Google just launched a flashy new feature for its Gemini AI: the ability to turn photos into animated videos using its latest Veo 3 model. The announcement promised stunning results—dynamic visuals, realistic movement, and even sound. Out of curiosity, I subscribed to the Gemini AI Pro plan and gave it a spin. What I got was… not exactly what Google advertised with Veo 3.
The idea sounds great on paper. Users upload a photo, enter a prompt describing the motion and audio they want, and Gemini turns it into an eight-second, 720p MP4 video. It’s available via the Gemini app or at gemini.google.com for Pro ($20/month) and Ultra ($250/month) subscribers.
So I tested it with a straightforward, imaginative prompt: “Generate a video of this plant growing into a tree while the background (indoor) slowly turns into an open field.” What I received was closer to a PowerPoint slideshow than any sort of cinematic AI magic. The result looked like a few static images fading into one another—no fluid growth, no evolving background.
Compare this with the Veo-generated clips Google is showcasing—lush motion, realistic lighting, smooth movement—and it’s hard not to feel a little duped. It’s one thing to set expectations; it’s another to overpromise.
To be fair, Google does add SynthID watermarks on all videos to clarify they’re AI-generated and continues to block problematic prompts, such as public figures or harmful content. Also, this tool was originally part of Google’s Flow AI filmmaking product and is still new in Gemini’s chat interface. But even with that context, the current results feel undercooked.
Despite the hype, what Gemini currently offers is little more than animated transitions on static images, at least from my experience. And at $20/month, it’s hard to recommend—unless your expectations are really low or you’re animating something extremely simple.
Of course, the feature will improve with time. But for now, it feels like the AI equivalent of a movie trailer showing all the best scenes, while the actual film… drags.
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The post I tested Gemini’s video generation feature, and it wonderfully disappointed me appeared first on Gizmochina.
