The Lab Notes

Google

Google Vids builds a custom avatar from an uploaded image

Google Vids users can now make a custom avatar from an uploaded image, clean it up in Vids and reuse it within a video.

The Lab Notes ·

An orange clapperboard with white stripes and a white leaf-shaped panel, tilted at center, surrounded by smaller pink, blue and yellow clapperboards on a black background with thin white concentric arcs at lower left.

Google Vids users can now upload an image and turn it into a custom avatar, an option that sits beside building one from scratch.

Google announced the feature in a Workspace Updates post on Nov. 2, 2026. Google said it gives users more options and more precise creative control.

The Image Can Come From a Computer, Drive or Photos

Users pick the source image from their local computer, Google Drive or Google Photos. Vids then lets them clean up backgrounds and lighting or add festive decorations.

Custom avatars are saved to the Vids project, so they can be reused consistently within a video.

Rapid Release Domains Began Rolling Out Oct. 30

The feature is labeled Rapid Release. Rapid Release domains began a gradual rollout on Oct. 30, 2026, and it can take up to 15 days for the feature to become visible. Scheduled Release domains get a full rollout over 1 to 3 days starting Nov. 20, 2026.

Google said there is no admin control for the feature.

Business, Enterprise, Education and Consumer Plans Are Covered

The feature is available on:

  • Business Starter, Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Essentials and Essentials Plus
  • Education Plus
  • Nonprofits and Individual
  • Personal Google accounts on Google AI Pro and Ultra
  • The Google AI Pro for Education and Teaching and Learning education add-ons
  • The AI Expanded Access add-on

Our View

We think where the avatar is saved matters most. It goes into the Vids project, and Google describes the reuse as happening within a video.

For anyone making a video, the avatar keeps the same look each time it appears in that video, with no need to rebuild it for every scene.

The consistency depends on the cleanup tools. An image with a poor background or flat lighting only makes a usable avatar if Vids can fix it.