Blog · Which tool for which job
AI tools for video editors, sorted by the job they do
By Eran Strassburg · Updated 2026-10-10
The short answer
"AI video editing" covers four different jobs. Generators create footage that did not exist. Clip makers cut long videos into short social clips. Text-based editors let you cut by deleting words and render the result. Narrative pre-editors find and structure the story in footage you shot and hand a timeline to your editor. FirstCut is the fourth kind, and it is the wrong choice for the first two.
The four jobs
Generators produce new images, video or audio from a prompt. They are for footage you do not have.
Clip makers take a long video and return several short clips for social platforms, usually reframed and captioned. They are for distribution.
Text-based editors show the transcript and let you cut the video by editing the text, then render the result. They are for cleaning up and finishing spoken video in one place.
Narrative pre-editors read the transcript of footage you shot, propose a story as beats and clips, let you reshape it, and export a timeline to a desktop editor. They are for the story and rough-cut stage of longer pieces.
If you need this, look for that
| You need | Look for | Is FirstCut it? |
|---|---|---|
| Footage that does not exist yet | A generator | No |
| Ten vertical clips from one podcast episode | A clip maker | No |
| A finished video without a desktop editor | A text-based or cloud editor | No |
| A rough cut of interviews to finish in an NLE | A narrative pre-editor | Yes |
| To try several structures on the same footage | A narrative pre-editor | Yes |
| B-roll selection, color or sound | Your NLE | No |
Questions to ask any tool
- Where does my footage go? Is the video uploaded, or only something derived from it?
- What comes out: a rendered file, or a timeline I can keep editing?
- Can I undo what the AI did, one decision at a time?
- Does it invent material, or only select from mine?
- What does it cost per use, and what is free?
FirstCut's answers: only the audio is uploaded; a timeline comes out; every clip can be moved, deleted or restored and every version is kept; it only selects from your footage; and manual edits, saving and pace changes are free while generating or asking the AI for a change uses an AI cut.
Where FirstCut fits and where it does not
It fits footage where the story is in what people say: interviews, documentaries, podcasts, webinars, courses and talks. The three most common cases are on the use cases page.
It does not fit footage with little speech, automatic social clips, or anyone who needs a finished file without opening an editor. What a narrative editor is, in more detail: what is a narrative editor for video?
Questions
Can FirstCut make TikTok clips automatically?
No. It builds a narrative cut that you finish in an editor.
Does it generate video?
No. It chooses and orders moments from your own footage and never generates images, video or audio.
Is there a free way to try it?
Yes. The Free plan covers 30 minutes of media and 5 AI cuts a month with no credit card, and the live demo needs no account.
Related guides
- Pre-editor or cloud video editor: export a timeline or render in the browser
- What is a narrative editor for video?
- How to speed up A-roll editing for talking-head videos
- FirstCut plans
Try it on your own footage
FirstCut is free to try with no install and no credit card. Start a rough cut → · Or open the live demo, which needs no account.