Bing Video Creator Offers Free AI Video Generation—But with Limited Scope
Over the past week, AI-generated video has taken a massive leap forward. Google’s new Veo 3 model stunned the tech world with hyper-realistic visuals and impressively coherent dialogue. Now Microsoft is throwing its hat into the ring with Bing Video Creator, offering a scaled-down but entirely free way to generate short AI videos—albeit with some important restrictions.
Microsoft has quietly rolled out Bing Video Creator inside the Bing mobile app for Android and iOS users. While the app doubles as a central hub for Microsoft’s ecosystem, from Copilot AI to news feeds and utilities, the new video feature is somewhat hidden. You’ll need to tap the “apps” icon at the bottom right and scroll through the mini-apps menu to find it.
Once found, Bing Video Creator allows you to type a simple text prompt and receive a five-second video in portrait orientation. It’s essentially the video version of Bing’s existing Image Creator. You’ll receive 10 free “fast” generations—which usually take just a few minutes—but once those run out, you’ll be forced to either use the much slower “standard” queue or redeem Microsoft Rewards points for additional fast credits.
The video model powering this tool is none other than OpenAI’s Sora, previously exclusive to paid users of ChatGPT. That makes this launch the first mainstream, no-cost way to experiment with Sora’s capabilities. However, expectations should be tempered: these are short, silent clips with no voiceover or dialogue, and the results can be hit or miss depending on your prompt. For instance, asking for “Microsoft Clippy in a mosh pit” might produce nonsensical results—one clip resembled a dancing trash can—while a more straightforward idea like “a leprechaun serving beer at an Irish pub” can deliver something convincingly on-theme (minus the actual beer).
Of course, Microsoft has implemented content moderation filters, so prompts involving politicians, celebrities, or anything controversial tend to get blocked. This aligns with the company’s ongoing efforts to ensure its AI tools remain safe and broadly acceptable, a reaction to some early challenges in AI content generation. And if you’re hoping to revisit your creations later, note that videos will be erased after 90 days unless you manually download them.
The current experience is clearly geared toward mobile users and social sharing, given the portrait-only format and short duration. But hints of a broader rollout exist. Microsoft’s blog features examples of landscape videos that aren’t yet possible in the mobile app, possibly indicating future support on Windows or the web via Copilot.
As of now, Bing Video Creator doesn’t come close to matching Google’s Veo 3 in terms of video realism or duration, and it’s still very much an experimental tool. But for casual users, it’s an easy and cost-free way to dip your toes into the world of AI-generated video. Even if the results aren’t always spot-on, the creative potential is clear—and Microsoft’s willingness to offer it for free, even in limited form, makes it worth a try.