Google Vids brings deep customization and directed actions to AI Avatars

Google Vids is quickly evolving from a basic storyboard builder into a fully featured, AI-driven video studio for Workspace users. When the application initially launched, it gave creators a clever way to drop preset stock footage and generate baseline video tracks using simple text prompts. But if you wanted your presentations to feature a dynamic, customized spokesperson that could do more than just stand still and speak, you were largely out of luck.

Google is completely breaking down those limitations. According to a new announcement on the Google Workspace Updates blog, Google Vids is rolling out a massive suite of enhanced AI avatar features, including a huge library expansion, massive language localization, and the ability to physically direct your custom characters to take action on screen.

A massive expansion of styles and voices

The first thing you’ll notice when you open your presentation dashboard is a much deeper gallery of presenter options. Google has expanded its avatar presets from 23 to 53 built-in options, spanning distinct artistic genres like photorealistic models, 3D animated cartoons, and graphic novel aesthetics. Backed by Gemini Audio, these presets speak with highly realistic pacing and conversational inflections.

If you are communicating with a global team, localization just got drastically easier. The platform has picked up support for 16 new languages—including Hindi, Arabic, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, Polish, and Vietnamese—bringing the system’s total speaker profile to 24 distinct languages for both avatars and background voiceovers.

For creators looking for a unique identity, the update leverages Nano Banana Pro to let you design custom avatars from scratch. You can now choose from over 30 distinct custom voices that offer superior inflection, language diversity, and steering control over exactly how your spokesperson delivers their lines.

Directing your avatars through text prompts

The most impressive part of this upgrade, however, is the addition of true steering controls for custom avatars. Previously, you could only instruct default presets to move around, while custom creations were confined to speaking directly to the camera.

Now, your custom creations can actively tell your story as an integral ingredient inside generated video clips. Google Vids preserves your customized avatar’s facial design and vocal profile across entirely new generations, allowing you to direct them seamlessly throughout an entire project:

• Text-to-Action Controls: You can instruct your custom avatar to interact with its virtual environment simply by typing a description. Prompts like “have the avatar walk across the screen while talking” or “direct the avatar to pick up a smartphone” will generate smooth physical animations automatically.
• Image Context Matching: Users can upload secondary image files such as branded corporate logos or custom physical backdrops and instruct the avatar to stand in or interact with those precise visual locations.

Availability and rollout pace

Because this is a native platform feature update to the core Google Vids interface, there are no administrative deployment toggles or security configurations for IT managers to manage. The new tools are completely on by default.

The rollout is moving via a Full Rollout pace for both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains, with complete feature visibility hitting all eligible accounts within the next 1 to 3 days. The advanced avatar controls are available across a wide array of tiers:

• Workspace Business & Enterprise: Business Starter, Standard, Plus, and all Enterprise editions.
• Education & Nonprofits: Education Plus, Teaching and Learning upgrades, and standard Nonprofit accounts.
• Consumer Tiers: Personal Google accounts, including individual Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Google notes that individuals equipped with an AI Expanded Access add-on license will enjoy significantly higher usage limits on AI avatar generations, which is an incredible asset if you are looking to scale your team’s weekly training materials or client pitch decks.