Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- A survey found many users prefer Gemini for creating images.
- It dominates both personal and enterprise use.
- Use cases for AI images and video differ widely.
By now, there’s a high likelihood that you’ve used Google Gemini, Midjourney, or Stable Diffusion for AI image generation, or Google Veo, Kling, or MiniMax Hailuo for AI video creation. But which is the most popular, and why?
The Artificial Analysis’s State of Generation survey polled 300 developers and creators to understand personal and enterprise use of AI-powered image and video creation. At a glance, 74% of respondents use Google Gemini for image creation, followed by OpenAI’s GPT Image (64%) and Black Forest Labs’ Flux (37%).
Also: Gemini is gaining fast on ChatGPT in one particular way, according to new data
Google Gemini continues to lead both personal (77%) and enterprise (68%) use for AI image creation, and Google’s Veo was the top choice for AI video creation for both personal (67%) and enterprise (72%) use.
Popular uses
The survey suggests that using AI to generate images is more popular than using it to create videos, and that using AI-generated images and videos for personal use is more common than for enterprise purposes. Surveyed respondents use AI-generated images for personal use by integrating them into their creative workflow (53%), while 39% of respondents use AI-generated videos for the same reason.
Out of surveyed organizations, 44% use AI-generated image creation in their production workflows, and 39% use AI video generators for the same reason.
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According to the survey, AI image and video creators who create content for personal use mainly generate AI images for “small, one-off creations” (81%), and 77% use AI videos for the same reason. However, more respondents who use AI image and video generators for personal use prefer AI video generators for “storyboarding, special effects, and short-form promotional clips” (63%), compared to AI-generated images (52%).
Surveyed organizations prefer AI video generators for advertising purposes (55%), compared to using AI image generators for the same purpose (42%). Regarding which AI image and video models to lease organization-wide, surveyed organizations cite higher-quality outputs (82%), accurate prompt adherence (73%), and lower total cost (55%) as the most significant drivers behind their choice of AI image generator.
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Work and play
As AI use becomes increasingly widespread throughout personal, everyday tasks and the workplace, more research can show who the winners are and why. For personal use, people utilize AI image, video, and text generators to create personalized artwork, promotional videos, and to assist with tasks such as homework, recipe preparation, or drafting text messages.
Also: The best AI image generators of 2025: Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, and more
In the workplace, organizations rely on companies like Google and Microsoft to deploy AI agents, increasing productivity by automating meeting scheduling, assisting developer workflows, and generating real-time meeting notes.
