How to Edit Videos with ChatGPT and Claude

Can ChatGPT edit videos? Yes, for simple edits like trimming a clip, cropping it to a new aspect ratio, and adding stylized captions.

Claude goes one step further on your computer. With the Claude desktop app, it edits the video in code: captions timed to each word, tighter pauses, music levels, 9:16 and 16:9 versions, and an After Effects or CapCut project you can open later.

In both apps, OpenArt MCP makes the images and video clips that go into the edit. This guide compares the two tools and walks through four real edits OpenArt's ad team made this way.

Key takeaways

• ChatGPT can trim an uploaded clip, crop it to a new aspect ratio and add a text caption, then return an MP4.
• Check every file ChatGPT returns, because one download link failed in our tests.
• Claude video editing runs on your computer and uses code for multi-clip ads with word-timed captions and music.
• The Claude setup needs the Claude desktop app, Claude in Chrome and a connected folder, plus OpenArt MCP for the clips.
• Claude can save an After Effects script or CapCut draft, so an editor can keep working on the project.

Can ChatGPT Edit Videos on Its Own?

ChatGPT can make simple edits to a video you upload and return the result as an MP4. We tested it with a short 16:9 clip.

What ChatGPT video editing handled in our test:

• Trimming: "Trim the video to 3 seconds" returned a 3-second clip with the original framing and audio.
• Changing the format: "Change the format to 3:2" cropped the sides of the 16:9 clip to 1620 x 1080 and kept the audio. This worked well on wide, simple shots like a sailboat at sea and a fisherman on a deck.
• Text captions: ChatGPT asked whether we wanted subtitles for speech or a styled caption. Then it wrote a caption line and added it with a soft fade in and out.

Tip: Name your subject when you change the format. ChatGPT crops from the center of the frame, so wide scenic shots come out fine and a moving subject can get cut off.

When we turned a landscape close-up of a man riding a horse into a vertical video, the horse was mostly out of frame. Say what must stay visible, like "change to 9:16 and keep the rider and the horse fully in frame."

What to watch for:

• Check every file. In one chat, the one download link failed, and ChatGPT later said it had not checked the finished video.
• Say which version to edit. Asked to trim "the same reference video," ChatGPT trimmed the original upload, so the 3:2 crop and caption did not carry over.
• Re-upload OpenArt clips. With the OpenArt plugin, ChatGPT found the clip in the OpenArt library but could not pull the file in, so we downloaded it and uploaded it to the chat.
• Use more tools for bigger edits. Multi-clip ads, captions timed to every word, music mixing and After Effects or CapCut files go beyond these tests.

For new footage, you can generate the clips in ChatGPT with the OpenArt plugin by typing @OpenArt. The ChatGPT setup guide shows each step.

If your team works in the terminal, our guide to MCP vs CLI shows another way to make the clips.

Can Claude Edit Videos?

Yes. With the Claude desktop app and a folder on your computer, Claude edit video by writing and running code, mostly Python and ffmpeg. You can even create videos on Claude using OpenArt MCP

In short, Claude works as a video editor you direct in plain words. In OpenArt's real ad projects, Claude handled these edits:

• Captions timed to each word, matched to the voice in the clip.
• Tighter pacing, by shortening long pauses between lines.
• Framing changes, switching between a normal shot and a slight zoom to keep a talking head lively.
• Music level, lowering the track under the voice after a note.
• Safe zones, moving text and faces where Reels and feed buttons cannot cover them.
• Both formats, exporting 9:16 and 16:9 from the same edit.
• Project files, writing an After Effects script, CapCut drafts or a HyperFrames project for an editor to open. HyperFrames is an open-source framework by Heygen that converts HTML into video and returns an editable project folder that you can run on your own tool.

OpenArt MCP makes the images and video clips on your account, creates a project for each ad and can reuse your past generations as references. Claude handles the script and the edit. This takes a few setup steps beyond pasting one link, and the next sections cover them.

ChatGPT vs Claude Video Editing

ChatGPT handles quick edits to one clip, and Claude video editor handles full ads with many clips and project files. This table compares a regular ChatGPT chat, based on our tests, with the Claude desktop app.

Claude Video Editing Setup: What You Need

You set this up once, and it takes six steps. Each step gives Claude one thing it needs for the edit.

1. Copy the OpenArt MCP link. Go to openart.ai/mcp and copy https://mcp.openart.ai/mcp.
2. Add it to Claude. Open Settings, then Connectors, choose Add custom connector, paste the link, click Connect and choose Always allow. This lets you generate the clips in Claude.
3. Install Claude in Chrome. Stay signed in to OpenArt in Chrome. Claude uses it to capture frames from reference videos, capture real app screens and download finished clips.
4. Connect your folders. In the Claude desktop app, connect your video and downloads folders. Claude edits the video there.
5. Allow multiple downloads. In Chrome, let openart.ai download several files at once.
6. Turn on After Effects scripting (optional). In After Effects, open Settings, then Scripting, and allow scripts to write files.

Steps 3 to 6 exist because Claude in Chrome handles the downloads, and After Effects runs the script on your computer. For After Effects, Claude writes a .jsx script, and the script builds the project when you run it in After Effects.

For screenshots of each connector screen, see the Claude setup guide.

How ChatGPT and Claude Handle Captions, Pacing, Framing and Export

Both tools take edits in plain words. ChatGPT works on one uploaded clip at a time, while Claude edits longer projects in a folder on your computer.

The ChatGPT results come from our own tests. The Claude examples come from OpenArt's own projects, and our guide to Claude for marketing shows the full ads they went into.

Neither tool has preset values for these edits. The results are what we asked for or what worked in our projects, so change them to fit your video.

