We asked the HeyGen community to show us what happens when human creativity meets Video Agent. Over three weeks, hundreds of creators across the world submitted videos spanning explainers, training content, edutainment, marketing promos, and more. Here are the standout creators we’re spotlighting across all eight challenge categories.
In February, we launched the HeyGen Video Agent Challenge with a simple prompt: show us what your creativity can do when paired with Video Agent. We wanted to see how the community would push the tool in unexpected directions, experiment with new formats, and share what they learned along the way.
The response blew us away. Over the course of February, creators of all experience levels submitted videos across eight categories, ranging from micro lessons and training walkthroughs to full-blown social media marketing promos and wildly inventive creative experiments.
What made this challenge special wasn’t just the final videos; it was the process. Participants shared their prompts, documented their iteration journeys, and surfaced insights that will directly shape what Video Agent becomes next.
How we evaluated submissions
Every submission was reviewed by the HeyGen team with three things in mind:
- Creative ambition: Did the creator push beyond the obvious?
- Effective use of Video Agent: Did the video showcase what the tool can do?
- Process transparency: Did the creator share what they learned along the way?
We were looking for inventiveness, thoughtfulness, and the kind of experimentation that inspires others to try something new.
Meet the winners: 8 categories, 8 standout videos
Each of the creators highlighted below will receive a gift of HeyGen generative credits. Here’s a closer look at the work that stood out in every category.
1. Marketing or social promo
Scroll-stopping ads and promotional videos that showcase how AI-generated content can compete with traditional production for social and paid campaigns.
Winner: Dominic Barrios
Video: "HeyGen Workshop: AI Video for Pinoy SMEs"
A 60-second Taglish video ad targeting Filipino small business owners, built on a framework that moves from comedy to pain point to product demo to CTA, all designed to stop the scroll.
How it was made: The prompt was structured around a five-beat arc. It opens with an absurd, comedic visual of an avatar surrounded by chaotic "clones," calling out the viewer's pain points of being camera shy and having no budget within the first three seconds. The closing CTA converts uses bold overlays, brand colors, and urgency to drive response.
After the first render, the creator added a detailed set of revision notes: explicitly showing the exaggerated "Take 57!" frustration instead of a generic clip, swapping the placeholder UI in the demo segment with an uploaded interface image and animated cursor, and enhancing the split-screen comparison with a fully grayscale "Old Way" side against a vibrant color "HeyGen Way" side.
What they learned: Use a different AI tool to refine your prompt and script before feeding everything into Video Agent. Include all the assets you want it to use upfront. Read the Video Plan carefully to catch anything that needs fixing before rendering. If you don't like the output, you can always revise, and if the fix is small enough, edit directly in AI Studio instead of re-rendering.
2. Micro lesson
These creators proved that short-form content and real substance aren’t mutually exclusive.
Winner: Francisco Villacorta Córdova
Video: “Sepsis Awareness — What You Need to Know”
Sepsis can become life-threatening in hours. Dr. Francisco Villacorta Córdova, an intensive care physician, created this video to explain what sepsis is, why early recognition is important, and when to seek urgent medical care.
How it was made: As a practicing ICU doctor, Francisco utilized Video Agent to translate complex medical knowledge into a clear, accessible message aimed at the general public. The video distills what would normally require years of clinical training to understand into a concise lesson that anyone can follow.
What they learned: AI video tools can help bridge the gap between specialized medical expertise and public health communication, turning life-saving information into content that's clear and shareable without sacrificing accuracy.
3. Edutainment
The best edutainment videos make learning feel fun. These creators found the sweet spot between educational depth and genuine entertainment value. We received the most submissions in this category and had so much fun watching all the videos!
Winning video: "Professor Simian's Masterclass — A Videogames World"
From the simple geometry of the 8-bit era to the cinematic realism of modern engines, this video traces the evolution of gaming from a sketch to a universe.
How it was made: The creator designed a "Professor" persona to guide viewers through a timeline of gaming. The video alternates between lecture-style a-roll from a creative monkey professor character and gameplay-visualization b-roll for dynamic pacing. To generate visuals for specific eras, the creator utilized contrasting style keywords such as "8-bit pixel art arcade," "retro isometric RPG," and "cinematic Unreal Engine 5 render, hyper-realistic fur and lighting."
What they learned: AI avatars can be powerful storytelling devices, not just presentation tools. A key discovery was navigating copyright in b-roll generation. Instead of prompting for specific trademarked characters, prompting for styles and aesthetics produced visuals that are legally safe but instantly recognizable to their audience of gamers.
To connect with this creator, join the community on Discord.
4. News or update
Newscast-style updates and briefings that demonstrated Video Agent’s potential for timely, professional news content.
Winner: Simone Ravaioli
Video: "The Most Interesting Thing in CrEdTech This Week"
A weekly micro-series modeled after fast, signal-heavy tech commentary where each episode covers one development in the world of credential technologies (CredTech) in under two minutes. One of the featured episodes breaks down LinkedIn's launch of Verified Skills, analyzing it through three lenses: policy, technology, and practice.
How it was made: Simone built a weekly-running AI agent (on Gemini) that scans the past seven days for the most relevant developments in digital credentials, lifelong learning, and the credentialing ecosystem. Each run produces two outputs: a Smart Brevity-style LinkedIn post and a teleprompter script for an AI avatar video. The script gets dropped into HeyGen using a custom, higher-realistic avatar created over a year ago, then finished in HeyGen Studio with branded cover images, closing credits, and music. The full cycle from scan to published video results in under two minutes of runtime.
