Google Flow Tutorial: How to Create Brand Videos From a Single Prompt in 2026

Google just merged three separate AI creative tools into one workspace — and quietly shipped one of the most useful creative production environments available right now.

Flow combines image generation (formerly ImageFX and Whisk), video generation (Veo 3.1), and editing tools into a single interface. You generate an image, refine it with a lasso tool and natural language edits, then animate it into video — all without leaving the same project.

For creative teams producing brand content, this changes the workflow significantly. Instead of generating images in one tool, importing them to another, and stitching video together in a third, Flow handles the entire pipeline from concept to finished clip.

Here's how it works, what it's good at, and where it falls short.

What is Google Flow?

Flow is Google's AI-powered creative studio, available at labs.google/flow. It launched in late 2025 as an AI video tool, but the February-March 2026 redesign transformed it into something much more ambitious: a unified workspace that absorbs Google's image generation experiments (Whisk and ImageFX) alongside its Veo video models.

The core pitch: generate images, edit them visually, and turn them into video — all in one place.

Flow is built on two AI models:

• Nano Banana — Google's image generation model, now built directly into Flow. High-fidelity output with strong prompt adherence.
• Veo 3.1 — Google's video generation model. Produces cinematic clips with synchronized audio, camera movement, and natural transitions.

Since launch, users have created over 1.5 billion images and videos in Flow — a number that says something about both the tool's accessibility and the quality of what it produces.

Why it matters for creative teams

Most AI creative tools do one thing well. Image generators don't make video. Video generators don't let you edit images. And none of them manage your assets.

Flow's advantage is the pipeline. Here's what a typical brand content workflow looks like inside Flow:

1. Generate a concept image using Nano Banana — describe the visual, get 4 variations
2. Refine the winner — lasso-select areas, type natural language edits ("remove the background text," "change the lighting to golden hour")
3. Animate it — turn the refined image into a Veo 3.1 video clip with camera movement, audio, and transitions
4. Organize everything — asset grid with collections, search, filtering, and the @ symbol for quick referencing

For teams producing social content, ad creative, or brand mood boards, this pipeline eliminates the tool-switching that eats hours every week.

Getting started with Google Flow

Step 1: Sign up

Visit labs.google/flow and sign in with your Google account. Flow has a free tier that includes daily credits for image generation and limited video generation.

For serious production use, you'll want:

• AI Pro ($19.99/month) — Access to Veo 3.1, Nano Banana, 3 videos per day
• AI Ultra ($249.99/month) — Unlimited access, priority processing, experimental models

The free tier is enough to learn the tool and produce light content. The Pro tier is where most creative teams will land.

Step 2: Create your first project

Click "New Project" on the main screen. You'll see Flow's redesigned workspace:

• Prompt bar at the top — where you describe what you want to generate
• Asset grid below — where all your generated images and videos live
• Collections panel — for organizing assets into groups (e.g., "Brand Film Concepts," "Social Ads Q1")

Step 3: Generate your first image

Type a descriptive prompt into the bar. Flow uses Nano Banana to generate high-fidelity images.

Example prompt for brand content:

A sleek product shot of a minimalist SaaS dashboard on a laptop, floating in a clean dark studio environment with soft volumetric lighting, cinematic composition, 4K quality

Flow generates 4 variations. Click the one that's closest to your vision.

Step 4: Refine with the lasso tool

This is where Flow separates from basic image generators. Select an area of the image with the lasso tool, then type what you want changed:

• "Make the screen glow brighter"
• "Add a subtle lens flare on the right side"
• "Remove the reflection on the table"
• "Change the background to a deep navy gradient"

You can also draw directly on the image to indicate where changes should happen. The model interprets your markings plus your text instruction to make precise edits.

Step 5: Turn images into video

Select an image and click "Create Video." Flow uses Veo 3.1 to animate your static image into a video clip with:

• Camera movement (dolly, pan, zoom, orbit)
• Natural lighting transitions
• Synchronized audio (ambient sound, music suggestions)
• Smooth motion between static elements

Example prompt for video generation:

Slow cinematic dolly-in on the laptop screen, ambient studio lighting subtly shifts, soft electronic music builds

The result: a 4-8 second video clip that looks like it came from a production shoot — generated from the image you just refined.

Tutorial: Creating a product launch teaser with Flow

Let's walk through a real use case: creating a 15-second product launch teaser for social media.

1. Generate the hero shot

Prompt:

A dramatic product reveal — a glowing tech product emerges from darkness, surrounded by particles of light, deep blue and gold color palette, cinematic wide shot, ultra-high quality

Pick the best variation. Refine it — lasso the product, ask Flow to "add more particle detail around the edges" or "intensify the golden highlights."

2. Create the opening visual

Generate a second image for the opening frame:

Dark screen with a single line of elegant white text reading "Something is coming" centered, minimal, cinematic letterboxing, film grain

3. Generate video from each image

Turn both images into video clips:

• Opening text: "Slow fade in, subtle camera push forward, text gently glows"
• Hero reveal: "Dramatic dolly zoom into the product, particles scatter outward, lighting intensifies"

4. Reference across assets

Use the @ symbol to reference other assets in your project. When prompting new generations, type @hero-shot to tell Flow to maintain the same visual style, color palette, and lighting across all your clips.