Captions

ChatGPT adds a styled caption line with a soft fade in and out. Claude video editor times captions to each spoken word and checks every frame for faces, so text never covers one.

• Ask ChatGPT: "Add the caption '[your line]' with a soft fade in and out."
• Ask Claude: "Add captions timed to each word and keep all text off faces."

Pacing and Music

ChatGPT trims a clip to the length you ask for and keeps the original audio. Claude works line by line: in one edit, it cut every pause longer than 0.38 seconds down to 0.14 seconds and switched between a normal shot and a 1.15x zoom.

Claude also sets music levels from plain notes. Ask for a quieter track, and it lowers the music under the voice and exports again.

• Ask ChatGPT: "Trim the video to the first 5 seconds."
• Ask Claude: "Cut every pause longer than 0.4 second and alternate the framing every few lines."

Framing for Each Platform

ChatGPT changes the aspect ratio by cropping from the center, so name the subject that must stay in frame. Claude exports 9:16 and 16:9 versions from one timeline, so a single note updates both. Claude can also keep text and faces inside a platform's safe zone, the area that Reels buttons leave clear.

• Ask ChatGPT: "Change to 9:16 and keep [your subject] fully in frame."
• Ask Claude: "Export this edit in 9:16 and 16:9, and keep all text inside the Instagram Reels safe zone."

Screens and UI Graphics

Small app text reads best when it is drawn as graphics. AI video gave unreadable UI text in four tries, so Claude drew the chat screen in Python at 1080x1920, with text typing at 34 characters per second.

For a product demo, Claude walked the real OpenArt flow in Chrome, captured each screen and timed every move to a 120 BPM beat. We didn't test UI graphics in ChatGPT.

• Ask Claude: "Copy the real UI from our website, keep the text sharp and time every move to the beat."

Export and Audio Levels

ChatGPT returns each edit as an MP4 download, so open every file before you use it. In our projects, Claude delivered an MP4 with the audio evened out to -14 LUFS, a common loudness level for social video, and cut a shot that looked wrong before the final export.

• Ask ChatGPT: "Export the edited video as an MP4."
• Ask Claude: "Export the final MP4 at -14 LUFS and save an After Effects script with every layer editable.”

Editing in After Effects With Claude and OpenArt

Claude can hand the edit to After Effects. It writes a .jsx script, and when you run the script in After Effects, it builds the full project with layers and captions in place.

That gives a motion designer a real project to refine, with every layer still editable. Turn on scripting first: in After Effects, open Settings, then Scripting, and allow scripts to write files.

To make new clips without leaving After Effects, use the OpenArt After Effects plugin. It works in After Effects 2025 or later on macOS and Windows. You can send layers or compositions to the panel as references, and results land as footage layers at the playhead.

How to Give Claude Edit Notes

Write notes the way you would tell a human editor, then let Claude export a new version. Short notes work best.

These are real notes from OpenArt's ad team, and each one led to a new export:

• "music too loud"
• "text is on her face"
• "keep everything inside the Instagram Reels safe zone"
• "swap the outro for a clear call to action"

Two habits keep the loop fast. Approve the parts you like first, so Claude changes only what your note covers. Then ask for both formats at the end, so one note updates the 9:16 and 16:9 versions together.

Limits to Know Before You Start

While this workflow can save time and effort, it still requires setup and review. Plan for these points:

• Setup comes first. Pasting the OpenArt link connects the clip side only, and the full setup takes six steps. The edit needs the Claude desktop app, Claude in Chrome and a connected folder.
• You run the After Effects script. Claude writes the .jsx file, and you open it in After Effects to build the project.
• Small text belongs in graphics. AI video struggles with readable UI text, so use real screenshots or code-drawn screens for app demos.
• Lip sync needs a check. In one ad, the lips drifted as it used a voice recorded separately on a phone, so the final cut used the clip's own generated audio.
• Each export takes time. Every note leads to a new render, so batch your notes when you can.

If you want OpenArt to plan and build the whole video on its own timeline, try Director mode. To compare editors that cut existing footage, see our guide to AI video editing tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can ChatGPT edit videos I upload?

Yes. In our test, ChatGPT trimmed an uploaded clip to 3 seconds and cropped it to 3:2, returning each as an MP4. Check every file it gives back, because one download link failed.

Can ChatGPT edit videos with captions and music?

ChatGPT added a styled text caption with a fade in and out when we asked. Captions timed to each spoken word and music mixing were outside our test, and Claude handles both on your computer.

Can ChatGPT turn a landscape video into a vertical one for Reels or TikTok?

Yes, by cropping from the center of the frame. It works well on wide scenic shots, so name the subject that must stay in frame when someone or something moves across the shot.

Can Claude edit videos in the browser?

No, Claude edits videos through the Claude desktop app, with a folder on your computer connected. Claude in Chrome downloads the clips, and Claude edits them in that folder.

What AI tools can edit video with text prompts instead of a timeline?

Claude with OpenArt MCP edits video from plain-word notes, and ChatGPT can do the same using simple prompts. Director mode in OpenArt also builds and changes a full video from chat.

Which AI video editors also generate new footage?

OpenArt MCP lets Claude and ChatGPT make new clips in the same chat as the edit, using models like Seedance 2.5.

Can Claude export to After Effects or CapCut?

Yes. Claude writes an After Effects script that builds the project when you run it, and it can also save CapCut drafts or a HyperFrames project.

Can AI make one edit in formats for TikTok, Reels and YouTube?

Yes. Claude exports 9:16 and 16:9 versions from the same edit, so one note updates both.

Does OpenArt MCP edit videos?

OpenArt MCP makes the images and video clips. The chat handles the script and the edit, using tools on your computer.

Connect OpenArt to Claude