# Bulk AI video without a subscription: what to know

> How AI video is sold in 2026, from monthly credits to per-second API pricing, how to make 20 ad takes without a plan, and the quality, rights and labelling checks.

- URL: https://ikag.dev/blog/bulk-ai-video-without-a-subscription
- Author: Ronit Ahuja, Founder, IKAG (https://ikag.dev/authors/ronit-ahuja)
- Published: 2026-10-17
- Updated: 2026-10-17
- Reading time: 6 min
- Publisher: IKAG

## Overview

You can make many AI video variations without a monthly plan by paying per use: Google, for one, sells its Veo 3.1 model through the Gemini API per second of video, and Runway sells credits for its developer API. Monthly plans bundle credits that often reset each month, which suits steady use more than a one-off batch of 20 ads. However you pay, every take is new content, not evidence: check each one, check the rights, and label it where platforms and the EU expect.

## Key points

- AI video is sold three ways: monthly plans with credits, credits bought up front, and API pricing per second of generated video.
- Monthly credits often expire. Runway’s Standard and Pro plans reset them each billing cycle, while credits bought separately never expire.
- OpenAI closed the Sora app on 26 April 2026 and removed Sora from its API on 24 September 2026, with no replacement listed, so avoid building a video workflow around one model.
- A generated clip is new content, not evidence. Check every take, who owns it, and what the provider may do with what you upload.
- TikTok requires a disclaimer on ads made entirely with AI or significantly changed by it, and EU rules that apply from 2 August 2026 require deepfakes to be labelled.

Twenty takes on one ad is a burst of work: a lot of video this week, perhaps nothing next month. A monthly AI video plan is built for the opposite, which is how [subscription fatigue](https://ikag.dev/blog/subscription-fatigue-tools-you-use-twice) starts. You can pay per use instead: some model makers sell video generation through their developer access, priced per second of video and paid from credits you top up when you need them. However you pay, the checks that matter are the same: quality, rights and labels.

## How is AI video sold?

Three ways, often by the same company.

**Monthly plans with credits.** You pay each month for an allowance of credits. [Runway’s plans](https://runway.com/pricing) are a clear example: each model costs a set number of credits per second of video (its Gen-4.5 model uses 12), the Standard plan includes 625 credits a month and the Pro plan 2,250, and on both plans unused credits reset each billing cycle. [Google’s AI plans](https://gemini.google/subscriptions/) bundle a monthly allowance of credits for its Flow video studio, from 200 on AI Plus to 25,000 on the largest Ultra plan.

**Credits bought up front.** In Runway’s app, extra credits, bought at least 1,000 at a time, never expire. Its [developer API](https://docs.dev.runwayml.com/guides/pricing/) sells credits by the project, and each model has a published rate per second, including other companies’ models such as Google’s Veo 3.1 and Kling 3.0 alongside Runway’s own.

**Per-second API pricing.** [Google prices Veo 3.1](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing) in its Gemini API per second of generated video, at a rate set by the model tier (Standard, Fast or Lite) and the resolution. Google says you are charged only when a video is generated successfully. Veo isn’t on the Gemini API’s free tier, so you need a billing account and a key, or a tool that calls the model for you.

| How it’s sold             | You pay for                    | Suits                  | Watch for                                      |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Monthly plan with credits | A monthly fee and an allowance | Steady, weekly use     | Credits that reset; a plan for each app        |
| Credits bought up front   | A block of credits             | Occasional batches     | Minimum purchases; a balance in each app       |
| Per-second API pricing    | Seconds of video generated     | Batches and automation | A developer account; rejected takes still cost |

The arithmetic shows why a batch and a plan fit badly. Twenty 15-second takes is 300 seconds of video. At Runway’s published rate for Gen-4.5, that is 3,600 credits before a single retry: more than the monthly allowance on its Standard or Pro plan, and next month’s fee is due whether you make another video or not.

Format matters too. In Google’s [Veo 3.1 documentation](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/veo), clips are 4, 6 or 8 seconds long, in landscape or portrait (9:16), and a clip can be extended by seven seconds at a time, so a 15-second take is an eight-second clip plus one extension. Google keeps generated videos on its servers for two days, so save them as they arrive.

