When filmmakers, artists and creative professionals think about how A.I. intersects with their profession, they often imagine a world stripped of creativity. But that’s not a world Vimeo is working towards. The video platform known for its ad-free interface and focus on video quality has turned down numerous lucrative A.I. training deals, said CEO Philip Moyer.
“This time last year, a lot of the content of the world was just getting crawled and hoovered up into A.I. models. From my perspective, I think we would have done more risk to our brand and our trust among our customer base by doing something like that,” Moyer told Observer yesterday (March 11) in Austin during this year’s SXSW.
Instead, Vimeo’s A.I. approach focuses on boost content discoverability. For instance, it’s developing semantic search tools that allow viewers to skip directly to the most relevant part of a video. Its A.I. tools also help creators translate their content into up to 28 languages (the company is working towards 100). It’s also propelling partnerships, with close to 60 integrations with products like Canva, Adobe and—more recently—Apple Vision Pro.
While YouTube, TikTok and Instagram retain their unique competitive advantages, Vimeo operates as a different beast. “We serve the creative professional who wants to have the sanctity of their work protected,” said Moyer.
Vimeo has long been the go-to platform for professional filmmakers and artists. Now, individual creators are businesses are also flocking to the site. “We have so many YouTube refugees that come to us,” Moyer said, adding that many retailers are also moving to Vimeo business ads and video recommendations on YouTube often send their customers straight to competitors.
Facebook may have been the first to launch the “like” button in 2009, but Vimeo invented the concept in the form of a “heart” button four years prior, in 2005, as part of a system to support creators. “From the very first moment that a filmmaker gets their first ‘like,’ their first comment, we’re supporting them,” said Moyer. The company has internal awards and programs like Vimeo Staff Pick Award to recognize promising artists and propel them towards greater opportunities.
At SXSW, Vimeo announced a $30,000 grant, plus mentorship and equipment, to five filmmakers through the Vimeo Short Film Grant program. Jake Oleson, a filmmaker known known for blending A.I. with deeply human storytelling, is commissioned by Vimeo to work on his latest film, Currents, a visually immersive piece created using Apple Vision Pro that explores the emotional push and pull of modern relationships. The result is a striking synthesis of artistic vision and cutting-edge tech, where narrative intimacy meets immersive innovation.
Moyer, who previously led A.I. initiatives at Google Cloud, joined Vimeo in April of last year. He believes many people overlook the real potential of A.I. in video. “They’re not seeing the amazing formats that are coming, interactive, clickable, shoppable, basically that it’s going to become two-way,” he said. “Video is very one-way today, and it needs to be responsive to the viewer.”
He envisions a future where video evolves into an experience more like a video game—interactive and personalized—allowing viewers to shape the narrative, similar to the immersive theater production Sleep No More, but available on demand.
Vimeo is working to ensure that path centers on creator rights. New forms of digital rights management tools, such as watermarking, is making this easier, said Moyer. “Whether it’s a small, 10-second clip or a full-length film, we need to make sure that we’re able to protect the integrity of it, frame by frame,” said Moyer. “If we don’t do that, you’re just going to be in a world of homogenized content.”