Google’s Veo 3 can now generate vertical AI videos

Google has added support for 1080p resolution and vertical video formats to its Veo 3 AI video generator. According to the announcement on Google’s developer blog, both Veo 3 and Veo 3 Fast — a faster, and more affordable version of the video model that produces lower-quality results — now allow users to generate videos in a 9:16 aspect ratio that’s better suited for content displayed on mobile devices and social media apps.

The blog says that vertical video support can be enabled by setting the aspectRatio parameter in API requests to 9:16, meaning this feature is specific to developers who are building apps that support Veo 3 video generation. The update also allows developers to set the resolution of generated videos to 1080p, up from the previous 720p limitation, though Neowin reports that this is currently only supported for 16:9 aspect ratio videos.

Google says it’s also making Veo 3 and Veo 3 Fast “stable and ready for scaled production use in the Gemini API,” and has made it more affordable for developers to generate videos using these tools. Generation through Veo 3 is now $0.40 per second, down from $0.75, and the Veo 3 Fast model has been cut to $0.15 per second, down from $0.40. Google showcased these updates in a couple of example videos generated in Veo 3’s new vertical format, including a rock climber saying, “Veo 3 is now, like, 50 percent cheaper and higher quality, so go build.”

The support for vertical video formats isn’t entirely surprising, given Google announced in June that Veo 3 support will be added to YouTube Shorts “later this summer.” Giving developers access to support the format in their own apps means we will likely start seeing content generated through Veo 3 on more vertical video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, however, putting yet more AI slop in front of our eyeballs.