🪄 AI Summary
Most B2B tech explainer videos fail because they focus on features, not frameworks. This breakdown analyzes 10 explainer videos from companies like Microsoft, Slack, and Visa to show you what actually works. You'll see why minimalist design beats complexity, how motion graphics simplify technical concepts, and what separates a product demo from strategic video content. Use this as a reference guide for building your own video strategy in 2026.
I've watched hundreds of tech explainer videos over the past three years.
Most of them are forgettable. Not because of bad production. Because of bad thinking.
The companies spending $15K on a two-minute explainer are often solving the wrong problem. They're treating video as a tactic. Something to check off a content calendar. A shiny asset to drop on the homepage and forget about.
But the explainer videos that actually work? They're built differently.
They start with a strategic question. Not "what should our video look like?" but "what mental shift does our buyer need to make before they're ready to buy?"
In 2026, the best tech explainer videos are doing three things really well. They're simplifying complex systems into visual frameworks. They're helping buyers self-educate before ever talking to sales. And they're designed to be repurposed across every channel, not locked into a single use case.
This isn't a listicle. It's a breakdown of 10 explainer videos that got it right, and what you can learn from each one.
1. Microsoft Azure: Minimalism Over Complexity
What It Is
Microsoft Azure uses 2D motion graphics to explain enterprise cloud deployments. No live action. No talking heads. Just clean visuals that turn infrastructure diagrams into something an IT leader can actually understand in under two minutes.
Source - Microsoft Azure, Youtube
Why It Works in 2026
Enterprise buyers don't need spectacle. They need clarity. Azure's video strips away everything that doesn't serve the explanation. The result is a piece of content that works as well in a board meeting as it does on a landing page.
This approach scales. You're not locked into expensive reshoots or outdated footage. Motion graphics age slower than live action, and they're easier to update when your product evolves.
How to Execute It
Start with the hardest thing your product does. Write it out in plain language. Then work with a designer to turn each concept into a single frame. No fancy transitions. No unnecessary animation. Just one idea per visual.
If your prospect can pause the video at any point and explain what they're seeing, you've done it right.
2. Google Gemini: Real People, Real Use Cases
What It Is
Google's Gemini explainer opens with CEO Sundar Pichai, then transitions to real people demonstrating actual AI use cases. Developers, researchers, and everyday users show how they use Gemini in their workflow. No abstract descriptions. Just people doing real work.
Source - Google, Youtube
Why It Works in 2026
AI feels overwhelming to most buyers. Google made it approachable by removing the technical layer and showing human application. The video doesn't explain what Gemini can do. It shows you what you can do with Gemini.
The diversity of characters matters too. Different backgrounds, different use cases, different entry points. Every viewer sees themselves somewhere in that video.
How to Execute It
Stop explaining your product in isolation. Show it in context. Film real users doing real tasks. Let them explain the value in their own words, not yours.
If your product is technical, lean harder into the human side. The more complex your technology, the more important it is to show simple, relatable outcomes.
3. Visa: Narrative-Driven Security Explainer
What It Is
Visa created a motion graphics explainer for their threat intelligence platform using a spy-thriller aesthetic. Dark color palette. High-stakes narrative. Visuals that make cybersecurity feel urgent without being alarmist.
Source - Vimeo
Why It Works in 2026
Technical audiences don't just want specs. They want to understand the stakes. Visa framed their explainer like a story. The threat is real. The solution is clear. The outcome is secure.
This approach works because it gives buyers an emotional entry point into a technical decision. They're not just evaluating features. They're imagining scenarios.
How to Execute It
Start with the problem, not the product. Show the risk. Make it visual. Then introduce your solution as the natural resolution to that tension.
Use motion graphics to create mood. Color, pacing, and sound design matter more than you think.
4. Slack: Contrast as a Teaching Tool
What It Is
Slack's "Work, Simplified" video uses split-screen visuals to show chaos versus order. One side shows a disorganized team drowning in emails and tools. The other side shows the same team using Slack, calm and coordinated.
Source - Slack, Youtube
Why It Works in 2026
People don't buy solutions. They buy relief from problems they already feel. Slack didn't explain features. They showed the "before" state their buyers are living in right now, then showed the "after."
The contrast does the selling.
How to Execute It
Map out your buyer's current workflow. What does their day look like without your product? Be specific. Show the friction. Then show how your product removes that friction in the simplest way possible.
Don't list features. Show outcomes.
5. Visa Direct: Simplifying Global Infrastructure
What It Is
Visa Direct created a motion graphics video explaining push-to-card payouts for gig workers and insurance claims. The video takes a system that involves banks, processors, and settlement networks and makes it feel obvious.
