Introduction
Remember when “AI video” meant glitchy, four-second loops you’d never dare show a client? Well, Google just fast-forwarded the timeline. At I/O 2025 the company rolled out Veo 3 - an AI video generator that adds native dialogue, Foley and musicand Imagen 4, a text-to-image model sharp enough to render denim weave and spell “croissant” correctly on a café sign. Put simply: if GPT-3 was the “text moment,” 2025 is the year pixels and motion go mainstream.
What Is Google Veo 3?
Veo 3 is Google DeepMind’s third-generation video model. Feed it a prompt such as “A medium shot frames an old sailor, his knitted blue sailor hat casting a shadow over his eyes, a thick grey beard obscuring his chin. He holds his pipe in one hand, gesturing with it towards the churning, grey sea beyond the ship's railing. "This ocean, it's a force, a wild, untamed might. And she commands your awe, with every breaking light,” and Veo spits out a 4-second to 60-second clip - complete with synchronized dialogue, ambient sound and music. Checkout the astonishing result below:
Key features of Google Veo 3
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Native audio generation – dialogue, Foley and soundtracks baked straight into the MP4.
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4K realism & physics consistency – smoke drifts naturally, shadows fall where they should.
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Multi-modal prompting – mix text, reference images or even storyboard sketches (via the companion Flow studio).
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Long-range scene coherence – up to 60 s clips that keep characters, lighting and storyline consistent across cuts.
How to use Google Veo 3
Right now Veo 3 sits behind the Google AI Ultra plan - US-only at launch, priced at $249/month after a three-month half-price promo. If you’re on the cheaper AI Pro tier you’ll see watermarked 5-second “preview” renders but no audio mix-down.
Google Veo 3 vs OpenAI Sora vs Runway Gen-3
|
Feature |
Veo 3 |
OpenAI Sora* |
Runway Gen-3** |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Native audio |
✅ Dialogue + ambience |
❌ |
❌ |
|
Max length |
60 s |
20 s |
15 s |
|
Audio-aware physics (footsteps, echoes) |
✅ |
– |
– |
|
Pricing (creator tier) |
Included in Google AI Ultra at $249/mo |
Not public |
$49/mo |
*Sora early-access specs leaked by researchers.
**Runway Gen-3 values from April 2025 launch.
The kicker is multimodal prompting. Feed Veo 3 a sketch storyboard plus a text description, and it stitches them into a coherent sequence—no key-framing required.
What Is Google Imagen 4?
If Veo handles motion, Imagen 4 handles stills. It’s a diffusion-based model tuned for photorealism, crisp typography and near real-time generation (roughly 3–5s for a 2K image).
Why Google Imagen 4 matters
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Hyper-fine detail – think feather micro-textures, individual water droplets, or realistic denim weave.
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Flexible aspect ratios – social-first 9:16 reels, ultra-wide hero banners or classic 3:2 prints—all without stretching.
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Better spelling – storefront signs and book covers finally come out with correct lettering, not Pietà-style gibberish.
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Safety filters – reinforced content moderation plus watermarking to flag AI-generated assets.
How to use Imagen 4
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Gemini Advanced chat (“Try Imagen” button) for casual one-offs.
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Vertex AI for devs who want an API.
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Limited free quota inside Google AI Studio for hobbyists.
Pricing & Quotas for Google Veo 3 and Imagen 4 (May 2025)
|
Plan |
Veo 3 Credits |
Imagen 4 Credits |
Monthly Cost |
Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Google AI Studio (Free) |
0 (preview watermarked) |
20 images |
$0 |
Curious dabblers |
|
Google AI Pro |
0 (preview only) |
400 images |
$20 |
Bloggers & small teams |
|
Google AI Ultra |
1,000 full-audio videos |
2,500 images |
$249* |
Agencies, filmmakers |
|
Vertex AI API |
Pay-per-call |
Pay-per-call |
Usage-based |
App builders |
*50% discount for the first three months as part of the launch promo.
Affordable Alternative - Fliki
Love the idea of AI content but not Google’s price tag? Fliki delivers video, image generation and ultra-realistic text-to-speech under one roof - starting at a fraction of Veo’s Ultra plan.
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AI Video Clips – Turn static images into eye-catching 5-second motion videos with cinematic pans and smooth transitions (perfect for Reels & Shorts).
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High-quality TTS – 2,000+ realistic voices in 80+ languages.
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Quick social templates – Drop in a blog URL and Fliki auto-storyboards an engaging video with automated layouts, avatars, your voice clone, background music and more.
Side note: As of May 24, Ultra is U.S.-only; Google says more regions “soon.” If you’re outside the States, Imagen in Gemini and Fliki cover most use-cases for now.
The Bottom Line
Right now, it feels as if Google’s Veo 3 and Imagen 4 are the Final Cut and Lightroom dropped into your browser - no GPU rig required. Yet the barrier to starting is lower than ever thanks to Fliki’s budget-friendly solution and premium TTS.
Now, your storyboard is now just a prompt away. Happy creating!
