A dated AI video directory must make a distinction that many static comparisons miss: the Veo 3.1 family was genuinely launched, but its named Gemini API preview endpoints are not a valid new deployment target on 25 October 2026. Google’s documentation states that three Veo 3.1 preview identifiers were shut down on 22 October 2026. Historical capabilities remain useful for evaluating archived projects, but they cannot be presented as current preview availability.
What Veo 3.1 introduced
Google announced Veo 3.1 and Veo 3.1 Fast in paid preview on 15 October 2025. The release described synchronized audio, image-to-video improvements, up to three reference images, clip extension and specification of opening and closing frames. Google’s developer guide lists 4-, 6- and 8-second outputs, with restrictions: reference-guided and certain high-resolution operations required an eight-second output. The documented frame rate is 24 fps, with 16:9 and 9:16 aspect ratios. Higher resolution was available only in qualifying variants and modes; extension stayed at 720p. These are model-era specifications, not an assurance that all features still work in all surfaces.
Migration checklist
Search code, configuration files, dashboards and job queues for `veo-3.1-generate-preview`, `veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview` and `veo-3.1-lite-generate-preview`. Mark them deprecated in internal registries, stop new jobs to those names and preserve their original asset provenance. Google points developers toward `gemini-omni-1.1-flash` or GA models through its enterprise platform, but a string replacement alone is not enough: the request/response contract and available generation/editing operations differ.
Test a small, legally cleared fixture set that covers one text shot, one image-led shot, one frame interpolation and one extension. Validate duration, aspect ratio, audio, response parsing, output persistence and moderation behavior separately. Update cost modelling for the new billing units through the designated price registry. Quarantine queued failures so that a retry does not silently spend money on a different version.
Preserve historical truth
The public Veo documentation continues to describe past features and Google also discusses stable Veo models through other deployment surfaces. Do not translate a Gemini API preview shutdown into the claim that the broader Veo technology ceased to exist everywhere. Likewise, don’t confuse an older 2025 press launch with October 2026 API availability.
For compliance, record region-specific people-generation constraints, SynthID watermarking, and a human check for consent and factual accuracy. Google states that generated videos are retained on its service only for a limited period in its documented workflow. Archive results and permissions yourself instead of relying on an ephemeral vendor URL.
Worked production example
A production application still has hundreds of queued jobs with a Veo preview model string. First export their IDs, request parameters and charge history. Disable further dispatch; do not retry them against the closed endpoint indefinitely. Port one safe text test and one image-based test to the documented new API and inspect the response format. The control check is whether the migrated system returns the correct duration and file, not whether the two models paint matching pixels. Keep past Veo-generated media as historical assets labeled with the original model and creation date.
Relevant alternatives and trade-offs
For browser-based shot direction inspect Runway or Luma; for a native creative-suite process inspect Firefly; do not treat those alternatives as drop-in API replacements.