With Vids, Google thinks it has the next big productivity tool for work

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reception of Google Vids

  • Many see it as “Loom + light editor + AI,” aimed at async presentations and internal comms.
  • Several think it will be popular in enterprises that already use Workspace, especially if bundled.
  • Others find the core idea “horrifying”: more low‑value video replacing concise text or live interaction.

Meetings, async communication, and recordings

  • Some predict: people will skip meetings (“I’ll watch the video later”), then never watch, then reschedule live meetings anyway.
  • A few explicitly ban recordings for interactive sessions, saying recordings kill attendance, questions, and feedback.
  • Others note many meetings are already one‑way broadcasts; auto‑transcription/summarization (Teams, Copilot) makes async consumption more efficient.

Video vs text/slides

  • Strong faction: video is poor for technical/reference info—slow, hard to skim/search, noisy to consume, prone to rambling Looms.
  • Counterpoint: video is excellent for demos, frontend feature walkthroughs, UI bugs, physical tasks (e.g., car repair), and some education.
  • Concern that short, AI‑generated “talking head over bullets” will bloat content without adding information.
  • Some argue slides should be skeletal aids for live talks, not primary information stores.

Tooling, effort, and generative AI

  • Making good video is time‑consuming (scripting, takes, editing); pros make it look easier than it is.
  • Others feel casual videos can be faster than over‑polished slide decks for internal audiences.
  • There’s frustration that current gen‑AI for slides/presentations over‑automates content and under‑supports precise user control.

Google’s strategy and trust issues

  • Persistent skepticism: expectation that Vids will be rebranded, then killed within a few years; jokes about future shutdown headlines.
  • Some note a pattern: new greenfield apps rather than extending Slides, driven by promotion incentives and later cancellation.
  • A few suggest Google should commit to multi‑year support windows to rebuild credibility.

Market and competition concerns

  • Seen as a direct or partial response to Loom, Clipchamp, Microsoft Stream, Zoom recordings.
  • Worry that big platforms can cheaply copy smaller startups, bundle features into suites, and starve independents of their markets.