AI Video for Everyone and Navigating AI Debt

Llew Jury

Welcome to this weeks' episode of the AI Intelligence Podcast, brought to you by Advancer - The AI Agency. I'm Llew and this weeks number is 79. Did you know that 82% of mid-sized Aussie businesses are now dabbling with AI and actually boosting their revenues, but at the same time, 79% of companies are sweating about something called ‘AI debt’? That’s the tightrope, right there—benefits up front, but the hidden costs might come back to bite you. Anyway, g'day and welcome back to The AI Intelligence Podcast, the show where we try to make sense of all the shiny new AI toys, and figure out which ones will actually pay the bills.

Ollie Carter

And I’m Ollie, your tech-obsessed optimist and, uh, unashamed AI magpie. Always searching for the next big thing—maybe even too quickly sometimes. It’s great to be here, Llew.

Llew Jury

This week, we are diving right into the big one: Google’s Veo 3, their AI video generator, just got unleashed on the world. And the headlines are saying it’s going to democratise high-end video for anyone with an idea. But is it actually a win for Aussie businesses, or just the next subscription that’ll gather dust after the hype?

Ollie Carter

It’s genuinely wild, Llew. Think about it—Veo 3 means anyone, like a solo tradie can fire up a sharp video ad for the cost of a couple Friday night pizzas. I heard about a plumber up there who spun up a promo vid for under a hundred bucks. He said the local production houses quoted him almost ten grand. That’s a huge swing, especially if you’re not flush with marketing dollars.

Llew Jury

Yeah, the promise is huge, Ollie. eToro used Veo to spit out 15 ad versions, each in a different language. The reach is kinda mind-blowing, especially if you’re trying to crack international markets. But you know I love a good reality check—in my experience, when you democratise tech this quickly, it’s not always a clean win. Some of these AI outputs are... let’s say, quite odd. Lip syncing like badly dubbed TV, and sometimes the motion physics are just plain wrong. If you’re a high-end product or service, one weird video could tank your brand trust in seconds.

Ollie Carter

That’s fair, but you know what? The tech’s improving seriously fast. Like, the jump from Veo 2 to Veo 3? it was huge. Better lip sync, better realism, and you can even animate your static images. Take a winery in the Barossa fro example—imagine they use a still photo and Veo to turn it into a lush animated clip for Insta. You don’t need a pro video team, you just need an idea and, like, fifteen minutes with a good prompt.

Llew Jury

But is it really that simple? This is exactly where AI debt creeps in. I saw a stat—79% of companies are bracing for extra costs from jumping on AI too quickly. You get ’workslop’: content that looks fine at a glance, but is just, I don’t know, off-brand or even factually useless. And you can’t just count the monthly fee—you gotta factor the hours spent fixing mistakes, brand management headaches, maybe even security stuff if there’s dodgy data flying around. It snowballs fast.

Ollie Carter

All true, but the flipside? That same research showed AI adopters are pulling in around 34% extra revenue on average. So it’s really not about the tool—it’s all in how you use it. You’ve got to have a process. Canva now integrates Veo 3, so small businesses get a sandbox with guardrails. For business owners who barely have time for lunch, the time saving is massive.

Llew Jury

Don’t get me wrong, it has real potential. But let’s be honest: if everyone goes wild and pumps out generic AI videos, we’re gonna have even more digital noise. I wanna see more proof in the Aussie market before I call it a full game-changer for the creative and photography space. We need more winners and fewer workslop fails, plain and simple.

Llew Jury

Alright, let’s dig deeper into that ‘AI debt’ thing because, it’s not just a buzzword. When we talk about AI debt, we’re talking about those hidden costs building up after you rush in—stuff like messy integrations, mounting subscription costs, staff burning hours fixing bad outputs, you name it.

Ollie Carter

The stat you mentioned at the start—79% of companies now expect extra costs from badly managed AI. Even big players get stung. And you’ve got that term floating around now, "workslop", for all the low-quality AI content clogging up the internet. That’s a cost to your reputation, not just your bank account.

Llew Jury

So how do you know you’re sitting on a stack of AI debt? I reckon a couple of signs: your team’s spending more time fixing outputs than using them, you’ve got random tools no one remembers buying, or your data’s scattered across five platforms. If you find yourself re-explaining to staff how the AI thing is “meant to help,” odds are it’s not.

Ollie Carter

Absolutely. So if you’re listening and wondering, here’s how you filter before you bring in another AI tool. Number one, what specific business problem are you solving? Not just “we need AI.” Number two, how are you measuring success—is it leads, is it time saved, whatever? And three, what's your 'Plan B' if the tool doesn't work?

Llew Jury

Exactly. Don’t get dazzled by the demo videos—ask the hard questions first or you’re just collecting expensive subscriptions and headaches. And don’t let the fear of missing out drive your roadmap; you can skip a cycle or two. The world won’t end.

Llew Jury

And that’s a decent segue to businesses actually scoring some wins with this stuff—let’s talk Culture Kings. If you want an example of AI that genuinely works for business, it’s them.

Ollie Carter

Yeah, they’re doing something special. But it’s not just chatbots, right? Tell us how they use AI in the real world.

Llew Jury

It’s pretty clever. They’re using AI not just to automate help desks, but to actually personalise what you see—so every website visitor gets recommendations tailored by their shopping history, what they looked at last time, all that. The AI analyses buckets of data and figures out which products will actually convert.

Ollie Carter

Like a digital personal shopper, but powered by data. That’s the kind of AI that’s moving the needle—helping customers find stuff they’ll genuinely want, and making sales go up. That’s return-on-investment, not just hype.

Llew Jury

That’s the secret: don’t start with “What can AI do?”, start with “What’s my biggest pain point?” For Culture Kings, it was helping people dig through thousands of products. Solve that, and you make money and customers are happier. Super simple.

Ollie Carter

And you don’t try to automate everything—just the tedious stuff, like sorting options or surfacing shoes you’ll actually buy, not just what’s trendy in New York. That’s orchestration, not just adoption. So you avoid building your own AI debt headache.

Llew Jury

Alright, and just before we sign off, quick giggle at the week’s epic AI fail? Zuckerberg’s live Meta Ray-Ban AI demo. Ollie, I felt for him—cooked recipe suggestions, missed wristband gestures, just painful. Shows that even the giants get humbled by AI not playing ball.

Ollie Carter

It’s a warning too—if Meta can stuff up in front of millions, SMEs can definitely cop a few bumps. Makes you remember: hype sizzles, reality sometimes fizzles. Get your data right, test it properly and never, ever trust a live demo, yeah?

Llew Jury

And with that, let’s wrap! Action plan for our listeners—if you're curious about AI video, try it on something small and low-risk. Use free trials. Always ask yourself - “What problem am I solving? What value will it give my business? How will I measure if it worked? And how will it connect with the rest of my tech stack?"

Ollie Carter

Couldn’t agree more. Test, get feedback, and don’t be afraid to kill off a tool if it adds noise instead of value. Alright Llew, that’s us done for this week. And remember, if today's episode got you thinking about AI for your business, you can book a free AI consultation with the great team at Advancer - The AI Agency. Check them out at advancer.com.au! We’ll be back next week, hopefully with less ‘workslop’ and more wins to dissect.

Llew Jury

Cheers, Ollie. Always fun. Thanks for listening, everyone. Catch you next time on The AI Intelligence Podcast!