## What changed in 2026?

- **Sora closed.** OpenAI [discontinued the Sora app and website](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001152-what-to-know-about-the-sora-discontinuation) on 26 April 2026, and its [deprecations page](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/deprecations) lists the Videos API and Sora 2 models as removed from its API on 24 September 2026, with no replacement listed. Keep your scripts, prompts and assets in a form any model can use.
- **Pay-as-you-go got a prepaid balance.** Google’s [Gemini API billing](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/billing) introduced prepaid and postpaid plans from 23 March 2026, and new users default to prepaid credits, which expire after 12 months if unused. That is still pay per use, but check the expiry.
- **Labels reached ads.** Meta [said on 1 June 2026](https://about.fb.com/news/2025/02/gen-ai-transparency-metas-ads-products/) that it would begin detecting ads made with third-party AI tools and label them “AI info”.
- **EU rules began to apply.** The EU AI Act’s [transparency rules](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/quick-facts-transparency-rules-ai-systems) apply from 2 August 2026: AI providers must mark generated content in a machine-readable way, and those who use AI to publish deepfakes must label them. Systems already on the market before that date have until December 2026 for the marking.

## How do you check 20 takes?

Treat every take as a draft. What a model makes is [new content, not evidence](https://ikag.dev/blog/how-ai-agents-get-live-data), so the questions are about quality and rights rather than sources.

**Quality.** Watch each take to the end. Check the product’s shape, logo and colours, any on-screen text, hands and faces, lip sync, and anything that moves in a way the real thing wouldn’t. Expect some refusals too: Google says Veo 3.1 sometimes blocks a video because of its safety filters. Budget for more takes than you need.

**Claims.** A generated demo can’t show results your product doesn’t deliver. The UK’s advertising regulator [says](https://www.asa.org.uk/news/disclosure-of-ai-in-advertising-striking-the-balance-between-creativity-and-responsibility.html) that an AI image showing cosmetic results the product doesn’t achieve is likely to mislead, and that a note saying AI was used won’t fix it.

**Rights.** Read the provider’s terms. [Runway’s terms](https://runway.com/terms-of-use) say it doesn’t claim ownership of your outputs or restrict their commercial use, and that it may use your inputs and outputs to train its models. Owning an output isn’t the same as holding copyright in it: the US Copyright Office [concluded in January 2025](https://www.copyright.gov/newsnet/2025/1060.html) that AI output is protected only where a human determined enough of its expressive elements, and that prompts alone are not enough. Leave out real people’s faces and voices, other companies’ brands, and music you don’t have rights to.

**People in the ad.** In the US, the FTC says its rule on reviews and testimonials has [no blanket ban on AI avatars](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers). A fake testimonial is banned, though, and so is a celebrity avatar used without permission if people would think the celebrity endorsed you.

## Which AI videos need a label?

- **TikTok ads.** TikTok [requires an AI-generated content disclaimer](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/about-ad-disclaimers-in-tiktok-ads-manager) on ads that are completely AI-generated or significantly modified by AI.
- **YouTube.** Creators [must disclose](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/14328491) realistic AI content, including a realistic scene that didn’t actually happen, and YouTube may add a label itself when a video carries C2PA metadata ([Content Credentials](https://c2pa.org/), an open standard for showing where content came from).
- **Meta.** Ads made with Meta’s own AI tools, or detected as made with other AI tools, get an “AI info” label.
- **The EU.** Deepfakes, meaning content that would falsely appear real, need a clear label, and providers must mark AI content in a machine-readable way. Veo videos, for example, carry Google’s SynthID watermark.
- **The UK.** The ASA says there is no blanket legal requirement to disclose AI in ads; the test is whether the ad would mislead without a disclosure.

This is a summary, not legal advice.

## What does a good batch look like?

Here is the kind of request you might give your AI. Illustrative:

> “Turn this product page into 20 vertical 15-second ads, each with a different hook. Tell me what it will cost before you start, and give me a sheet with each take’s prompt, model and the label it needs.”

