Google’s latest AI video generator rivals Sora

Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

While Sora was imagined to be the highlight of the vacation season, Google could have just left some coal in OpenAI’s stocking.

The tech giant’s latest Veo 2 video model appears to go away Sora within the dust, with 4K capabilities, realism, and physics that may make you query reality. Let’s get into it…

In today’s AI rundown:

• Google launches next-gen video, image models

• ChatGPT Search goes free for everybody

• Create a customer support AI voice agent to your website

• AI agents make 10+ minute videos from text

• 5 latest AI tools & 5 latest AI jobs

• More AI & tech news

Read time: 4 minutes

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LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

GOOGLE

🚀 Google launches next-gen video, image models

The Rundown: Google just announced the discharge of Veo 2, a state-of-the-art video generation model that creates high-resolution outputs with stunning realism and detail — together with Imagen 3, an upgraded image model also offering state-of-the-art quality.

Veo 2:

• Veo 2 can generate 8-second clips at 4K resolution (720p at launch), and it has received significant upgrades in cinematic control quality.

• The model also shows massive improvements in physics simulation and reduced hallucinations, resulting in more realistic movement and detail.

• Veo 2 outperformed all competitors in head-to-head human evaluations and prompt adherence, including OpenAI’s recently released Sora.

• The model is rolling out step by step through the VideoFX waitlist, with YouTube Shorts integration planned for 2025.

Imagen 3:

• The upgraded model delivers enhanced color vibrancy and composition across artistic styles, with higher handling of wonderful details, textures, and text rendering.

• Recent capabilities include more accurate prompt interpretation and higher rendering of complex scenes that match user intentions.

• Imagen 3 outperformed all models, including Midjourney, Flux, and Ideogram, in human evaluations for preference, visual quality, and prompt adherence.

• The model is now available through Google Labs’ ImageFX and is rolling out to over 100 countries.

Why it matters: Google is having a fully massive end to 2024 — first with Gemini 2.0 and now Veo 2 and Imagen 3. These models appear to up the bar in each categories, giving Google state-of-the-art type performance across nearly every area of AI. OpenAI could have the hype this holiday season, but Google is showing the outcomes.

TOGETHER WITH HUBSPOT

📖 Your prompt engineering quickstart guide

The Rundown: HubSpot’s AI Prompt Engineering QuickStart Guide, developed with expert Tina Huang, provides a structured approach to crafting effective AI prompts — helping bridge the gap between basic AI interactions and professional-level results.

With this guide, you will learn:

• A simplified, powerful framework to craft effective prompts for any AI task

• Practical strategies to discover and solve common prompt engineering challenges

• Skilled techniques for optimizing AI responses across platforms and apps

Download your free guide here.

OPENAI

🔎 ChatGPT Search goes free for everybody

The Rundown: OpenAI just announced a significant expansion of its ChatGPT Search feature on Day 8 of the corporate’s livestream event, making it freely available to all users alongside added voice search capabilities and improved mobile features.

The small print:

• The previously premium search feature now extends to all logged-in users, with faster responses, and is now available through a globe icon on the platform.

• Search has also been added to Advanced Voice Mode for premium users, allowing them to conduct searches through natural spoken prompts.

• The Search mobile experience has been revamped, with enhanced visual layouts for local businesses and native integration with Google and Apple Maps.

• Users can even set ChatGPT Search as a default search engine, with results displaying relevant links before ChatGPT text responses for faster access.

• OpenAI also teased a ‘mini Dev Day’ for tomorrow.

Why it matters: ChatGPT’s ability to access the online and up-to-date information is a very important step towards an agentic future, particularly inside Advanced Voice Mode — turning the tool right into a far more intelligent and capable version of Siri (and perhaps powering it will definitely). Search is about to vary in an enormous way within the AI era.

AI TRAINING

🎙️ Create a customer support AI voice agent to your website

The Rundown: ElevenLabs’ latest Conversational AI Agents allow you to incorporate an AI-powered voice agent that may interact naturally along with your visitors.

