Resources · Marketing
The AI video editing workflow, step by step
By Flocksy Staff Writer
November 10, 2026 · 6 min read
Hand AI the mechanical steps of a video edit: transcription, captions, reframing for other formats, audio cleanup and searching footage. Keep the story, the pacing, the music choices and the final color grade with an editor. What AI saves is setup and versioning work, so more of the editor's time goes into the decisions viewers notice.
The worked example below follows one job, a 60-second customer story video for social media and a website, from raw footage to export. It shows every step in order and who does it.
Here is one 60-second edit, walked end to end
| Step | Task | What happens | Who does it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Decide what the video is for | Agree the audience, where the video will run, the one thing a viewer should remember and the action they should take. | The marketer and the editor, together |
| 2 | Ingest and transcribe | Upload the interview and b-roll. AI transcribes the speech, labels speakers and tags shots. | AI, set up by the editor |
| 3 | Find the strongest moments | Search the transcript as text for the quotes that serve step 1. | AI search, editor chooses |
| 4 | Assemble a rough cut | Cut the transcript like a document in a transcript-based editor, which cuts the video to match. | Editor, using AI |
| 5 | Clean up the audio | AI reduces background noise and levels the dialogue. | AI, checked by the editor |
| 6 | Build the story | Choose the opening line, order the moments into an arc and cut to 60 seconds. | Editor |
| 7 | Set the pacing and add b-roll | Decide where each cut lands, where a line needs room to breathe and which shots cover the edits. | Editor |
| 8 | Choose and cut the music | Pick a track that fits the brand and the story, cut it to the edit and mix it under the voice. | Editor |
| 9 | Grade the color | Match the shots to each other and set the look. AI can do a first shot match. | Editor |
| 10 | Add captions | AI drafts the captions. The editor corrects names, product terms and timing, then styles them to the brand. | AI, then editor |
| 11 | Reframe for other placements | AI reframes the horizontal master into vertical and square versions that follow the speaker. The editor fixes any crop that loses the point. | AI, then editor |
| 12 | Review and approve | The marketer reviews the cut against step 1, and the editor makes the revisions. | Marketer and editor |
| 13 | Export and deliver | Export each version with the right settings and file names. | Editor, with export presets |
The steps you can hand to AI, in order
Steps 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11 are where AI earns its keep. They share a pattern: each one is mechanical, repetitive or a search problem.
- Transcription and speaker labels. Once the speech is text, everything after it gets easier.
- Search. Finding "the part where she talks about onboarding" becomes a text search instead of a scrub through hours of footage.
- Transcript-based rough cuts. Deleting words in a transcript assembles a first sequence that is good enough for a first pass.
- Audio cleanup. Noise reduction and dialogue leveling deal with common problems such as room noise and uneven levels.
- Captions. A first draft arrives with the transcript. Names, product terms and line breaks still need a person.
- Reframing. Automatic reframing produces vertical and square versions that track the speaker, which removes a lot of repetitive keyframing.
The handoff from the automated rough cut to the real edit is where a lot of in-house video stalls, and it is the point where a dedicated Flocksy video editor picks the work up.
The steps that should stay with an editor, in order
Steps 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 are judgment. AI can assist with parts of them, but the decisions belong to a person.
- Purpose. Someone has to decide what the video is for before anything else is useful.
- Story. The opening line and the order of the moments decide whether anyone watches past the first few seconds.
- Pacing. Where a cut lands, and how long a line breathes, is what makes an edit feel confident or rushed.
- Music. The track sets the emotional register of the whole piece, and cutting it to the edit is a craft of its own.
- Color. AI can match shots to each other, but the look of the video is a brand decision.
- Approval. A person checks the cut against the purpose agreed in step 1.
Most teams skip the step that makes the rest useful
A rough cut that arrives faster does not help if nobody has decided what the video is for. AI makes it very easy to jump straight from footage to a sequence, and that skips step 1. The result is a tidy edit of the wrong story: technically clean, captioned, reframed for every placement, and saying nothing in particular.
The fix costs nothing. Before anyone opens an editor, write down the audience, the placement, the one thing a viewer should remember and the action you want them to take. Every later decision, from the opening line to the music, can then be checked against that note.
What AI actually saves in a video edit
AI mostly saves setup and versioning work: transcribing, searching, assembling a first sequence, drafting captions and producing versions for each placement. Those steps used to eat into the hours an editor could spend on the story. AI does not shorten the decisions. Story, pacing, music and the grade take as long as they take, and those are the steps viewers notice.
For where video sits in a full creative process, read the AI creative workflow. To see finished edits, browse client work or the video and motion page.
Further reading: AI video editing, an earlier overview of AI video tools.
Frequently asked questions
Which parts of video editing can AI do?
AI handles the mechanical parts of a video edit well: transcription and speaker labels, searching footage by what was said, transcript-based rough cuts, audio cleanup, first-draft captions and reframing a horizontal video into vertical and square versions. Story, pacing, music choices and the final color grade should stay with an editor.
What is transcript-based video editing?
Transcript-based editing lets an editor cut video by editing its transcript. AI transcribes the footage, and deleting or moving words in the text removes or moves the matching video. It is a fast way to assemble a rough cut from interview footage, though the story, pacing and finished cut still need an editor's judgment.
Can AI edit a whole video on its own?
AI can assemble a rough sequence, clean up audio, add draft captions and create versions for other placements. It does not decide what the video is for, which moment should open it, how the cuts should be paced or which music fits the brand. Those decisions shape whether people keep watching, so they are better made by an editor.
Does AI make video editing faster?
AI speeds up the setup and versioning parts of an edit, including transcription, footage search, rough assembly, captions and reframing for other placements. It does not make the creative decisions faster. Story, pacing, music and color still take an editor's time, and a faster rough cut only helps if someone has already decided what the video is for.
Should you use AI-generated captions?
AI-generated captions are a good first draft, because they arrive with the transcript and save a lot of typing. They often misspell names, product terms and jargon, and their line breaks and timing are not always easy to read. Have a person correct them and style them to the brand before the video is published.
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