Guide
AI video editing terms, each explained in one plain sentence
Updated
AI video editors use a lot of new words: agent, prompt, version, edit log, credits. Here is what each one means, in plain words, grouped by what the AI does, what you see on screen and what it costs.
In short
- AI video editing terms fall into three groups: what the AI does, what you see on screen, and what an edit costs.
- An AI agent is an editor that makes the whole edit from one request, then changes it when you ask in plain words.
- A prompt is simply the instruction you type, such as "Make this about 10 seconds shorter".
- Credits are the units an AI editor charges in, and each app prices its steps differently.
- Some words mean different things in different apps, so check what a tool means by "agent" or "vibe edit" before you pay.
What do AI video editing terms mean?
Most AI video editing terms describe what the AI does, what ends up on screen, or how the app charges you. The tables below give each term one plain sentence.
The drawing shows several of them on one example clip. Each line under the edited version is a term from this page, from accent word to captions.
One example clip, with the terms on it
Each line of the edit is a glossary term: accent word, b-roll, screenshot, call to action, captions.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 35-second phone video of a bakery owner announcing weekend pre-orders
“So, um, this weekend we're baking sourdough again, and, uh, you can pre-order it on our website … (pause) until Friday night. Tap the link in my bio to grab a loaf.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Steps style
“This weekend we're baking sourdough again, you can pre-order it on our website until Friday night. Tap the link in my bio to grab a loaf.”
- On “sourdough”: the word sourdough set big in your accent colour, which makes it an accent word
- On “baking”: a b-roll clip of bread coming out of an oven, from stock
- On “website”: your screenshot order-page.png in a floating window
- On “loaf”: the call to action Tap the link in my bio, then your logo as a sticker
- Under the whole video: captions, your words written on screen in time with your voice
window: order-page.png
Then you ask Jacob
- “Keep my pauses, it feels too rushed”v2a new version with your natural pauses kept
- “Make the key words stand out more”v3a new version with more accent words, set bigger
Terms for what the AI does
These words describe the editing itself: who decides, how you ask for changes, and how the app keeps track of them.
What the AI does
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| AI video editor | An app that edits footage you filmed, using AI for some or all of the decisions. |
| AI video generator | An app that makes new footage from a text prompt; it doesn't edit your clip. |
| AI agent | An AI that plans and makes a whole edit from one request, not one action per click. |
| Agentic video editing | Editing where an AI agent makes the edit and you steer it with requests. |
| Prompt | The instruction you type to the AI, in plain words. |
| Vibe editing | Editing by describing the video you want while the AI makes the cuts. |
| Transcript | Your words written out, which many AI editors use to decide where to cut. |
| Filler words | The ums, uhs and repeats an AI editor usually cuts first. |
| Jump cut | A cut inside one shot, so the picture jumps slightly where words were removed. |
| First edit | The first complete version the AI makes before you ask for any changes. |
| Version | Each saved state of the edit; a new one appears after every change. |
| Undo | Going back to the version before your last change. |
| Edit log | The AI's record of what it changed and why, which it can explain when asked. |
Term: AI video editor
- What it means
- An app that edits footage you filmed, using AI for some or all of the decisions.
Term: AI video generator
- What it means
- An app that makes new footage from a text prompt; it doesn't edit your clip.
Term: AI agent
- What it means
- An AI that plans and makes a whole edit from one request, not one action per click.
Term: Agentic video editing
- What it means
- Editing where an AI agent makes the edit and you steer it with requests.
Term: Prompt
- What it means
- The instruction you type to the AI, in plain words.
Term: Vibe editing
- What it means
- Editing by describing the video you want while the AI makes the cuts.
Term: Transcript
- What it means
- Your words written out, which many AI editors use to decide where to cut.
Term: Filler words
- What it means
- The ums, uhs and repeats an AI editor usually cuts first.
Term: Jump cut
- What it means
- A cut inside one shot, so the picture jumps slightly where words were removed.
Term: First edit
- What it means
- The first complete version the AI makes before you ask for any changes.
Term: Version
- What it means
- Each saved state of the edit; a new one appears after every change.
Term: Undo
- What it means
- Going back to the version before your last change.
Term: Edit log
- What it means
- The AI's record of what it changed and why, which it can explain when asked.
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.
Terms for what you see on screen
These words describe what ends up in the finished video. Most of them existed before AI; the AI now places them for you.
What you see on screen
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Captions | Your spoken words written on screen in time with your voice. |
| Burned-in captions | Captions that are part of the picture, so they show on every app. |
| Captions file (SRT) | A separate text file of timed captions that a platform shows or hides. |
| Accent word | A key word set bigger or in a brand colour so it stands out. |
| B-roll | Extra footage shown over or between your talking, to show what you mean. |
| Stock footage | Ready-made clips from a library such as Pexels or Pixabay. |
| Hook | The first line or moment, made to stop people scrolling past. |
| Call to action | The line that tells viewers what to do next, such as tapping a link. |
| Transition | How one shot changes to the next: a straight cut, a flash, a whip. |
| Sound effects | Short sounds, such as a whoosh or a click, that mark a moment. |
| 9:16 | The tall, vertical frame of TikTok, Reels and Shorts, usually 1080 by 1920 pixels. |
Term: Captions
- What it means
- Your spoken words written on screen in time with your voice.
