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A person uses AI to generate a video. Photo by Nguyen Tat Kiem |
For the last two years Hong Duyen has been producing video content for social media by utilizing AI tools to avoid showing her face online.
“I’m not confident enough about my appearance to be in front of the camera, and I do not think my voice is polished either,” the 30-year-old in HCMC says.
Duyen has been in the content creating business for five years, and at one point had to hire professional video production services for higher-quality output, but the cost ate a large chunk of her profits and sometimes even caused losses.
“With the assistance of AI, work has been much more bearable. For social media posts, I use a chatbot to create and refine the text until I am satisfied and then generate images with the same tool.”
For videos, Duyen uses AI to brainstorm ideas and then writes prompts to get it to produce images or animations.
Her AI-generated content centers on life hacks, philosophical insights, niche expertise, or short stories paired with illustrative videos.
Her five YouTube channels together fetch her several thousands of dollars a month, including sponsorship deals.
Instead of using a video service, Duyen now hires two employees who are familiar with AI tools to help her keep the content flow going.
In the northern province of Ninh Binh, Ninh Don has also been harnessing AI power to create video content.
After a decade of content development, Don now has several YouTube channels with over six billion views and nearly six million subscribers.
She operates both traditional and faceless channels.
“Faceless channels are easier to operate and require minimum skills and equipment,” he says. It provides him with better their automation and scalability without the need to rely on anyone. “With AI, everything is faster.”
His workflow involves using AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or GrabWord AI for generating ideas and scriptwriting.
AI is also used to produce voices and to design thumbnails and optimize searchability.
He assembles videos using a software called CapCut, which has recently adopted advanced AI tools like Google Veo 3 and InVideo.
“Thanks to AI, the time to create a video has dropped from between eight and 10 hours to about two hours. The entire process automates 90% of my work.”
He rates current AI tools “nine out of 10” for content creation, praising their speed, near-perfect video quality, superior ideas, and low costs.
But he says fine-tuning them can be time-consuming, and human oversight is needed to ensure high quality.
AI is fueling a surge in faceless video production globally, as modern tools deliver high-quality results.
Since OpenAI’s debut last year, AI video generators like Google Veo 3, Midjourney V1, ByteDance Seedance 1.0, and Baidu’s MuseSteamer have produced highly realistic videos, often indistinguishable from real footage.
On social media, many communities have been formed to discuss AI faceless video creation, where users exchange tools, techniques for efficient production, audience trends, and troubleshooting tips.
Traditional marketing companies are therefore striving to remain in the AI race.
Nguyen Tat Kiem, founder of Taki Group, a marketing consultancy and training firm, estimates AI can handle 80% of content creation.
He predicts an explosion in AI-driven faceless videos, with their production speeds being three to five times greater than traditional filming and increasingly lifelike quality.
High-engagement faceless video genres include life values, morality and personal stories. Humor, entertainment, social critique, and health tips also accrue a large number of views, he says. “The main thing is to address pain points, evoke emotions and create shareable content.”
The faceless video trend is flourishing, driven by rapidly advancing AI video tools.
These enable creators to produce standout social media content without the cost or complexity of traditional production, yielding monthly earnings from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, according to CNBC.
AI-generated video is a rapidly evolving technology that is reshaping how content is made and shared online, making it easier than ever to produce high-quality video without cameras, actors or editing software, it adds.
Tech reviewer Nguyen Ngoc Duy Luan says although faceless videos predate AI, the popularity of AI tools now has revived them.
“This trend stems from the need for video content to convey messages visually and accessibly for video-preferring audiences, while creators or sellers are uncomfortable appearing on camera.
“With AI’s recent popularity, faceless videos are booming due to easy, fast, and cheap production, often without recording equipment.”
This reflects AI’s advancement, moving beyond text to video, he says. But Luan also warns that AI videos can lack consistency or character continuity without extensive refinement, even with models like Sora or Veo.
Flaws such as incorrect hand movements, floating objects and uncorrectable errors persist in AI. For product-focused videos, AI struggles to replicate real items accurately, necessitating actual camera footage.
“With AI’s accessibility, creating standout content and building viewer trust is harder,” Luan notes.
“Some faceless content is faster, more authentic and cheaper to produce by simply recording with a camera. These creators can use AI only for voice while filming real visuals.”
Other analysts warn that misinformation is proliferating due to AI’s affordability and accessibility.
Some users have expressd frustration over the deluge of subpar AI-generated materials clogging their social media feeds. Such content is dubbed “AI slop.”
Luan urges users to hone skills for identifying AI content. Typical visual cues include shallow images, unnatural details, objects warping between scenes, and odd shadows.
“The best approach is to choose authentic content and verify information. Creators should also use real images and videos instead of relying solely on AI.”
