Wistia, a leading video marketing platform for businesses, has released its 2025 State of Video Report, offering insights from 14 million videos, 100,000 businesses, and a survey of 1,300 professionals. This year’s findings highlight three major trends shaping video marketing:

1. AI’s rapid adoption in video production

2. Shifting engagement and conversion trends

3. Increasing video investments despite economic concerns

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to revolutionize video production, businesses are leveraging it to create high-quality videos at scale. Meanwhile, marketers are adapting strategies to optimize engagement and maximize ROI in an evolving digital landscape.

AI is Transforming Video Creation, Making It Faster and More Accessible

AI is making video production more efficient and democratizing access to high-quality content. Open-source AI video tools are gaining traction, allowing marketers to create, edit, and optimize videos with minimal technical expertise.

AI Adoption Trends in Video Marketing

• 41% of marketers now use AI for video creation, up from 18% in 2024.

• AI-powered pre-production tools, such as scripting and brainstorming, are widely adopted.

• AI-driven post-production features like voice dubbing, captions, and visual generation are helping brands enhance accessibility and global reach.

Top AI-Powered Features Used by Brands

• AI Captions (60%) – The most widely adopted AI tool, with caption use increasing 572% since 2021.

• Voice Dubbing (38%) – Enables brands to scale content across multiple languages.

• Language Translation (31%) – Expands audience reach by breaking language barriers.

"AI is completely changing the game for video," said Chris Savage, CEO and Co-Founder of Wistia. "Now, anyone—not just professionals—can make high-quality videos. AI-driven tools like dubbing and translation are making it easier than ever for brands to reach global audiences."

Engagement and Conversion Strategies for Video Marketing Success

As video marketing evolves, marketers are focusing on engagement and conversion rates to gauge success.

Metrics Marketers Prioritize

• Engagement Rate (34%) – Measures how much of a video viewers watch.

• Conversion Rate (29%) – Tracks viewer actions from interactive elements.

Performance Insights by Video Length

• Videos under 1 minute – 50% engagement rate (highest overall).

• 1 to 3 minutes – 46% engagement rate.

• 3 to 5 minutes – 45% engagement rate, though experiencing a 10% decline due to the rise of short-form content.

• 5-30 minute videos – Strong engagement despite an overall downward trend.

Top-Performing Video Types

• How-To Videos – Short videos under 1 minute reach an 82% engagement rate, while longer versions (5-30 minutes) hold at 58%.

• Company Culture, Educational, and Product Videos – Consistently achieve around 50% engagement rates for videos under 5 minutes.

Optimizing Videos for Conversions

• Lead generation forms within videos have declined, but conversion rates have increased by 11%.

• Call-to-Action (CTA) Placement is crucial—

  • In short videos (under 60 seconds), CTAs in the first quarter of the video convert nearly 40% of viewers.

Despite Economic Concerns, Businesses Are Increasing Video Investment

While many industries face economic uncertainty, video marketing continues to see strong investment and growth.

Budget Trends

• Only 5% of companies are reducing video budgets in 2025.

• 57% of businesses are increasing video investment, seeing strong ROI.

• Primary drivers of video production:

  • Company goals and objectives (60%)

  • Product or service launches (52%)

Challenges in Video Creation

Despite increased investment, some challenges persist:

• Company size and resources (58%)

• Cost constraints (38%)

• Technical capabilities (25%)

Interestingly, idea generation and executive buy-in are no longer major hurdles, indicating that businesses recognize the value of video marketing and are actively prioritizing it.

The 2025 State of Video Report highlights how AI is making video creation more efficient, engagement strategies are evolving, and brands continue to invest in video marketing. As short-form content grows and AI-driven video tools expand, businesses must adapt their strategies to stay competitive and drive results.