Spotting AI-Generated Videos: 10 Essential Techniques

The line between real and AI-generated video has never been thinner. Tools like OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo 3 can produce near-perfect clips in seconds. This revolution creates huge opportunities for creators - but also opens the door for scams, deepfakes, and disinformation. The good news? With the right eye, you can still detect when something’s off. Below are 10 proven techniques - based on real-world testing - to help you separate real from synthetic video.

Best Techniques at a Glance

1. Facial Expressions and Eyes

The human face is an incredibly complex system of signals. With over 40 muscles working constantly, people generate micro-expressions every second: a twitch of the brow when concentrating, uneven blinking, or a subtle cheek lift during a smile. AI-generated faces usually flatten these details. At first glance, a subject may seem alive, but when observed longer, the eyes and expressions often feel hollow.

• Common giveaways: perfectly rhythmic blinking, eyes that stay wide open for too long, or smiles that freeze unnaturally.
• Example: In one Sora clip, two characters hugged naturally. Yet one blinked like a metronome while the other never blinked at all.
• How to check: Slow the video and focus on eye behavior. Real blinking is irregular, while AI patterns tend to be too perfect or too static.
• Who benefits: Journalists, fact-checkers, and investigators analyzing political or celebrity footage.

2. Lip Sync Accuracy

Speech is not only about moving lips. The jaw tightens, cheeks flex, the neck shifts, and head tilts reinforce words. AI often gets the lips roughly correct but keeps the rest of the face strangely still. This disconnect makes delivery feel unnatural.

• Why it matters: Humans can detect a lip-audio mismatch as small as 100 milliseconds.
• Example: In a Veo 3 demo, a “CEO” pitched a product. The lips matched the audio, but the chin never tightened during emphasis, giving a robotic impression.
  How to check: Watch the jawline, neck, and cheek tension during speech. If only the lips move, it’s suspicious.
• Who benefits: Corporate teams and HR departments facing the risk of impersonation scams.

3. Voice and the Uncanny Valley

The uncanny valley applies to audio as well as visuals. AI voices can sound smooth but miss emotional depth. They may misplace stress, lack natural breaths, or remain too flat during laughter or shouting. This subtle mismatch reveals the synthetic source.

• Example: Veo 3 generates smoother voices than Sora, but when characters laugh or whisper, the illusion collapses. A broad smile paired with a flat tone creates a jarring disconnect.
• How to check: Listen closely during emotional peaks. Humans rarely maintain perfectly steady tone or breathing.
  Who benefits: Security teams analyzing scams or impersonation cases where realistic speech is critical.

4. Hand Movements

Hands remain one of the hardest elements for AI. Real hands have fine muscle coordination and fluid gestures. AI often misrepresents them with extra fingers, stiff movements, or objects blending unnaturally with palms. Even when correct, the motions often look rigid.

• Example: In one cooking clip, a chef briefly had six fingers. In another, a knife fused into the palm.
• How to check: Watch hands during transitions. Warping or stiffness is a strong signal.
• Who benefits: Reviewers of TikTok or YouTube Shorts, where hands are frequently in focus.

5. Object Interactions

Human-object alignment must be exact. A fork enters the mouth, a pen presses paper, a phone rests in the palm. AI often fails at this, leaving floating objects or mismatched contact points.

• Example: In one classroom clip, a student wrote in a notebook, but the pen hovered just above the surface.
• How to check: Focus on points of contact. If objects don’t clearly connect, the scene is likely artificial.
• Who benefits: Educators, marketers, and anyone evaluating AI-generated workplace content.

6. Physics and Gravity

We intuitively understand how gravity and motion work. AI models often interpolate incorrectly, creating floaty jumps, slowed-down falls, or impossible trajectories.

• Example: A whale leaping across the sky in a perfect arc may look dramatic, but the physics are impossible.
• How to check: Watch for weight and momentum. Real clothes sag, impacts have force, and arcs are imperfect.
• Who benefits: Sports fans and analysts identifying fake replays or exaggerated highlights.

