Robyn Hartley on The Reliability of AI Video Content Creation

In today’s saturated digital ecosystem, B2B video content is essential to staying competitive. Besides attracting potential customers’ attention, videos make it easier to educate buyers, build trust, and demonstrate value, especially since they’re easier to engage with and absorb than a white paper or blog post.

However, creating well-made B2B marketing videos can be challenging, especially if you’re a small business with limited resources and staff. To streamline production, boost creativity, and scale content output, many creators and marketers have turned to AI tools and technologies to develop their video content.

So, how does AI for B2B video production work? Learn more from Robyn Hartley, Founder of Paper Kite Media, on how to use AI for your video production.

AI in Today’s Video Production World

Businesses use a wide range of AI video content creation tools to create top-tier videos. Here are the most popular AI tools shaping the video production industry.

Synthesia

Synthesia lets you create studio-quality videos with AI avatars and voiceovers in over 140 languages. Over 50,000 companies — including Heineken, Dupont, Zoom, and Reuters — use Synthesia to create videos at scale, saving up to 80% of the budget and time.

Pros of Synthesia include:

• Realistic AI avatars
• Voiceovers in over 140 languages
• Great for tutorials, training videos, and explainer content
• User-friendly interface
• Cost-effective

However, Synthesia does have some drawbacks:

• Limited customization compared to other platforms
• Avatars have stiff faces and struggle to convey complex emotions
• Occasional errors and glitches during video creation

Synthesia offers a four-tier pricing model:

• Basic is free and includes one editor, nine AI avatars, and three minutes of video per month.
• Starter costs $29 per month. It includes everything in the basic tier plus the ability to download your videos, an AI video assistant, and more.
• Creator costs $64 per month. It includes everything in Starter plus five personal avatars, video dubbing, and additional perks.
• Enterprise offers custom pricing. It includes everything in Creator plus unlimited video minutes and other features.

Pictory

Pictory gives everyone — whether content marketers, digital marketers, social media managers, or educational professionals — an easy way to create professional videos. Users have used Pictory to create over 10 million videos. Examples of well-known Pictory users include Pearson, Royal Canin, Colibri, and Coursera.

Pictory’s pros include:

• Speed in turning text into videos
• Advanced editing features like resizing, cropping, and color correction
• Screen and voiceover recording abilities

Pictory’s cons are:

Higher cost than some platforms
No free tier (although a free trial is offered for every tier except Custom)
Limited customization options
No lifelike avatars

Pictory offers four pricing tiers:

• Starter costs $19 per month (billed annually) for one user. It includes 200 video minutes, one brand kit, and unlimited standard voices in seven languages, and more.
• Professional costs $39 per month (billed annually) for one user. It includes 600 video minutes, five brand kits, and more.
• Team costs $99 per month and is intended for three or more users. It includes 1800 video minutes, 10 brand kits, and more.
• Enterprise has custom pricing and is designed for 10 or more users. It includes whatever number of video minutes you want, 18 million videos from Getty Images and Storyblocks, unlimited brand kits, and more.

Descript

Descript is an AI co-editor that turns your vision into video. You can also manually use its intuitive editing tools to make videos.

The main advantages of using Descript are:

• Easy text-based video editing
• User-friendly interface
• Ability to edit both audio and video
• Allows for easy collaboration

Disadvantages of using Descript are:

• Typing directly in Descript is slow
• Inability to use Descript’s AI features like error correction and paraphrasing if you copy-paste pre-written scripts
• Color correction feature lacks intuitive controls like sliders
• Overdub function is limited and doesn’t synchronize lip movements
• Frequent crashes
• Slow customer response

Descript offers several pricing tiers:

• Free includes 1 person and lets you get started with the tool.
• Hobbyist costs $16 per month per person. It’s a one-person plan that includes 10 transcription hours per month, the ability to export 1080p watermark-free, 20 uses per month of Basic AI Actions suite, 30 minutes per month of AI speech, and 5 minutes per month of avatars.
• Creator costs $24 per person per month and is scaled to a team of three. It provides 30 transcription hours per month, the ability to export 4K watermark free, unlimited Basic and advanced AI Actions, 2 hours per moth of AI speech, 30 minutes per month of dubbing in over 20 languages, and 10 minutes per month of custom avatars.
• Business costs $50 per person per month, and is meant for larger teams. It provides 40 transcription hours per month, the ability to add free Basic seats for collaboration, unlimited access to the full Professional AI Actions Suite, priority support, and more.
• Enterprise provides tailored solutions and enterprise-grade security for growing or large teams.

Lumen5

Lumen5 is an online AI video creator that does the heavy lifting for you. All you have to do is point, click, drag, and drop. With Lumen 5, users have created over 10 million videos across every industry. Some famous users include Mitsubishi, Merck, KPMG, and Siemens.

