The Coming Split in AI Video: Self-Serve vs. Studios With a Point of View

We're probably 18 months away from a point where any brand with a marketing budget can produce decent AI video in-house. Sora-level quality will be accessible to everyone. The learning curve will be basically flat.

And when that happens the market doesn't shrink — it splits.

One side: brands doing their own quick stuff. Social content, product demos, UGC-style posts. They won't need a studio for that and they shouldn't pay for one. That's fine.

The other side: brands that need something their competitors can't just make themselves. A campaign that makes people feel something. Content that becomes part of culture and not just part of a feed.

That second group is where human creative direction stays essential. You can automate production. You can't automate having a point of view.

I think the studios that figure this out now — that stop trying to compete with free tools on price and start competing on what free tools can't do — those are the ones that'll still be here in five years. The middle is going to disappear. It's already starting to.