OpenAI’s Sora 2 App Brings AI‑Generated Video to Social Media

OpenAI has launched Sora 2, a social‑media platform that lets users create short AI‑generated videos using personal "Cameo" avatars. After a quick onboarding that captures a face scan and voice print, creators can prompt the system to produce nine‑second clips featuring themselves, celebrities or historical figures. The app offers a For You feed, content warnings, and granular privacy controls that let users decide who can use their Cameos. While the experience is praised for its creativity and ease of use, questions remain about the platform’s ability to police depictions of public personalities.

Introducing Sora 2

Sora 2 is OpenAI’s newest social‑media app that focuses exclusively on AI‑generated video. Users sign in with a ChatGPT account and are guided through a short onboarding process that creates a photorealistic "Cameo" avatar. The process records the upper body, captures a voice print by repeating three numbers, and asks users to look in specific directions to build a realistic digital likeness.

Creating and Sharing AI Clips

Once a Cameo is ready, creators can tap a plus sign, select their avatar, and write a short prompt. The system then generates a nine‑second video that matches the description, complete with synced dialogue and background actions. Users can also choose other public Cameos—such as Sam Altman, Jake Paul, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, and Gene Wilder—to appear alongside their own avatar. The app automatically selects camera angles and fills in extra dialogue, making the creation process fast and intuitive.

Feed and Discovery

Sora 2 presents a vertical video feed similar to other social platforms. The default "For You" stream highlights popular and entertaining clips, while a "Latest" feed surfaces newer, often more experimental content. Watermarked videos from the app have already begun circulating on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube, showcasing the platform’s rapid cultural reach.

Privacy Controls and Opt‑In Model

Creators can set their Cameo visibility to "Everyone," "Mutuals," "People I Approve" or "Only Me." The author of the source material chose the most restrictive option to prevent their avatar from appearing in others’ videos. The app also offers content‑warning pop‑ups that remind users the generated scenes are fictional, even when they feature recognizable figures.

Content Moderation Challenges

While the platform is designed as an opt‑in service, the source notes that controls around celebrity and historical figures appear fuzzier. Watermarked clips featuring Marilyn Monroe, Gene Wilder, Fred Rogers and even Dr. Martin Luther King have surfaced, raising concerns about consent and estate permissions. The system flagged an attempt to animate Marilyn Monroe as a content violation, yet other similar depictions have been allowed, indicating that moderation is still evolving.

User Experience and Reception

Reviewers describe the creation process as “shockingly good,” noting the realistic look of their avatars and the ease of generating whimsical scenarios—like mowing a lawn that turns into water or golfing on the moon. The app’s short video length encourages rapid consumption, which can lead to an “AI slop” effect where algorithmic feeds become dominated by generated clips. Despite these concerns, many users find the platform fun, addictive and a powerful showcase of generative AI capabilities.

Future Outlook

The source suggests that as Sora 2 matures, its moderation tools will improve, but also hints that future versions could push past current guardrails. For now, the app stands as a novel blend of social networking and generative video, inviting both creative experimentation and ongoing debate about the ethical use of AI‑generated likenesses.