What they learned: The workflow became a practical sandbox for real-world agent-plus-avatar production. Key takeaways are that name pronunciation and audio-leveling take fine-tuning, and "good enough" shipping beats perfection when you're maintaining a weekly cadence. The longer-term goal is an end-to-end automation, from weekly search and script generation to video rendering and LinkedIn publishing. While the workflow isn’t fully automated yet, the pipeline is actively taking shape.
5. Product or service explainer
Explaining what something does and why it matters can be deceptively hard. These creators nailed clarity, pacing, and visual storytelling in their explainer videos.
Winner: Amybeth Menendez
Video: “Fuga — Software Review”
A software review of Fuga, a prepress and InDesign tool, was created using Video Agent with Amybeth's own AI avatar.
How it was made: Amybeth used Video Agent to produce a product review walkthrough of Fuga. The main iteration work focused on getting the B-roll right. It took a few passes to land on visuals that properly supported the review. Amybeth is a print production expert with over 25 years in publishing, so the review draws on deep domain knowledge that Video Agent helped translate into a watchable video format.
What they learned: B-roll is worth iterating on. It took multiple rounds to get the visuals to match the review content, but the result was a video the software's marketing team was happy to use.
6. Product launch video
Announcing a new feature or release requires energy, clarity, and polish. These product launch videos delivered all three.
Video: “Brand Kit OS — New Feature Showcase”
Connect with the winning creator on Reddit
A product walkthrough showcasing a new feature release for Brand Kit OS, created using the creator's own AI avatar and voice alongside a screen-recorded reference video of the feature in action.
How it was made: The initial prompt was kept deliberately simple: "This video is a showcase video explaining a new feature within Brand Kit OS. The video will be posted on YouTube." A reference walkthrough video with audio was uploaded alongside the creator's custom avatar and voice. The first render didn't focus on the right section of the walkthrough, specifically the AI analysis portion. The creator revised by referencing specific timestamps in the uploaded video, which gave Video Agent the precision it needed to sync the visuals correctly on the second pass.
What they learned: Three things stood out. Video Agent now has memory enabled, which means it gets better over time by learning your style. The AI can understand context and audio from uploaded videos, then generate a voiceover based on what it observes — not just what you type. And A-roll and B-roll can be generated in a single pass without needing to produce them separately, which saves significant time.
7. Training video
From onboarding walkthroughs to internal process guides, these submissions demonstrated how Video Agent can transform training and knowledge sharing.
Winner: Nikolai (Connect on Discord)
Video: “ECCN Classification Workflow — 10-Step Training Guide”
A step-by-step training video walking through the complete ECCN (Export Control Classification Number) classification workflow in 10 steps — a technically dense compliance process turned into a clear, visual walkthrough with diagrams, B-roll, and illustrations.
How it was made: This was Nikolai's first-ever video creation. He utilized Video Agent to transform a complex export control training topic into a structured 10-step walkthrough, leveraging Video Agent's ability to generate diagrams, relevant B-roll, and illustrations directly within the video.
What they learned: As a first-time video creator, Video Agent made it possible to produce a technically detailed training video complete with diagrams and illustrations.
8. “Wow us” most creative
This category was all about the unexpected. We were looking for inventive uses of Video Agent that inspired new ideas for how to use HeyGen.
Connect with the winner and watch the full video on Reddit.
Video: “Neon Rivalry — Technical Master: Ford vs Nissan”
How it was made: The creator started with a neon-lit car rivalry concept and ran two iterations to dial it in. Then, to test Video Agent's responsiveness, they modified the prompt to add a storm with thunder and lightning, wanting to see whether the output would just layer rain on top of the same video or actually reinterpret the visuals. The result was noticeably different — the storm version drew more attention and drama. Both versions came together as a quick test, but the creator noted that with more time spent tweaking the prompt, the output could pass as a legitimate car commercial.
What they learned: Two major factors drive the quality of Video Agent output: how well the AI interprets your prompt, and how descriptive you are when writing it. Small changes to the prompt — like adding weather and atmosphere — don't just add a surface layer, they change the feel of the entire video.
What we learned from the community
Reviewing hundreds of submissions provided us with a unique window into how creators are thinking about AI video today. A few patterns stood out.
Prompting is a creative skill
The most impressive videos didn’t come from the most complex prompts—they came from creators who iterated thoughtfully. Many winners described starting with a rough idea, reviewing Video Agent’s initial storyboard, and then refining through conversation. The takeaway: treating prompting as a creative dialogue (rather than a one-shot command) consistently produced better results.
Reference assets make a difference
Creators who uploaded their own images, brand assets, or reference materials saw a noticeable jump in output quality. Video Agent performed best when it had a clear visual and tonal direction to work from.
AI Video is ready for real use cases
Submissions included actual training content being deployed at companies, real product review videos that went live, and social ads currently running in campaigns. The community proved that Video Agent can support many different use cases as production-level quality.
Your submissions are shaping what comes next
Every video submitted during this challenge has provided valuable feedback. The creative choices, workarounds, and feature requests embedded in your process write-ups are directly informing our product roadmap.
We’re building Video Agent for creators like you, and challenges like this one are how we make sure we’re building the right thing.
Try Video Agent yourself
Inspired by what you’ve seen? The best way to understand what Video Agent can do is to try it yourself. Start with a simple idea, iterate through conversation, and see where it takes you.
Read the Video Agent prompt guide
We’ll be running more community challenges soon. Follow HeyGen on social and keep an eye on the blog so you don’t miss the next one.
