these tools in pre-production (think: video storyboarding, digital brand and production integrations, and early test screenings) and even in production, to imagine scenes that would be prohibitively expensive to shoot traditionally.
- Indie filmmakers, in particular, stand to benefit - if the industry can move past the stigma of AI-assisted production.
- The opportunity: democratise high-end visual storytelling, making it accessible to anyone with a vision and of course - great taste.
7. Beyond the Toy: What Do Brands Really Want?
For generative AI video to become standard practice, it needs to deliver on more than just novelty:
- Speed and cost savings - yes, but not at the expense of quality.
- Creative control - the ability to fine-tune outputs, not just accept what the model spits out.
- Workflow integration - tools that play nicely with legacy systems and established creative processes.
- Compliance and safety - peace of mind that what you’re shipping is above board.
Use cases are expanding rapidly: dynamic ad and social commerce campaigns, digital product placement, personalised content at scale, rapid prototyping, and even real-time content adaptation based on audience data.
8. Enterprise Alignment: Listening to the Buyer
The best Gen-AI video platforms are designed with enterprise workflows in mind. They don’t force brands and agencies to throw out what works - they build on top of it, offering integrations and adaptations that are minimally disruptive.
- From a business development and sales perspective, the message is clear: brands want to know they’re being listened to. The platforms that succeed will be those that align with legacy creative workflows, not bulldoze over them.
Final Thoughts: The Imagination Era Is Here
We’re still in the early phases, but the leap from toy to serious tool is happening faster than anyone expected. The best AI video generation companies - Luma Labs, Runway, Moonvalley, Google Veo, Higgsfield, and others - are racing to capture and ship the imagination of a new generation of creators, brands, and storytellers.
The winners will be those who combine technical excellence, compliance, creative control, and enterprise alignment.
