YouTube announced on Thursday that its Dream Screen feature for Shorts now supports AI-generated video backgrounds, expanding from its previous ability to create only image backgrounds.
This upgrade is powered by Google DeepMind's AI video-generation model, Veo, which produces 1080p video clips in various cinematic styles.
With this new feature, users can create video backgrounds by entering text prompts in the Shorts camera. To use it, select the “green screen” icon, choose “Dream Screen,” and type a prompt like “candy landscape” or “magical forest with a stream.” After selecting an animation style, tap “Create” to generate multiple video background options. Once you pick one, you can record a video with the selected background.
YouTube suggests using this tool for creative applications like placing yourself in a scene from your favorite book or designing animated intros for Shorts. Additionally, YouTube plans to expand the feature to allow creators to generate six-second standalone video clips for Shorts.
This functionality sets YouTube apart from TikTok, which offers AI-generated background images but does not currently support video backgrounds.
The new Dream Screen feature is now available in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.