AI video for business:how to make it,what to watch for

To create a video with AI, you describe in plain language what viewers should see and hear, then review, select and edit what the tool produces. Depending on the job, you use a video generator such as Google Veo or Adobe Firefly, an avatar platform such as Synthesia, or an AI chat such as ChatGPT for the script and voiceover text. For businesses in the EU, three legal questions matter most: who appears in the video, who owns it, and does it look real enough to count as a deepfake that must be disclosed under the AI Act?

Nikolai Schöbel and Jeremias Burger

Co-founders of Scalableloops GmbH. Nikolai Schöbel leads online marketing and AI strategy, Jeremias Burger the AI architecture. Both build AI systems and train teams on them in their own agency work.

Which AI video tools suit business use?

Video generators turn a text description or a still image into a short clip. Google says Veo generates the audio along with the picture, including sound effects, ambient noise and dialogue. Veo is available in the Gemini app, among other places, and Google marks its videos with the invisible SynthID watermark. Adobe offers a video generator in Firefly which, according to Adobe, was trained on licensed content such as Adobe Stock and on public domain material, not on Adobe customers’ content.

Avatar platforms turn a script into a video with a digital presenter. Synthesia lists a script, a document or a web address as starting points and offers avatars and AI voices in many languages.

AI chats such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot are not the tools that render these clips, but they are the most useful tools for the groundwork: topic ideas, structure, script, voiceover text, titles and descriptions. Our guide to using AI for writing explains how to brief them well. For stills, backgrounds and thumbnails, see using AI for image creation.

How do you write prompts that produce usable clips?

A good prompt for a video generator reads like a director’s note. It says what is in the frame, how the camera moves and what mood to create. An example for a product clip: “Close-up of a wooden table in a bright workshop, a folded leather backpack lies on the table, the camera slowly pushes in, soft daylight from the left, calm mood, quiet birdsong in the background.”

For the script, a prompt that sets a role, an audience and a frame works well: “You are an editor for explainer videos. Write the voiceover for a short video that shows customers how to return an item in our online shop. Use short sentences, a friendly and professional tone and no jargon. Split the text into scenes and suggest a visual for each scene.”

Then ask for a critical review: “Check the script for claims I need to be able to prove and mark them.” That shows you quickly where to look things up before anything is voiced and rendered. Avoid real people’s names and third party brands in prompts unless you hold the rights.

When do you have to label an AI video?

Article 50 of the EU AI Act has applied since 2 August 2026. For businesses using AI video, paragraph 4 is the key part: a deployer that uses an AI system to generate a deepfake must disclose that the content has been artificially generated or manipulated. Article 3(60) defines a deepfake as AI generated or manipulated image, audio or video content that resembles existing persons, objects, places or events and would falsely appear to be authentic.

A realistic clip featuring a person who does not exist but looks like a real customer may fall under this rule. A clearly drawn animation or an abstract background usually does not. For evidently artistic, creative, satirical or fictional works, a lighter duty applies: the disclosure must be made in a way that does not hamper the display or enjoyment of the work. Our article on AI disclosure under Article 50 explains how to present such notices.

The tool providers have their own duty under paragraph 2: they must mark outputs in a machine readable format, as Google does for Veo with SynthID. For systems already on the market before 2 August 2026, a transition period until 2 December 2026 applies. It covers only this marking and does not postpone the disclosure of deepfakes. The marking does not replace your visible notice. Platforms add their own rules on top. YouTube requires creators to disclose realistic altered or synthetic content when uploading. Using AI to help with a script or captions does not need to be disclosed there.

What do data protection and staff training require?

When you upload footage of employees, customers or conversations into an AI tool, you are processing personal data under the GDPR. The German data protection authorities (Datenschutzkonferenz) set out what controllers should look for in their guidance on AI and data protection of 6 May 2024: use business accounts rather than personal ones, check whether your inputs are used for training, and sign a data processing agreement under Article 28 GDPR for cloud services.

Article 4 of the AI Act has applied since 2 February 2025 to every organisation that uses AI, regardless of its size. Since 27 July 2026 it applies in amended form: you have to take measures that support the development of AI literacy, but you do not owe a specific level of competence for any individual. No certificate is required. For video, that means anyone creating clips should know the labelling rules, know when consent is needed and be able to spot typical visual errors. See our article on the AI literacy obligation under Article 4.