Bing adds OpenAI's Sora video generator - and it's free

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Turning text into videos is one of the latest AI skills creating a buzz. And Microsoft is offering a free way to transform your ideas into quick video clips. Introduced on Monday, the Bing Video Creator is now accessible through the Bing mobile app and is coming soon to Bing on the desktop and Copilot Search.

"Bing Video Creator represents our efforts to democratize the power of AI video generation," Microsoft said in its blog post. "We believe creativity should be effortless and accessible to help you satisfy your answer-seeking process."

Using the mobile app for now, you can generate five-second videos by describing what you want through the usual prompt. The current version formats your videos in a 9:16 aspect ratio (ideal for social media), but Microsoft says that a 16:9 format is coming.

Also: How to try Veo 3, Google's AI video generator that's going viral on the internet

You can queue up to three different video generations at the same time, which the video creator will tackle one after the other. If all three slots are currently being used, you'll have to wait until one opens up before starting another video request.

There are also two different speeds for creating a video — standard and fast. The standard speed lets you freely conjure as many videos as you want, but a single video can take hours to generate.

The fast speed takes just a few minutes to cook up your video. But you get only 10 fast creations. After that, your videos will turn to the standard speed. If you don't want to wait hours, you're able to redeem 100 Microsoft points for each fast video creation you'd like to generate. You can check the balance of your rewards by signing in to the Microsoft Rewards website.

The Bing Video Creator is powered by OpenAI's Sora model. Sora video generation is currently accessible through its own dedicated website. However, the feature is limited to ChatGPT Pro, Plus, and Team subscribers. Google also offers its own video generator through its Veo 2 and 3 models, but those are generally available only to Gemini paid subscribers.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Despite the Microsoft points required for fast video generation, Bing Video Creator is an attempt to freely offer this type of AI skill to more people. All you need is a Microsoft account.

To get started, make sure you have the Bing Search app on your iPhone or Android device. Fire up the app and sign in with your Microsoft account, if prompted.

Tap the square menu icon in the lower right, and select Video Creator. By default, the app will use the fast speed to generate your video.

Also: The hidden cost of AI video generators that no one warns you about

At the prompt, type or speak a description of the scene you want depicted in the video. Your prompt can be as long as 480 characters. When done, tap Create.

Bing generates your five-second video in just a few minutes, allowing you to play it, download it, and share it with other people. To access any video you've created, tap the heading for My Creations. Each video is stored for 90 days, so you'll want to download any you plan to keep.

If you need help devising the right description for a video, Microsoft offers a few tips.

1. Be descriptive in your prompts

Try to avoid generalities in your prompt and instead provide more vivid and specific details. Instead of telling the AI to create a video of a "person walking," tell it to create one of a "young woman in a red coat walking through a snowy forest at sunrise." You can even include camera angles and lighting instructions to set a certain look and mood.

2. Use language to set the action and scene

The right descriptive and concrete words will help your video come alive. Verbs like "dancing," "exploring," or "transforming" will result in more dynamic videos. Adjectives like "cinematic," "sunny," or "dreamy" will add to the overall feeling of a video.

3. Play around with tone and style

Instead of asking for just any plain old video, describe a certain tone and style. If you want a cinematic video, ask the AI to create it in the style of a movie trailer. Want something more playful? Tell it to animate your video like a cartoon.

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