Guide
Vibe editing means you describe the video you want and an AI makes the edit
Updated
Vibe editing is editing a video by saying what you want instead of making each cut yourself. You describe the result in plain words, an AI editor makes the edit, and you keep describing changes until it's right.
In short
- Vibe editing is editing a video by describing the result in plain words, while an AI makes the cuts, captions and other changes for you.
- The term is borrowed from vibe coding, which Andrej Karpathy named in February 2025 for building software by describing it to an AI.
- Vibe editing is not the same as CapCut's "vibe" templates, which are ready-made looks you drop your own clips into.
- Vibe editing still needs footage: the AI edits what you filmed, and it can't invent sentences you never said.
- Cutroom's Magic Editor works this way on one clip of you talking: Jacob, its AI editor, makes the whole edit, and each change you describe in the chat costs 40 credits.
What is vibe editing?
Vibe editing is a way of editing video where you describe what you want and an AI editor does the editing. You don't drag clips on a timeline. You say "make it shorter" or "calmer music", and the AI makes the change.
It works in rounds. The AI makes a first version, you watch it, and you describe what should be different. Each request gives you a new version, so you steer the edit with words rather than with a mouse.
- In a timeline editor you make every cut, place every caption and pick every clip yourself.
- In vibe editing you describe the result, and the AI decides which cuts, captions and clips get you there.
- You still judge the result. If the AI gets something wrong, you say so in the next message.
What you say in vibe editing, and what the AI does
Each request is one of the example requests in Cutroom's Magic Editor, word for word.
| What you type | What the AI editor does |
|---|---|
| Make this about 10 seconds shorter | Cuts the fillers, repeats and weakest sentences, and keeps the opening and the ending |
| Remove all the ums and uhs | Takes out the ums and uhs so you sound sure of yourself |
| Can you find 3 b-roll clips that fit what I'm saying? | Finds three short clips and puts each one on the words it fits |
| Make the key words stand out more | Sets the important words bigger or in your accent colour |
| Change the music to something calmer | Swaps the music under your voice for a calmer track |
| Why did you cut what you cut? | Answers from a log of its own edit and changes nothing |
What you type: Make this about 10 seconds shorter
- What the AI editor does
- Cuts the fillers, repeats and weakest sentences, and keeps the opening and the ending
What you type: Remove all the ums and uhs
- What the AI editor does
- Takes out the ums and uhs so you sound sure of yourself
What you type: Can you find 3 b-roll clips that fit what I'm saying?
- What the AI editor does
- Finds three short clips and puts each one on the words it fits
What you type: Make the key words stand out more
- What the AI editor does
- Sets the important words bigger or in your accent colour
What you type: Change the music to something calmer
- What the AI editor does
- Swaps the music under your voice for a calmer track
What you type: Why did you cut what you cut?
- What the AI editor does
- Answers from a log of its own edit and changes nothing
Where the term vibe editing comes from
Vibe editing borrows its name from vibe coding. Andrej Karpathy, an AI researcher, coined vibe coding in an X post on 2 February 2025. He meant building software by describing it to an AI that writes the code.
Video tools have since picked up the idea. Editors that take instructions in a chat now call it vibe editing. You describe what you want, and the AI does the hands-on work.
- Vibe coding means describing an app in plain words while an AI writes the code.
- Vibe editing means describing a video in plain words while an AI makes the edit.
- Both still need a person who knows what good looks like, because the AI only builds what it's asked for.
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
Vibe editing vs CapCut "vibe" templates
The word "vibe" means something else on most editing apps. On CapCut, a vibe template is a ready-made look, such as the retro film-style templates in its Old Vibe gallery. You drop your clips in, and the music, filters and effects are already set.
Meta uses the word too: its help centre has a page on editing a video in Meta AI and Vibes. Neither of these is vibe editing in the sense of this page, where an AI makes an edit from your own description.
Vibe editing and vibe templates side by side
Same word, two different things. CapCut's Old Vibe gallery checked 12 November 2026.
