But now, the way people search, learn, and trust has changed. With AI pulling the strings in how information is discovered, video is no longer an optional extra. It’s a brand’s most visible proof of credibility.

Video has always reinvented itself. From TV commercials to YouTube tutorials, from glossy brand films to raw TikToks, it’s evolved with every wave of technology and contemporary cultural shifts. AI is the latest of those. New tools make it easier to script, edit, and even generate entire videos, but that abundance has made one thing clear: what people and algorithms trust most are authentic, human-driven stories. Much like Wall-E roaming an abandoned Earth, we’re presented with an endless horizon of junk, but there are shoots of green if you care to look.

While AI-generated content floods timelines, the videos that really resonate are those that show real people, real expertise, and real creativity. Founders explaining their vision. Customers demonstrating a product. Experts breaking down a complex issue. Not free from AI, but full of authenticity. These are the moments that have staying power. They’re not just watched, they’re remembered, shared, and presented in generative search.

Video builds trust

The power of video isn’t just in its ability to engage – it’s in how it shapes discovery. Search engines and AI assistants are increasingly pulling clips into their answers: a how-to tutorial from YouTube, a product demo from TikTok, a keynote highlight from LinkedIn. For audiences, these clips feel more immediate and trustworthy than plain text. For algorithms, they provide the authority and clarity needed to build reliable outputs.

Video has become more than marketing collateral. It’s a credibility asset. A strong video signals that a brand knows its subject, can explain it clearly, and has people confident enough to stand behind it. In an age of zero-click discovery, where users get what they need without leaving the page, video often becomes the piece that tips the balance between being overlooked and being chosen.

A playbook for video in the AI era

If you want your brand’s videos to rise above the noise, treat them as a core part of your strategy and not simply a postscript. 

• Publish where AI looks first. Prioritise YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn, where videos feed directly into search results
• Invest in timeless formats. Tutorials, explainers, and thought leadership clips hold long-term value in AI summaries
• Make your content modular. Short, captioned clips increase the chance of being referenced, shared, or embedded
• Go niche when it matters. Industry webinars or trade-specific videos can earn outsized authority in search
• Track how AI uses your work. Tools are emerging to show when your video content surfaces inside AI outputs

Brands that ignore this shift risk fading into invisibility while competitors earn trust through discoverable video content.

Timeless fundamentals

Despite all the changes, the essence of video hasn’t shifted. It’s always been about telling human stories in ways that text alone can’t. What has shifted is the weight video now carries in shaping visibility. Brands that invest in high-quality, story-led moving images aren’t just producing content, they’re building trust at scale, both with audiences and with the algorithms that guide them.

AI can generate endless streams of words, but it still turns to video to capture authenticity, emotion, and proof. That makes video not just part of the marketing mix, but the medium that holds it all together.

In the AI era, the brands that will stand out are those that use video not as decoration, but as their most powerful signal of authority.