5. Organize into a collection

Group all your launch teaser assets into a collection. Export the individual clips and cut them together in your preferred editor (Premiere, DaVinci, CapCut) for final timing and audio.

Result: A cinematic product teaser created entirely from text prompts and iterative refinement — no stock footage, no camera crew, no 3D modeling.

Tips and best practices

1. Start with images, not video. Flow's image generation is faster and cheaper on credits. Nail the visual first, then animate. Trying to generate video from a vague prompt wastes credits and time.

2. Use the @ reference system religiously. When generating multiple assets for the same project, reference your "hero" image in every subsequent prompt. This is how you maintain visual consistency across a campaign's worth of content.

3. Lasso > re-prompt. If an image is 80% right, don't regenerate from scratch. Use the lasso tool to fix the 20% that's off. It's faster, cheaper, and you keep the parts you liked.

4. Write video prompts as shot descriptions. Think like a cinematographer: "Slow dolly left, shallow depth of field, subject in focus, background softly blurs." The more cinematic your language, the better Veo 3.1 performs.

5. Build collections before you start generating. Set up folders for your project before you create anything. "Hero Shots," "Social Variations," "B-Roll Concepts." It saves significant organizational headaches when you have 50+ generated assets.

Limitations to know

Video length is short. Flow generates clips in the 4-8 second range. For anything longer, you're stitching clips together externally. This is a creative workflow tool, not a video editor.

No custom footage upload (yet). You can't bring in your own video files or photos as starting points. Everything must be generated within Flow. Google says upload support is coming, but there's no timeline.

Credit limits on free and Pro tiers. Free users get limited daily credits. Pro users get 3 videos per day — which active teams burn through fast. Ultra ($249.99/month) removes the cap, but that's a significant jump.

No team collaboration features. Flow is currently a single-user tool. No shared projects, no commenting, no approval workflows. If you're working with a team, someone owns the Flow account and exports assets for everyone else.

No API access. You can't automate Flow or integrate it into existing production pipelines programmatically. Everything is manual through the web interface.

Quality varies with complexity. Simple, well-described scenes produce excellent results. Complex multi-character interactions, specific brand logos, or precise text rendering can still produce inconsistent output.

Google Flow vs alternatives

Choose Flow if your workflow is concept → image → refined image → video, and you want everything in one workspace without switching tools.

Choose Runway if you want maximum creative control over generation and are comfortable with a more experimental, less structured workflow.

Choose CapCut if you need to produce high-volume social content quickly from templates and trending formats, and don't need generative image creation.

Verdict

Google Flow is the first AI creative tool that genuinely handles the full pipeline — from concept to refined image to animated video — in a single workspace. The March 2026 redesign that merged Whisk, ImageFX, and Veo into one interface was the right move. It eliminated the tool-switching tax that kills creative momentum.

Who should use it:

• Creative teams producing brand mood boards, social content, and ad concepts
• Solo creators who want to go from idea to finished visual without juggling tools
• Marketing teams that need consistent visual assets across campaigns
• Anyone exploring AI video generation who wants a lower barrier to entry than Runway

Who shouldn't (yet):

• Teams that need to upload and edit existing footage
• High-volume production shops that need more than 3 videos per day (unless on Ultra)
• Teams that need API access for automation
• Collaborative teams that need shared workspaces and approval flows

The tool is real, the output quality is genuinely impressive, and the unified workspace concept is sound. The limitations are mostly "not yet" rather than "can't" — Google is actively shipping features. If you're producing brand content and haven't tried Flow since the redesign, it's worth an afternoon of experimentation.

Frequently asked questions

Is Google Flow free to use?

Yes, Flow has a free tier that includes daily credits for image generation and limited video generation. For regular use, the AI Pro plan ($19.99/month) provides access to Veo 3.1 and 3 video generations per day. The AI Ultra plan ($249.99/month) offers unlimited access and priority processing.

Can I use Google Flow for commercial brand content?

Yes. Content generated in Flow can be used for commercial purposes under Google's terms of service. However, you should review Google's AI content policies for your specific use case, particularly around generated imagery that includes identifiable people or branded elements.

How long are the videos Google Flow generates?

Flow generates video clips in the 4-8 second range per generation. For longer content, you'll need to generate multiple clips and edit them together in an external video editor like Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or CapCut.

Can I upload my own images or footage into Google Flow?

As of March 2026, Flow does not support uploading custom images or video footage. All visual content must be generated within the platform using Nano Banana (images) or Veo 3.1 (video). Google has indicated upload support is planned but has not announced a timeline.

How does Google Flow compare to Runway and other AI video tools?

Flow's strength is the unified pipeline — image generation, editing, and video creation in one workspace. Runway offers more creative control for experimental work. CapCut is faster for template-based social content. Flow is best for teams that want a structured concept-to-video workflow without switching between multiple tools.