Source - Visa, Youtube
Why It Works in 2026
Complex systems require visual abstraction. Visa Direct didn't try to explain every technical detail. They focused on the user experience. Money moves from point A to point B. Fast. Secure. Done.
This is explainer video at its best. Taking something technically dense and making it conceptually simple.
How to Execute It
If your product involves multiple systems or stakeholders, don't try to explain all of them. Focus on the outcome. Show the input and the output. Let the middle stay invisible.
Your buyer doesn't need to know how it works. They need to know that it works.
6. Monday.com: Function Over Metaphor
What It Is
Monday.com skipped abstract storytelling and went straight to an interactive product walkthrough. The video shows dashboards, automations, and workflows in action. No metaphors. Just functionality.
Source - monday.com, Yotube
Why It Works in 2026
Buyers are more sophisticated now. They've seen a hundred abstract explainers. What they want is proof. Monday.com gave them a guided demo that feels like hands-on experience.
This works especially well for visual products. If your UI is strong, show it.
How to Execute It
Record real workflows. Show how your product handles common tasks step by step. Add motion graphics overlays to highlight key actions, but keep the product itself as the hero.
This type of video doubles as onboarding content later.
7. Dropbox: Stick Figures and Simplicity
What It Is
Dropbox's early explainer used stick-figure animation to explain cloud storage and file sharing. The visual style was intentionally simple. No corporate polish. Just clear, functional storytelling.
Source - Dropbox, Youtube
Why It Works in 2026
Overproduction can hurt clarity. Dropbox proved that simple animation, when done with intention, can outperform expensive live action. The lack of polish made the video feel approachable.
Simple doesn't mean lazy. It means focused.
How to Execute It
Strip your explainer down to the core concept. Use basic shapes, minimal colors, and straightforward animation. Focus all your effort on the script and the logic of the visuals.
Test it with someone who doesn't know your product. If they get it, you're done.
8. Clever Devices: Live Action Plus Data Overlays
What It Is
Clever Devices combined live-action footage of transit systems with animated data overlays. The video shows real buses and trains, then layers real-time data visualizations on top to explain how their tech works.
Source - Clever Devices, Youtube
Why It Works in 2026
Some industries need tangibility. Transit tech isn't abstract. Clever Devices used real environments to ground the explanation, then added animation to show the invisible layer of technology.
This hybrid approach works when your product operates in the physical world.
How to Execute It
Shoot footage of your product in its actual environment. Then work with a motion designer to add visual overlays that show what's happening behind the scenes. Data flows. Connections. System logic.
The real-world footage builds trust. The animation builds understanding.
9. Crazy Egg: Educational Explainer
What It Is
Crazy Egg's explainer walks through how heatmaps work, but it's really teaching marketers how to think about user behavior on their websites.
Source - Vimeo
Why It Works in 2026
The best explainers don't just explain the tool. They explain the thinking behind using the tool. Crazy Egg positioned their product as a framework for understanding web analytics, not just a software feature.
This shifts the buyer from "do I need this tool?" to "do I need this way of thinking?"
How to Execute It
Frame your explainer around a strategic insight, not a product feature. Teach your buyer a new way to think about their problem. Then show how your product enables that thinking.
You're not selling software. You're selling a mental model.
10. Booking.com: Explainer + Internal Onboarding Video
What It Is
Booking.com created an explainer as well as an internal onboarding video in one for their meeting management platform using motion graphics. Clean. Functional. Designed to get new users productive fast.
Source - Vimoeo
Why It Works in 2026
Onboarding videos and explainer videos are converging. The same video that helps a new user get started can help a prospect understand what they're buying. Booking.com built one asset that serves both purposes.
This is efficient content strategy.
How to Execute It
Build your explainer video with onboarding in mind. Focus on the first win. What's the fastest path to value? Show that. Then use the same video on your marketing site, in email sequences, and inside the product.
One video. Multiple touchpoints.
The pattern across all 10 of these videos is the same.
They're not trying to impress you. They're trying to teach you.
That's the difference between tactical video content and strategic video content. Tactics chase views. Strategy builds systems.
In 2026, the companies winning with video aren't the ones producing more. They're the ones thinking harder about what each piece of content needs to accomplish, how it fits into the buyer journey, and how it can be repurposed across every channel they own.
Start Building Systems, Not One-Off Videos
We help US-based B2B companies create explainer videos that stand out.
If you want to see what a strategically designed tech explainer looks like for your product, book a demo call. We'll walk you through our process and deliver a free sample clip within 48 hours.
No sales pitch. Just a real example of what's possible.
Author:
Apoorva Saraswat
Turning Ideas into Impactful Content
