Google Vids now also creates AI avatars from an image you upload. The finished avatar then speaks your script in a video. Google announced the update on the Google Workspace Updates blog.
Until now, Vids gave you two ways to get a character: pre-made avatars or a custom avatar that you put together from attributes such as age, clothing, and company logo. With the upload, a real face can now be the starting point.
How does your photo become an avatar?
According to the English help page, you start via „AI avatar“ and the option to design your own avatar, then upload the image from your computer, from Google Drive, or from Google Photos. Google recommends a landscape format with a 16:9 ratio, with a clearly recognizable, well-lit face against a calm background. You then adjust the background and lighting via description, choose a voice, and save the character under a name.
How your photo becomes a Vids avatar
Rollout since October 30, 2026, steps according to the English Google help page
- StartOpen „AI avatar“ and design a custom avatar
- UploadSelect an image from your computer, from Drive, or from Google Photos, ideally in 16:9 format
- RefineAdjust background and lighting via description
- VoiceChoose a voice, name the avatar, and save it
- ScriptInsert text and generate a clip of up to 60 seconds
The German help page does not yet describe the upload; menu names may differ
Sources: Google Workspace Updates, Google Help
An avatar clip lasts a maximum of 60 seconds. The character is saved only in the respective Vids project; for another video, you copy the project. The German version of the help page does not yet know about the upload and only describes the route via preset images. The avatar can speak in more than 20 languages, including German, while many other AI features in Vids run only in English for the time being, according to Google.
Who gets the feature, and how many clips are included?
Workspace distributes new features in two ways, and which one applies is determined by your organization's admin. Organizations with early delivery (Rapid Release) have been receiving the feature gradually since October 30, spread over up to 15 days. With bundled delivery (Scheduled Release), the rollout starts on November 20 and takes one to three days. Google does not provide a separate switch for admins.
The feature is being enabled in the Workspace plans Business and Enterprise in the Starter, Standard, and Plus tiers, as well as in Education Plus and for personal Google accounts with Google AI Pro or Ultra. According to the availability overview, the Standard and Plus plans as well as Google AI Pro allow 25 avatar clips per month, the Starter and Education plans 10. With the smaller Google AI Plus subscription, personal accounts stay with the pre-made avatars.
For Workspace accounts, the Vids features apply, according to Google, in all countries where Workspace is offered, so also in Germany. For personal accounts, Google does not name a list of countries. The German subscription overview of Google One lists Vids among the Gemini features of Google AI Pro.
What this means for you
For a course intro, a product explanation, or a short customer message, a good portrait is now enough instead of a recording in front of the camera. It's best to check under „AI avatar“ whether uploading is already offered in your account. If your organization receives new features in bundled form, the next attempt after November 20 is worthwhile.
To begin with, use a photo of yourself. If the image shows a colleague or a customer, get written consent beforehand: under § 22 KunstUrhG (German Art Copyright Act), images of people may only be distributed or publicly displayed with the consent of the person depicted. Google's help page does not mention this issue and only refers in general terms to the policy on prohibited use of generative AI.
Plan the clips sparingly, because Google only resets the quota on the first of the month. A longer script is better split across several scenes, each with a short avatar appearance. How an avatar video is created from a photo in another tool is shown by the HeyGen lesson on the photo avatar, so you can compare both approaches before you sign up for a subscription.
Google presented the update on November 2, 2026.
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