Start-here.md

AI Video Deep Research

Research date: September 26, 2026. A public working brief on the AI video market, its economics, and the opportunities above the model layer.

Thesis

The most useful way to understand AI video is to separate models, production workflows, and distribution. A better model can create better raw material. A durable product must also turn a brief into something a customer approves, publishes, and wants to produce again.

Our central hypothesis is that the strongest application opportunities increasingly sit around repeatable production: controlled references, editorial iteration, localization, approvals, and feedback from the actual destination. This is an analytical judgment, not a measured market-share result.

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  1. Market structure and demand
  2. Competitors and capabilities
  3. The economics of a usable video
  4. Where a new product can win
  5. Evaluation plan and open questions
  6. Sources and update log

Three changes that matter

Google's current API guide presents Gemini Omni Flash as its default video-generation option, while retaining Veo for particular controls and existing pipelines. That illustrates the convergence of generation and conversational editing. Google API guide.

ByteDance's current Seedance 2.5 page describes 30-second generation with reference control and editing. Longer output changes what can be attempted in one request, but does not by itself establish reliable story continuity or cost per approved deliverable. Seedance 2.5.

OpenAI states that Sora's web/app experience ended April 26, 2026, and identifies September 24, 2026 as the API discontinuation date. As of this report's date, Sora should be treated as a historical competitor and a migration dependency, not a default new integration. The notice uses future-tense wording; this report did not test the endpoint. Discontinuation notice.

Confidence

Product availability and capabilities below come from vendor documentation, launch pages and an issuer's reported financial results. They are evidence of what vendors offer or claim, not an independent quality ranking. No model generations were purchased or benchmarked for this report. Market size, private-company revenue, retention and margins are not invented where reliable data is missing.

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