After testing Google Vids' AI video creation in my previous post, I wondered how Microsoft's approach would compare. Google's "Help Me Create" feature had impressed me with its ability to generate video directly from existing content, but it left me curious about alternatives. So I decided to put Microsoft CoPilot and ClipChamp through the same test, using the same blog post as source material. I was impressed with the technology..
Microsoft's Different Philosophy
Unlike Google Vids, Microsoft CoPilot doesn't let you simply point the AI at a cloud drive and say "make this into a video." Instead, I discovered two distinct pathways, neither of which matched Google's straightforward approach:
Option 1: PowerPoint as an Intermediate Step
The first option involved converting my blog post into a PowerPoint presentation, then creating a video from that presentation. This seemed like it should work, as Microsoft CoPilot provided a button to “Add a PowerPoint file,” but it didn’t allow for any other type of document.
What I got was a disaster.
In PowerPoint, CoPilot generated a 29-slide presentation that looked like it came straight from corporate hell: formal title slide, agenda slide, multiple section headers, and a conclusion slide—all packed with dense text.
The resulting video was essentially an AI voice reading through each text-heavy slide. While technically functional, it provided a stark reminder of the worst corporate presentations ever. Microsoft had made it frighteningly easy to produce professional-looking garbage in minutes.
Option 2: Direct Video Creation
The second option was to write a prompt directly in Microsoft CoPilot to create the video. Here's where things got interesting. After watching how CoPilot responded to different prompts, it became clear this direct approach was the way to go, despite the initial limitations.
Finding My Voice
The good news is that I was able to paste in all of my text into the CoPilot prompt. However, to keep the video short, I indicated in my prompt specifically that I wanted a 3-4 minute video. In doing so, I recognized that much of the summarization didn’t quite emphasize what I wanted it to, and it confabulated other details I didn’t write. To inject some of my writing back into the video, I gave CoPilot specific instructions to include key quotations from my original post:
* "One of the luxuries of retirement is the ability to just wake up and enjoy a walk. But somehow, I turned my peaceful Forest Park stroll into a 'Walking Workout Record.'"
* "I think my capitalist conditioning can make me feel like I should be continually trying to accomplish something or improve myself on some metric."
* "I'm recognizing that being truly retired allows me to just 'be' without necessarily having anything to show for the time."
* "My answer to 'what do you do in retirement?' - Dicking around. I don't have a metric for that!"
I also included in my prompt requests for specific types of stock video clips. This level of detail made a significant difference in the final output, but it required considerable effort to get right.
The Documentation Problem
Here's where Microsoft's approach frustrated me most: I can't easily reproduce what I did. There's no clear history or log of my CoPilot sessions. According to a quick Google Search AI query, accessing these logs in Microsoft 365 requires compliance tools that end users can't access directly.
As such, I can’t share with you exactly how I achieved the final result. Worse yet, I can’t really iterate and improve on how I create videos with this tool.
The Narration Challenge
One area where Microsoft's solution felt less polished was custom narration. Google Vids provides an intuitive interface for recording voiceovers with proper timing synchronization for each slide.
While Microsoft's ClipChamp does offer custom audio capabilities and includes a teleprompter feature, it didn’t automatically select clips and populate the teleprompter. I had to put in the text and place the audio clips myself. Getting the timing right with each generated slide and its corresponding transcript proved time-consuming.
For my test video, I ended up recording only a brief personal introduction and letting the AI handle the rest of the narration. It worked, but felt like a compromise rather than an optimal solution.
The Verdict: Power vs. Simplicity
After working with both platforms, each has clear strengths and weaknesses:
Microsoft's Advantages:
* More interactive AI that responds well to detailed prompts
* Greater AI-based control over stock video selection and customization
* Ability to create content that feels less templated and "corporate" (ironically, given my PowerPoint experience)
* More flexibility in tone and style when there is a willingness to invest the time
Google's Advantages:
* Seamless integration with Google Drive and existing content
* Significantly easier custom narration workflow
* Less overall time investment required
* More straightforward process from start to finish
The Bottom Line
If I were producing videos regularly, I'd probably choose Google Vids for its efficiency and streamlined workflow. But if I wanted to create something more polished and was willing to invest the extra time, Microsoft CoPilot combined with ClipChamp offered me more overall control.
For me, it wasn’t about which tool was "better” in every situation. Sometimes I want fast and good enough. Sometimes I want to spend the time to craft something with a bit more polish. The best part? These are both solid options that seem to be a lot less work than creating these videos from scratch!
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