Advantages of using Lumen5 include:

• Simple video creation process
• Great for text to video conversion
• Templated designs, preset image and text placements

Disadvantages of using Lumen5 include:

• Audio and video sync issues
• Limited customization options
• Lacks advanced editing functionalities
• AI-generated content may not be suitable for professional video creation

The pricing tiers are as follows:

• Basic costs $19 per month, billed yearly. It lets you create simple, unbranded videos. Features include advanced AI Script Composer features, longer AI Voiceover videos, and more.
• Starter costs $59 per month, billed yearly. It’s for individual content creators. You get everything in Basic plus 1080p video resolution, over 50 million stock photos and videos, the ability to choose your own font, colors, and more.
• Professional costs $149 per month, billed yearly. Designed for professional video storytellers, it has everything in Starter plus custom watermarks, multiple blueprints and brand kits, and more.

Kaiber (Superstudio)

Superstudio from Kaiber is an advanced AI-powered suite of tools for image, video, and sound. Made for artists by artists, it lets you access a curated selection of the best image and video models.

Advantages of Superstudio include:

• User-friendly interface for users of all skill levels
• Ability to customize colors, animations, and other parameters to create unique visuals
• Supports videos and images
• Affordable pricing for commercial use

Disadvantages of Superstudio include:

• Free plan has limited credits and storage
• Requires a subscription for commercial use
• Only available as a web app, no mobile or desktop versions

Pricing plans for Superstudio are as follows:

• Flex is free and gives you pay-as-you-go credits. It has limited image and video models, but you can still generate with Kiko, your AI assistant. You can only do three generations at once.
• Creator costs $29 per month and gives you 1,400 credits per month. You can access all image, video, audio, and SVG models, do 15 generations at a time, and more.
• Pro costs $149 per month. You get everything in Creator plus 7,500 credits per month, unlimited generations at a time, 20% Discount on credit packs, and more.
• Visionary gives you everything in Pro plus unlimited credits and access to white glove support. Talk to the Kaiber AI support team to learn more.

Drawbacks of Using AI for Video Production

Although AI tools can significantly streamline video creation, they have drawbacks. These include:

• Inability to truly connect with audiences: As noted by Hartley, Founder of Paper Kite Media, “It's difficult to rely on AI for video content. Not everyone feels confident on camera, but the person-to-person aspect is powerful. Seeing someone speak creates familiarity and builds resonance.”
• Difficulties conveying brand identity: AI tools work best using predefined scripts and templates. While that’s efficient, it can lead to sterile, repetitive videos that lack your brand’s distinctive voice and personality.
• Risk of producing inaccurate information: AI platforms may pull incorrect or outdated data unless properly reviewed. Inaccuracies, even minor ones, can seriously hurt your credibility, especially in regulated industries like law.
• Reliance on standardized templates: AI tools usually encourage a plug-and-play, templatable mindset. However, over-reliance on standardized templates can make your videos feel mass-produced and forgettable. As such, standing out from competitors will be harder.
• Legal and ethical risks: Voice cloning, AI-generated scripts, and AI avatars can lead to consent, privacy, and misinformation issues, especially if used without proper disclaimers or transparency.

When to Use AI for Your Video Production

Despite the drawbacks, AI video production is an invaluable asset if used strategically and thoughtfully.

Keep these points in mind to get the most out of AI-powered video tools:

• Add AI to your workflow, but don’t use it to replace strategic thinking: Instead of replacing your workflow with AI, just use AI to generate briefs, create drafts, and auto-caption videos. Always include human ingenuity and input when conceptualizing and reviewing videos.
• Provide training for your team: Ensure your marketing team knows how to use AI tools properly. This will allow them to push the tools to their limits and avoid unprofessional or unethical outputs. Consider assigning an AI-savvy lead to host workshops and guide implementation.
• Maintain a human-in-the-loop quality assurance process: All AI-generated content must go through human editing for fact-checking, emotional tone assessment, and brand alignment.

Bring Human Touch to AI Video Generation

AI video generation tools provide a quick and easy way to create videos. However, if you’re not careful, you may create videos that don’t convey your brand image or feature inaccurate information. Sometimes, these videos can also lead to privacy and other legal risks.

There are steps you can take to use AI tools to accelerate your video-creation process without sacrificing authenticity, accuracy, and ethics. Strategically implement AI tools instead of replacing the whole video creation process with AI, set up training sessions for your team, and create ethical and legal guidelines. By keeping these principles in mind, you'll be able to make content that works for your brand as well as your budget.

About Robyn Hartley, Founder of Paper Kite Media

Robyn Hartley works directly with B2B brands and agencies to build strong authentic relationships with buyers through effective thought-leadership strategies. Her agency specializes in helping B2B brands drive sustainable growth through thought-leadership strategies, helping to reduce sales cycles, improve win rates and reduce overall customer acquisition costs.