What it is
- Vibe editing
- An AI editor that edits from your description
- A vibe template
- A ready-made look you fill with clips
What you do
- Vibe editing
- Describe the video and each change
- A vibe template
- Pick a template and swap in your clips
What decides the edit
- Vibe editing
- Your words and the AI
- A vibe template
- The template's maker
Best for
- Vibe editing
- Videos of you talking, demos, tips, ads
- A vibe template
- Aesthetic montages set to a song
| Vibe editing | A vibe template | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI editor that edits from your description | A ready-made look you fill with clips |
| What you do | Describe the video and each change | Pick a template and swap in your clips |
| What decides the edit | Your words and the AI | The template's maker |
| Best for | Videos of you talking, demos, tips, ads | Aesthetic montages set to a song |
What vibe editing looks like on a clip of you talking
Here is vibe editing in Cutroom's Magic Editor, which turns one clip of you talking into a finished vertical video. Jacob, its AI editor, makes the whole edit, and you change it by asking in a chat.
Your description comes first, as four short answers before you press "Make my video". In this example a sleep coach answers "My online course", "New parents", "Tap the link in my bio" and "Instagram Reels". One described change then makes the second version.
A sleep coach's bedtime tip, before and after
Four goal answers and one press made the first edit. One sentence in the chat made version 2.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 45-second phone video of a sleep coach giving new parents one bedtime tip
“Um, okay, so the one bedtime tip I give every new parent is is, sorry, to dim the lights an hour before bed. … (pause) I walk you through the whole routine in my course, and the link is in my bio.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Steps style
“The one bedtime tip I give every new parent is to dim the lights an hour before bed. I walk you through the whole routine in my course, and the link is in my bio.”
- On “bedtime”: the word bedtime set big in your accent colour
- On “lights”: your photo of a dimmed nursery lamp in a floating window
- On “routine”: your screenshot of the course's lesson list in a floating window
- On “bio”: the video ends on you, with the line Tap the link in my bio and your logo as a sticker
- Under the whole video: upbeat music and light sound effects under your voice
Then you ask Jacob
- “Change the music to something calmer”v2the same edit with calmer music under your voice, which suits a bedtime tip
What vibe editing can't do
Vibe editing changes how your footage is cut and dressed. It doesn't replace filming, and it only does what the editor you use can actually do.
- You still need a clip. The AI edits what you filmed; if a sentence is missing, you film it again.
- In Cutroom's Magic Editor, Jacob can't move a sentence to another place or make new speech in your voice.
- Fonts and layout come with the style you pick, so "use my brand font" isn't something you can describe into being.
- A described change takes a moment to build. While Jacob works on a change, the room waits until it is done. You can stop it, and your credits come back if you do.
- The Magic Editor takes a clip of up to 3 minutes and exports one vertical 1080 by 1920 MP4. For a podcast or a wide YouTube video, a different kind of tool fits better.
Questions people ask
- What is vibe editing?
- Vibe editing is editing a video by describing what you want in plain words, while an AI editor makes the cuts and changes. You keep describing changes until the video is right.
- Where does the term vibe editing come from?
- From vibe coding. Andrej Karpathy used the phrase vibe coding in February 2025 for building software by describing it to an AI, and video tools borrowed it for editing by description.
- Is vibe editing the same as a CapCut vibe edit?
- No. A CapCut vibe template is a ready-made look with music and effects that you fill with your clips. Vibe editing means an AI edits your footage from your own description.
- Do I need editing skills for vibe editing?
- No. You need to know what you want the video to look like and say it in plain words. Watching each version and saying what's wrong is the skill that matters.
- Can vibe editing make a video from nothing?
- Not in the sense of this page. Vibe editing edits footage you already have. Tools that make a whole video from a text prompt are AI video generators, which is a different job.
- How much does vibe editing cost in Cutroom?
- The first edit costs 250 credits and each chat message that changes the video costs 40. Questions that change nothing are free, up to 20 a day. Your first video is free, with 600 credits and no card.
Got a clip of you talking? Describe the video you want and let Jacob make the edit.