Step-by-step:

1. Create an ElevenLabs account and navigate to the Agents section.

2. Configure your AI agent’s personality and initial message.

3. Select or create a custom voice for natural interactions.

4. Customize the widget’s appearance and embed it in your site.

Pro tip: Use the “Test AI agent” button to check your agent thoroughly before deploying. This helps ensure responses align along with your expectations and brand voice.

PRESENTED BY SECTION

🎓 Learn AI at your personal pace

The Rundown: Section provides continuous AI education through a curated curriculum of courses, refreshed every 30 days — with users capable of watch 3 free courses every month across a variety of topics and skill levels.

A few of the hottest on-demand courses include:

• Constructing a Custom GPT

• AI for Marketers

• AI for Product Marketers

Start your learning journey with free access today.

HIGGSFIELD AI

🎬 AI agents make 10+ minute videos from text

The Rundown: AI startup Higgsfield just introduced ReelMagic, a multi-agent platform that transforms story concepts into complete 10-minute videos, claiming to streamline the complete production process right into a single workflow.

The small print:

• The tool uses specialized AI agents for production roles like scriptwriting and editing, creating cohesive long-form outputs in under 10 minutes.

• ReelMagic starts with a brief synopsis, after which AI agents handle script refinement, virtual actor casting, filming, sound/music, and editing.

• ReelMagic’s smart reasoning engine mechanically selects optimal AI models for every shot, and it has partnerships with Kling, Minimax, ElevenLabs, and more.

• The platform is already being tested by leading Hollywood studios, and Higgsfield can also be planning to launch Hera, an AI video streaming platform.

• Access is available to Project Odyssey participants via a waitlist, with no info on a broader release.

Why it matters: There was a disconnect between AI video generators and the power to craft cohesive, longer-form content—with heavy manual editing needed. While not available publicly yet, ReelMagic looks to be a workflow that mixes AI’s limitless creative power to unlock broader storytelling capabilities.

NEW TOOLS & JOBS

Trending AI Tools

• 🗂️ ChatGPT Projects – Group files, chats, and custom instructions in a single place for higher organization and streamlined interactions

• 🎥 Pika 2.0 – Recent video generation model with ‘ingredients’ to include user’s own images into outputs with improved motion and animation

• 💬 Eden – AI-powered social plugin to answer on any webpage in a single click to generate tailored comments

• ✍️ Draft Alpha – AI writing assistant to supply quality content across distribution channels with a consistent brand voice

• 📝 Steer 2.0 – Intelligently fix and improve writing in any application with a lightning-fast native assistant

Recent AI Job Opportunities

• 🔍 Synthesia – search engine marketing Manager

• 🤝 Hebbia – Sales Engineer

• 🛠 Superannotate – Technical Support Engineer

• 🧩 Databricks – Solutions Engineer

• ⚙️ Kumo – Distributed Systems Engineer

QUICK HITS

Meta rolled out an update for its Ray-Ban smart glasses, introducing live AI assistance, real-time language translation, and Shazam integration for hands-free music recognition.

YouTube launched latest controls allowing content creators to explicitly authorize specific AI firms to coach models on their videos, with an initial list of 18 major tech firms, including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta.

Google Labs debuted a brand new experiment called Whisk, a creative AI tool that mixes Imagen 3 and Gemini to assist users remix and transform visuals through image-to-image capabilities.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned about AI’s increasing capabilities in an interview with ABC, saying ‘pulling the plug’ could also be needed when self-improving systems arrive.

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son pledged a $100B investment in U.S. AI in a gathering with incoming president Donald Trump, aiming to create 100,000 jobs over the following 4 years.

Defense giant Lockheed Martin established a brand new subsidiary called Astris AI, hoping to speed up AI adoption across the defense industry and business applications.

THAT’S A WRAP

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Rowan, Joey, Zach, and Alvaro—aka The Rundown Team