A good result quotes the cost first, uses one model so the takes match, returns each file with its prompt and the model that made it, and flags every take that shows realistic people or scenes. Comparing plans? See [pay per call or a monthly plan](https://ikag.dev/blog/pay-per-call-vs-monthly-plans-for-ai-tools).

## Where IKAG fits

AI video in bulk is one of the [next kinds of tools](https://ikag.dev/#what) IKAG is building: your AI would ask for the takes, IKAG would quote the call before it runs, and you would pay per call instead of a subscription to a video app. No prices have been set. IKAG is opening to early users and data partners first.

## Questions

### Can I make AI videos without a subscription?

Yes. Google prices its Veo 3.1 model in the Gemini API per second of generated video, usually paid from prepaid credits that expire after 12 months, and Runway sells credits for its developer API. You need a developer account and a key, or a tool that calls the model for you.

### Do AI-generated ads have to be labelled?

Often. TikTok requires an AI-generated content disclaimer on ads that are completely AI-generated or significantly modified by AI, Meta labels ads it detects as made with AI tools, and EU rules require deepfakes to be labelled from 2 August 2026. The UK has no blanket legal requirement, but ads must not mislead. This is not legal advice.

### Who owns an AI-generated video?

Read the provider’s terms: Runway’s, for example, say it does not claim ownership of outputs or restrict their commercial use. Copyright is a separate question. The US Copyright Office says prompts alone do not make you the author.

### What happened to Sora?

OpenAI discontinued the Sora app and website on 26 April 2026, and removed its Videos API and Sora 2 models from its API on 24 September 2026, with no replacement listed.

### Can I use AI avatars in ads?

In the US, the FTC says its rule on reviews and testimonials has no blanket ban on AI avatars. A fake or false testimonial is banned, though, and so is a celebrity avatar used without permission if people would think the celebrity endorsed the product.

## Sources

- [Runway: Pricing (checked 17 October 2026)](https://runway.com/pricing)
- [Runway: API pricing and costs (checked 17 October 2026)](https://docs.dev.runwayml.com/guides/pricing/)
- [Runway: Terms of Use (last updated 15 September 2026)](https://runway.com/terms-of-use)
- [Google: Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra plans (checked 17 October 2026)](https://gemini.google/subscriptions/)
- [Google AI for Developers: Gemini Developer API pricing (last updated 16 October 2026)](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing)
- [Google AI for Developers: Gemini API billing (last updated 28 September 2026)](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/billing)
- [Google AI for Developers: Generate videos with Veo 3.1 in the Gemini API (last updated 8 October 2026)](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/veo)
- [OpenAI Help Center: What to know about the Sora discontinuation (checked 17 October 2026)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001152-what-to-know-about-the-sora-discontinuation)
- [OpenAI API: Deprecations (checked 17 October 2026)](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/deprecations)
- [Meta: Expanding GenAI transparency for Meta’s ads products (3 February 2025, updated 1 June 2026)](https://about.fb.com/news/2025/02/gen-ai-transparency-metas-ads-products/)
- [European Commission: Quick facts, transparency rules for AI systems (last update 29 July 2026)](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/quick-facts-transparency-rules-ai-systems)
- [TikTok for Business: About ad disclaimers in TikTok Ads Manager (last updated September 2025)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/about-ad-disclaimers-in-tiktok-ads-manager)
- [YouTube Help: Disclosing use of GenAI content (checked 17 October 2026)](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/14328491)
- [C2PA: Content Credentials (checked 17 October 2026)](https://c2pa.org/)
- [ASA and CAP: Disclosure of AI in advertising (29 May 2025)](https://www.asa.org.uk/news/disclosure-of-ai-in-advertising-striking-the-balance-between-creativity-and-responsibility.html)
- [US Copyright Office: Copyright Office releases Part 2 of Artificial Intelligence Report (29 January 2025)](https://www.copyright.gov/newsnet/2025/1060.html)
- [FTC: The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, questions and answers (November 2024)](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers)