In the digital age, the need to create and edit videos is becoming more and more popular, not only for professional content creators but also for individual users and businesses. Previously, to edit videos, we often had to download files to our computers, install specialized software such as Premiere, DaVinci Resolve or use third-party online platforms. This was time-consuming, took up storage space and sometimes was not convenient in situations that needed to be processed quickly. However, everything is gradually changing when Google officially launched a "game-changing" upgrade for Google Drive: editing videos directly on the cloud platform, no need to download.

According to TechSpot, this move not only makes Google Drive a more versatile tool, but also puts Google in direct competition with big names like Microsoft and Adobe. So what makes this upgrade so special, and how could it change the way we work with video? Let's take a closer look.

1. Google Drive adds video editing features

Google Drive has long been one of the most popular cloud storage services in the world, thanks to its powerful synchronization with the Google ecosystem and the convenience of sharing data. However, users always face an inherent limitation: Drive mainly serves as a storage and sharing platform, not really a direct content processing tool. For text files, spreadsheets or presentations, we have Google Docs, Sheets and Slides built in. But for videos, users are forced to download to edit or find third-party tools.

Google recognized this gap and decided to add a new feature to Drive: editing videos directly on the cloud platform through Google Vids. This is a lightweight video editor developed by Google and integrated right inside Drive, helping users perform basic operations without having to install any additional software.

According to Google, when users preview a video file on Drive, they will see a new button called “Open with Vids”. With just one click, the video editor window will open right in the browser, without having to download the video to your computer. This feature is suitable for “emergency” situations when you need to cut a clip, quickly insert a title or add background music without spending time with complicated software.

2. Outstanding features of Google Vids

Google Vids is designed with the goal of optimizing convenience and speed. Although it is not a professional editing software like Premiere Pro, it still meets basic editing needs well. Specifically, Google Vids allows:

• Cut and merge clips: This is the most basic and most requested feature by users. You can select a specific part of the video, cut out unnecessary parts, or merge multiple clips into a complete video. This is especially useful in the context of businesses that need to quickly edit meeting videos, lectures, or short promotional clips.
• Insert text and titles: A video will become more professional with an opening title, captions or subtitles. Google Vids supports inserting text anywhere in the video, allowing for basic font, color and size customization.
• Add and customize audio: Users can add background music or voiceover to videos directly in the editor. This is a big plus, saving time and eliminating the need to use multiple different software.

What makes Google Vids even more appealing is its deep integration with Veo, Google’s AI video and audio generation system. Veo promises to bring intelligent editing features in the future, such as automatically trimming scenes, suggesting background music that matches the content, or even automatically adding subtitles thanks to voice recognition. These are steps that clearly demonstrate Google’s AI-first strategy in all products.

Once you're done editing, Vids automatically saves a new copy to Google Drive, ensuring the original video remains intact. This approach gives users more peace of mind when editing, avoiding the risk of losing important data.

3. Terms of Use and Technical Limitations

One thing to note is that the ability to edit videos directly in Drive isn’t available to everyone. This is a premium feature that Google is rolling out to paid customers. Specifically, it will be available on:

• Google Workspace plans for businesses, nonprofits, and schools include Gemini Education.
• Individual users purchase AI Pro and Ultra packages.

This feature is not yet available for free Google accounts. This may be part of Google's strategy to encourage users to upgrade to premium plans, similar to how Microsoft tiers features between free OneDrive and Microsoft 365 plans.

Technically, Google Vids supports popular video formats such as MP4, MOV, and WebM. However, to ensure performance and online processing, Google has set a limit: videos must be under 35 minutes and no larger than 4 GB. For quick and compact editing needs, this limit is acceptable, but for long or high-resolution projects, users still have to use professional external tools.

4. Direct competition with Microsoft and Adobe

Google’s move comes amid fierce competition among tech giants. Microsoft has long integrated its Clipchamp video editor into Windows and OneDrive, while Adobe has been pushing its Adobe Express platform, a leaner version of Premiere Pro that focuses on simplicity and cloud integration.

What differentiates Google’s strategy is that instead of developing a standalone editing app, Google is making video editing a natural extension of Google Drive. This not only brings convenience, but also leverages the power of an ecosystem that is already familiar to billions of users around the world. Drive users can share videos, edit, and store them in the same space, without having to switch between multiple tools.

In the long run, the integration of Google Vids and AI Veo could give Google an edge. As AI becomes more central to the content creation process, automation and intelligent recommendations will become a core competitive advantage. Google is well-positioned with a robust AI ecosystem spanning Gemini, Bard, and Google Cloud services.

5. Potential and impact on users

Editing video directly on Drive will create big changes in the working habits of many groups of people:

• Businesses: They can edit and share internal videos without relying on technical teams. Meeting videos, employee training, or marketing materials can be processed right in the cloud, saving time and money.
• Content creators: For YouTubers or TikTokers who need to quickly edit short clips, Google Vids is a useful tool. They can shoot clips on their phones, upload them to Drive, and edit them online before publishing.
• Personal users: When traveling or saving memories, quickly editing videos right on Drive will help them easily share with friends and family without the need for a powerful computer or heavy software.

In particular, with the support of AI in the future, the editing process can become almost automatic. For example, you just need to upload a video and ask "create a 1-minute highlight video from a 20-minute clip", Google Vids will process it in seconds.

6. Conclusion

The new upgrade of Google Drive with the feature of direct video editing is a clear demonstration of the trend of digitization and deeper integration of services in the technology ecosystem. Not only does it help users save time and effort, it also opens up an interesting competition between Google, Microsoft and Adobe in the field of cloud content editing.

While there are still some limitations in terms of duration, capacity, and scope, the potential of Google Vids is huge. In the future, as AI is integrated more deeply and technical limits are expanded, Google Drive could become a comprehensive content processing center, not just for storage and sharing.

With this move, Google once again shows its ability to keep up with trends and meet the growing needs of users. If you are using Google Workspace or AI Pro packages, be ready to experience and take advantage of the video editing tool directly on Drive, a new step in the journey of digitizing work and content creation.