Term: Burned-in captions
- What it means
- Captions that are part of the picture, so they show on every app.
Term: Captions file (SRT)
- What it means
- A separate text file of timed captions that a platform shows or hides.
Term: Accent word
- What it means
- A key word set bigger or in a brand colour so it stands out.
Term: B-roll
- What it means
- Extra footage shown over or between your talking, to show what you mean.
Term: Stock footage
- What it means
- Ready-made clips from a library such as Pexels or Pixabay.
Term: Hook
- What it means
- The first line or moment, made to stop people scrolling past.
Term: Call to action
- What it means
- The line that tells viewers what to do next, such as tapping a link.
Term: Transition
- What it means
- How one shot changes to the next: a straight cut, a flash, a whip.
Term: Sound effects
- What it means
- Short sounds, such as a whoosh or a click, that mark a moment.
Term: 9:16
- What it means
- The tall, vertical frame of TikTok, Reels and Shorts, usually 1080 by 1920 pixels.
Terms for what an edit costs
AI video editors usually charge in credits rather than money per video. The words below explain how that works, with Cutroom's Magic Editor as the example.
What an edit costs
The examples are Cutroom's Magic Editor prices. Other apps price their steps differently.
| Term | What it means | Example in Cutroom |
|---|---|---|
| Credits | The units an app charges in; a plan gives you a number each month. | Lite gives 1,250 credits a month |
| First edit | The AI's first complete version of your video. | 250 credits |
| Change | A request that makes the AI build a new version. | 40 credits a message |
| Free question | A question to the AI that changes nothing in the video. | Free, up to 20 a day |
| Style switch | Rebuilding the whole edit in another look. | 120 credits |
| Started minute | Any part of a minute counts as a whole one, so 61 seconds is two. | 30 credits per started minute of export |
| Watermark | A logo across a video from a free plan. | On the free video; Lite removes it |
Term: Credits
- What it means
- The units an app charges in; a plan gives you a number each month.
- Example in Cutroom
- Lite gives 1,250 credits a month
Term: First edit
- What it means
- The AI's first complete version of your video.
- Example in Cutroom
- 250 credits
Term: Change
- What it means
- A request that makes the AI build a new version.
- Example in Cutroom
- 40 credits a message
Term: Free question
- What it means
- A question to the AI that changes nothing in the video.
- Example in Cutroom
- Free, up to 20 a day
Term: Style switch
- What it means
- Rebuilding the whole edit in another look.
- Example in Cutroom
- 120 credits
Term: Started minute
- What it means
- Any part of a minute counts as a whole one, so 61 seconds is two.
- Example in Cutroom
- 30 credits per started minute of export
Term: Watermark
- What it means
- A logo across a video from a free plan.
- Example in Cutroom
- On the free video; Lite removes it
Words that mean different things in different apps
A few of these words don't have one fixed meaning yet. Before you pay for a tool, check what it means by them.
- An "agent" can mean an AI that makes the whole edit, or a chat box that runs one task at a time. Ask what it does from a single request.
- A "vibe edit" on CapCut is a ready-made template look, while vibe editing means an AI edits from your description.
- An "AI video editor" can be a generator that makes new footage from text, or an editor that cuts the footage you filmed.
- A "credit" is worth something different in every app, so compare what one finished video costs, not the number of credits.
- "Export" can include a watermark on free plans, so check what a free video looks like before you post it.
Questions people ask
- What is an AI agent in video editing?
- An AI that makes the whole edit for you from one request, then changes it when you ask in plain words. A tool with AI buttons does one task per click instead.
- What is a prompt in video editing?
- The instruction you type to an AI editor, such as "Remove all the ums and uhs" or "Change the music to something calmer". Plain words work; there's no special syntax.
- What is an edit log?
- A record the AI keeps of what it changed and why. In Cutroom you can ask Jacob "Why did you cut what you cut?" and it answers from that log, for free.
- What does a started minute mean?
- Any part of a minute counts as a whole one. A 61-second video is charged as two started minutes; a 45-second video as one.
- What is the difference between an AI video editor and an AI video generator?
- An editor works on footage you filmed: it cuts, adds captions and places b-roll. A generator makes new footage from a text prompt.
- What are credits in AI video editing?
- Credits are the units an AI editor charges in. In Cutroom's Magic Editor the first edit is 250 credits and each change is 40, and 600 free credits come with the free trial.
Now you know the words. Upload a clip of you talking and watch Jacob use them on your video.