Technologies

Microsoft Just Dropped a Free AI Video Tool, and It’s Wildly Easy to Use

Bing Video Creator is live on mobile now, but desktop and Copilot Search support is coming soon.

Microsoft has a new, free tool that lets you create AI-generated videos: the Bing Video Creator.

If you’ve ever wanted to turn a quick idea into a video without touching editing software, Microsoft’s new AI tool might be your next favorite trick. The company just rolled out Bing Video Creator, a free feature that lets you generate short videos from nothing but a text prompt. No fancy skills or timeline scrubbing required. Just type in your idea and let the AI do the rest.

When I gave it a spin, it took less than a minute to churn out a five-second clip of the Bing logo bobbing in a pool alongside a flamingo and donut floatie. It’s weird, fun, and kind of impressive, especially for a free tool that lives right inside your browser. If you’re curious about what this AI video generator can do (or just want to make a goofy summer-themed clip), here’s how it works and what to expect.

The feature is only available on the Bing Search mobile app right now but it will be coming to Windows desktops and Copilot Search, according to the company, and is powered by OpenAI’s Sora video technology. Bing Video Creator joins other major AI-driven video creation tools, including Sora from ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly, Google Veo, Runway and Meta Movie Gen.

You can check out what Google’s latest Veo 3 feature can do for those willing to pay for Gemini Ultra. The technology is moving quickly, with more options now available, some free and others for a fee or purchasing them in AI service subscriptions.

How to use Bing Video Creator

Finding or using the Bing Video Creator isn’t instantly intuitive, especially if you’re not already using the Bing Search app. In the Bing Search app, I accessed the feature by clicking on the box on the bottom right of the home screen.

That brings up lots of apps within the app. Look for Video Creator on the bottom left. There, you can create a still image or video by typing in a text prompt. Using the Fast option, which is the default, should generate the short video in moments.

You can also type «Create a video of…» directly in the app’s main search bar if you don’t want to hunt for the feature. You can download and share the video.

When I tried it out, I found the video was not very high quality and was not easy to download directly from the app. Sharing a link to the video creation and viewing it outside the app offers an option to download the full video.

Microsoft says it will keep your video creations available for 90 days.

Choice of AI video generators

Microsoft’s entry into AI video making is giving people another free option that seems geared toward casual users.

Many who work in AI businesses, such as Matt Psencik, director of security and product design research at Tanium, are following the rollout of these products, led by Sora last year. Psencik says one of them has been most impressive.

«Google’s launch of Veo 3 for Gemini is a standout,» he tells me, «in object permanence, realistic physics and overall visual fidelity. These developments are beginning to erase the line between ‘clearly AI-generated’ and ‘convincingly real.’ «

The risks, Psencik says, is that realistic video generation could be exploited with deepfakes or used to attempt to hijack someone else’s identity. Most of the AI video generators have guardrails or filters on what kind of content users can request to generate, whether it’s to avoid copyright issues or to prevent hate speech and propaganda.

But, Psencik tells me, that’s not stopping AI bots from posting fake videos online that many people can’t tell apart from reality.

«As AI-generated video becomes nearly indistinguishable from reality, it’s only a matter of time before these tools are regularly weaponized to impersonate real people at scale,» he says.

Technologies

Google Rolls Out Latest AI Model, Gemini 3.1 Pro

Starting Thursday, Gemini 3.1 Pro can be accessed via the AI app, NotebookLM and more.

Google took the wraps off its latest AI model, Gemini 3.1 Pro, on Thursday, calling it a «step forward in core reasoning.» The software giant says its latest model is smarter and more capable for complex problem-solving.

Google shared a series of bookmarks and examples of the latest model’s capabilities, and is rolling out Gemini 3.1 to a series of products for consumers, enterprise and developers.

The overall AI model landscape seems to change weekly. Google’s release comes just a few days after Anthropic dropped the latest version of Claude, Sonnet 4.6, which can operate a computer at a human baseline level.

Benchmarks of Gemini 3.1

Google shared some details about AI model benchmarks for Gemini 3.1 Pro.

The announcement blog post highlights that the Gemini 3.1 Pro benchmark for the ARC-AGI-2 test for solving abstract reasoning puzzles sits at 77.1%. This is noticeably higher than Gemini 3 Pro’s 31.1% score for the same test.

The ARC-AGI-2 benchmark is one of multiple improvements coming from Gemini 3.1 Pro, Google says.

3.1 Pro enhancements

With better benchmarks nearly across the board, Google highlighted some of the ways that translate in general use:

Code-based animations: The latest Gemini model can easily create animated SVG images that are scalable without quality loss and ready to be added to websites with a text prompt.

Creative coding: Gemini 3.1 Pro generated an entire website based on a character from Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights, if she were a landscape photographer showing off her portfolio.

Interactive design: 3.1 Pro was used to create a 3D interactive starling murmuration that allows the flock to be controlled in an assortment of ways, all while a soundscape is generated that changes with the movement of the birds.

Availability

As of Thursday, Gemini 3.1 Pro is rolling out in the Gemini app for those with the AI Pro or Ultra plans. NotebookLM users subscribed to one of those plans will also be able to take advantage of the new model.

Both developers and enterprises can also access the new model via the Gemini API through a range of products, including AI Studio, Gemini Enterprise, Antigravity and Android Studio.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 20 #719

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Feb. 20, No. 719.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a bit tricky. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: True grit

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: You might find this in a wood shop.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

SAND, CART, SCAR, SCAT, PAPER, HAVE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

COARSE, HARSH, SCRATCHY, ROUGH, PRICKLY, ABRASIVE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SANDPAPER. To find it, start with the S that’s the farthest-left letter on the very top row, and wind down.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 20, #515

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 20, No. 515.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a category all about my favorite football team. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: We’ll be right back…

Green group hint: Run for the roses.

Blue group hint: Skol!

Purple group hint: