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Investing.com -- Sora’s explosive debut has rattled investors in social media giants, but Bernstein argues that OpenAI’s text-to-video generator may in fact boost engagement for Meta, YouTube, and TikTok rather than threaten them.
In a recent note, the brokerage noted that Meta’s stock “has faced a bit of pressure since the launch of Sora,” as markets feared the app would “peel away the most valuable resource we have from Meta’s grip — Time.”
Yet, Bernstein said those concerns are misplaced. Instead of stealing attention, Sora may end up fueling the very platforms investors thought were at risk.
Bernstein calls Sora “CGI for UGC,” a creator tool that democratizes the kind of cinematic effects once limited to studios.
“What Sora is, is a way to give creators the power of those impressive CGI effects that until now were reserved for your favorite Marvel film or HBO series,” analysts led by Mark Shmulik wrote.
The app, which hit 1 million downloads in just five days, lets users generate realistic one-minute videos from text or images and has topped the U.S. App Store charts.
The analysts placed Sora in a longer historical arc of creative disruption. Just as digital cameras broke studios’ monopoly on video creation, and YouTube and Instagram gave users global distribution, tools like ByteDance’s CapCut and Meta’s Edits lowered barriers for short-form video production.
Sora, Bernstein said, represents the next leap — turning everyday creators into CGI-level filmmakers.
Bernstein sees Sora not as a standalone social network but as a catalyst for the broader creator economy.
“Sora is a creator tool – more CapCut than TikTok – and what does a creator seek to do with their art? They need distribution,” the report said, noting that Meta, TikTok, and YouTube remain the best venues for sharing and monetizing short-form video.
By fueling a wave of fresh, high-quality clips, Sora could expand the content libraries feeding those platforms’ recommendation algorithms and increase time spent across them.
The analysts also argued that the rise of Sora fits a familiar cycle in media consumption. Social feeds like Reels, Shorts, and TikTok, they said, have taken us “backwards to old media all over again” — resembling the TV era when viewers passively flipped channels for entertainment. That reinforces the strength of large discovery-driven platforms rather than undermining them.
Overall, Sora’s success ultimately enriches existing ecosystems, Bernstein said. “We’ve democratized CGI for UGC, so you too can make your own Game of Thrones,” the analysts wrote. For Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, that means more content, higher engagement, and renewed strength in the battle for users’ time.