7. Background and Shadows

Lighting is notoriously difficult for AI. In reality, shadows align with light, soften with distance, and interact with surfaces consistently. In AI videos, shadows sometimes vanish, appear too sharp, or contradict the scene.

• Example: In one street scene, cars cast shadows to the left while pedestrians cast them to the right.
• How to check: Pause and trace light direction. Inconsistencies in shadow behavior are clear warnings.
  Who benefits: Editors, journalists, and verification teams analyzing suspicious footage.

8. Object Collision

Solid objects do not phase through each other. Yet AI still produces hands sinking into tables, microphones blending into fingers, or cups melting into torsos. These mistakes often appear during fast or close interactions.

• Example: In a generated interview, the host’s hand passed halfway into the microphone stand.
• How to check: Focus on overlapping objects. If boundaries blur, the video is likely generated.
• Who benefits: Professionals reviewing interviews or corporate-style explainer videos.

9. Morphing Errors

AI tends to focus on main subjects, while secondary objects degrade across frames. Props like phones, cups, or bags may dissolve, warp, or change shape mid-scene. Longer clips make these inconsistencies more visible.

• Example: In a café clip, mugs slowly melted into the actors’ hands during a toast.
• How to check: Rewind and track props across frames. If they morph or vanish, authenticity is doubtful.
• Who benefits: Influencer marketers and lifestyle reviewers working with content that relies on props.

10. Adaptors and Micro-habits

Humans constantly make unconscious adjustments. We scratch, shift weight, tap, or adjust clothing. AI characters often stand too still, or their small motions are stiff and repetitive. The absence of subtle irregularities makes the scene feel robotic.

• Example: An AI-generated teacher stood motionless for 90 seconds, blinking occasionally but never shifting weight or touching clothing.
• How to check: Look for irregular, varied micro-habits. If the subject is too static, suspicion is warranted.
• Who benefits: Psychologists, forensic experts, or analysts reviewing long conversation videos.

How I Tested These Techniques

I spent three weeks analyzing more than 50 AI-generated clips from Magic Hour, OpenAI Sora, Google Veo 3, and Runway. Each clip was evaluated with criteria including ease of spotting, accuracy, speed, scalability, and effort required. and

Scoring Rubric

Key insight: Hands, faces, and physics remain the easiest and most reliable tells.

Market Landscape and Trends

• Rapid model upgrades: Veo 3 and Sora are closing gaps in lip sync and physics, but imperfections remain.
• Scam explosion: AI-powered scams, from fake job interviews to fraudulent investment pitches, are spreading faster than entertainment uses.
• Forensic tools rising: Platforms like Hive Moderation, Deepware Scanner, and InVID are in growing demand.
• Next 6-12 months: Expect real-time detection tools embedded in browsers and messaging apps, alongside laws requiring watermarks on AI-generated content.

Final Takeaway

Casual viewers: Focus on hands, eyes, and physics - the easiest giveaways.
Content reviewers: Use shadow checks and object interaction cues.
Security teams: Pair human intuition with forensic software for higher-stakes analysis.

Decision Matrix

FAQ

What’s the easiest way to spot AI-generated videos?
Start with hands, eyes, and physics. These are the most consistent giveaways across models.

Is it always possible to detect AI videos?
No. The latest tools are extremely advanced. But if something feels “off,” trust that instinct and cross-check with multiple techniques.

Can AI-generated content replace CGI?
For simple effects, yes. For complex, high-budget scenes, CGI still outperforms AI. Expect hybrid workflows.

How do I avoid scams?
Be skeptical of urgent video requests. Look carefully for mismatched lips, odd hand shapes, or physics errors.

Will AI detection tools become mainstream?
Yes. By 2026, most major platforms will automatically flag suspect videos in real time.