How to create videos using AI
Kahu team·Updated 2 Oct 2026·7 min read
There are two routes. Film real footage and use AI to script, cut, caption and clean the sound, or generate short clips from a text prompt or photo. For most small businesses the first route works best, with generated clips used sparingly for openers, backgrounds and ideas you cannot film.
Two ways to use AI for video
| AI-assisted editing | AI-generated video | |
|---|---|---|
| What you start with | Your own footage | A text prompt or a photo |
| Typical tools | Descript, Edits by Instagram | Gemini, Adobe Firefly |
| Best for | Showing real work, people and places | Short openers, backgrounds, concepts |
| Main risk | Little, the footage is real | Looks fake, or misleads about your product |
If you want help choosing a video generator, our guide to AI video generators for business covers how to compare and test them. This article is about the workflow from idea to posted video.
A workflow that works
- 1Script with an assistantAsk an AI assistant for three hooks and a 30-second script on one topic. Pick one and rewrite it in your words.
- 2Film on your phoneShoot short clips of the real thing: the job, the product, you talking. Good light and clear sound matter more than the camera.
- 3Cut with AI helpIn Descript you can edit a video by editing its transcript and remove filler words automatically. Edits, Instagram's video app, has a teleprompter, captions and templates.
- 4Add generated clips if neededUse a generator for a short opener or a scene you cannot film, not to replace your actual work.
- 5Caption and checkAdd on-screen captions, watch it through once with the sound off, then once with it on.
Where Kahu fits
What generators can do now
In the Gemini app you can create short video clips from text or from photos, then ask for changes in plain language. Video creation there is part of Google's paid AI plans, and Google marks the clips with an invisible SynthID watermark. Adobe Firefly generates video as well as images and audio. Clips from these tools are short, so a full video is usually several clips joined together.
Be honest about AI
Meta labels detected AI content on Facebook and Instagram with "AI info" and requires people to use its disclosure tool when they post photorealistic video or realistic-sounding audio that was digitally created or altered. Beyond the rules, never use generated footage to show results, products or premises that do not exist. Customers notice, and it costs trust you cannot buy back.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI make a whole video from a script?
Some tools can produce short clips from a prompt, but a business video that shows your real work still needs real footage. AI is best at speeding up the editing.
Do I need to be on camera?
No, but a real face and voice usually builds more trust than any generated presenter.
What length should a social video be?
Short. Instagram recommends reels of three minutes or less to new audiences, and many good business videos are under a minute.