The last remaining path to Sora from OpenAI disappeared on September 24th. Just a day before that, Google announced that any user with a Google account could create high-definition videos generated by AI for free within Google Vids.
It's worth being more precise about the timing: strictly speaking, these events did not occur on the same day. Google announced its expansion on September 23rd, while the Videos API and Sora models of OpenAI ceased services as planned on September 24th. However, this approximately 24-hour transition period between the two makes the competitive contrast between them difficult to overlook.
The official deprecation schedule for OpenAI lists September 24th as the removal date for Videos API, sora-2, sora-2-pro, and their remaining snapshots. The key point is that OpenAI does not provide any alternative models for these products.
Google competes not only with models but also with its account system.
The significance of Google's move is not just to make another AI product cheaper.
In a announcement on September 23, Google stated that any user with an account with the identifier Google can now use Gemini Omni to create 1080p videos for free within Google Vids, and they have control over the duration of each scene and the transition effects.
This means that the AI video has been integrated into an ecosystem that users have already been using for Gmail, Drive, Docs, Slides, and YouTube, rather than requiring consumers to adopt a separate generation product.
Google had actually already begun to move in this direction before. In April, Google opened a limited number of free Veo generation quotas to holders of the Google account; in June, it further expanded free access to the AI virtual avatar feature.
The adjustment on September 23rd further advanced this strategy: distribution itself became a product advantage.
The departure of Sora has been in the works for several months.
OpenAI previously discontinued the consumer-facing Sora website and app experience on April 26th. Its remaining API service continued for another 5 months before disappearing this week. The support documentation for OpenAI confirms these two dates and states that data related to Sora will be permanently deleted after the applicable export window closes.
This contraction is in line with the broader shift in priorities of OpenAI. As we previously mentioned, the company is cutting back on smaller projects such as Sora and is instead focusing its resources on corporate products and Codex.
At the same time, the AI approach to economics is also becoming more and more aggressive. The cost of the AI model has been rapidly declining, which makes it feasible for companies with sufficient infrastructure and distribution capabilities to offer free access as a means of acquiring customers.
