I was intrigued by Google's new video-cloning Omni AI - then I considered the implications

Rene Ramos/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Google Omni aims to do for video what Nano Banana did for images. Creators can build videos from text, images, audio, or video.

AI avatars could help creators, but raise trust concerns. Last week, Google announced a new AI video capability that will either help creatives produce higher-quality videos more easily, or vastly increase the amount of AI slop on YouTube. I'm betting it'll be a mix of both. Google announced Gemini Omni , a tool that raises the ability to create video via AI to an entirely new level. The company compared this announcement to the level of improvement in AI image generation achieved when it released Nano Banana. Nano Banana raised the bar considerably on what was possible with image generation. Omni purports to do the same with video. Omni has begun to roll out, but I haven't had a chance to play with it. Google described Omni as "where Gemini's ability to reason meets the ability to create." Interestingly, according to the company, "With Omni, you can combine images, audio, video and text as input and generate high-quality videos grounded in Gemini's real-world knowledge." Although Omni is "starting with video," Google said the new model can "create anything from any input," so presumably we'll see other media types generated by the tool within due time. Also: 6 Android Auto apps I wish I found sooner, because they make every drive easier Omni will also be available in model tiers, starting now with Gemini Omni Flash. The capability is coming to the Gemini app, Google Flow, and YouTube Shorts. It's not clear whether the web version of Gemini will support Omni, or whether you'll need to use the Flow interface via your browser.

Key points

• AI avatars could help creators, but raise trust concerns.
• Last week, Google announced a new AI video capability that will either help creatives produce higher-quality videos more easily, or vastly increase the amount of AI slop on YouTube.
• I'm betting it'll be a mix of both.
• Google announced Gemini Omni , a tool that raises the ability to create video via AI to an entirely new level.
• The company compared this announcement to the level of improvement in AI image generation achieved when it released Nano Banana.