YouTube has announced a new editing feature named Conversational Editing. It will appear in the Shorts composer and the YouTube Create app, and it allows creators to make edits to the video content by providing a simple language prompts. The YouTube artificial intelligence tools translate those inputs into edits and adjustments.
This feature was announced as part of YouTube’s Made On event, and was not mentioned until the 27th September 2026 Social Media Today article. The author Andrew Hutchinson described it as “one of the more interesting announcements that came out of the Made On event”. You can read more about the wider event in Social Media Today’s Made On coverage.
What Conversational Editing Does
The idea is simple to describe. Rather than working through menus, tools, and a time line to make each change, a creator simply describes what they want in everyday language. The AI programs then interpret that and generate the corresponding adjustment.
Their goal is to provide users with guidance that are easy to understand, so that it will be more accessible for creators to develop and improve their work. The two verbs that highlight their goal are build and refine, both of which are used as verbs in this demonstration.
YouTube is placing the feature in two spots. One is the Shorts composer, the tool creators use to build short vertical videos. The other is YouTube Create, YouTube’s own editing app. Both are places where creators already put together video projects, so the feature sits inside tools they know.
Who Showed It at Made On
At the live Made On event creator Kelli Erdmann (aka Happy Kelli) talked through the feature and demonstrated it in use. Having a live creator showing it was more about the process of creating videos than the technology.
Erdmann began with an observation about the enormous volume of work involved in editing. She explained, “Editing is an art form,” noting the dozens of small choices required to achieve the overall tone of a video. She further stated that what was a one-hour shoot becomes at least ten hours in the edit.
That is the problem the feature is trying to address to decrease the amount of time between the shooting process and the editing process. Erdmann wondered what would happen if he could make those two phases more efficient without sacrificing creative control. Conversational Editing is YouTube’s solution to the question.
Building a First Draft From Camera Roll Clips
Using the sequence Erdmann displayed, it can combine many clips shot on a creator’s camera roll automatically given simple instructions. A creator who has shot many separate clips doesn’t need to drag each individual one to a timeline manually. This system can combine a structure of instructions.
Social Media Today adds, this simplifies the editing at the beginning. The initial assembly of the video is probably the stage where the creator has all the footage but nothing structured yet. Passing that stage to AI tools gives a draft for the creator to work with.
Erdmann said that the system transforms a conversation request so creators can assemble their video project. The term assemble is significant in this context as we are talking about a building process, and not only on a tweaking process.
Refining the Result With More Instructions
The first draft is not the end of the process. It can be continuously modified and supplemented by additional instructions to obtain the desired result. In case of an unsatisfactory outcome, a person can make new instructions and wait for the improved result.
Erdmann notes that it can be about making changes to typography or scoring, or, for example, a short video hook to attract a user. These three examples relate to different aspects of the video. Typography refers to text presentation, music – to the soundtrack, and a hook – the first seconds of a video that need to hook the viewer. All this is part of the process of creating a single video. These three aspects can be controlled by the system’s briefings.
A dialogue is a back-and-forth exchange in which instructions and outputs are taken into account. Thus, the process of creating a video with Briefing involves multiple cycles of processing instructions and outputs until the desired result is achieved. A creator and a system perform a dialogue in which the creator influences the result by providing instructions. The system, in turn, processes these instructions and outputs new material.
Since the instructions are given in response to the previous system outputs, the creator does not simply receive a ready answer. Instead, he receives a result that he must further influence to achieve the desired result.
Prompt Suggestions Inside the Draft
The system will also suggest contextual prompts similar to the ones the user may have included in the draft. Erdmann noted the suggestions included options like adding music or color filters. The suggestions are informed by what has been included in the project so far, and as such, are relevant to the draft currently being worked on.
Social Media Today reports that the suggested prompts aim to keep the ideas in front of the creator while working on the clip, so they can be added without losing focus on the editing task at hand. A creator who is focused on the clips may miss the opportunity to add music or color until a suggestion prompts them, and they can take action right away if they decide to implement the suggestion.
Action Requests for Beats and Loops
In addition to the aforementioned requests, the creators also have the possibility of making action requests. Erdmann gives two examples of such a request. The first one instructs the program to synchronize the changes to the music’s beat, while the second one asks the program to find a perfect loop point.
The former means that the cuts in the video should be in sync with the beats of the song. Such a request helps to make a short and yet meaningful piece of audiovisual content. The latter implies that the loop point should be found so that the seamless out-and-back of the video is achieved. Both requests are the examples of complex temporal operations that usually require a creator to make several attempts before they are satisfied with the result.
Social Media Today magazine claims that such requests make the creation of thematic audiovisual content much easier. It is so because these requests prioritize the harmony of the edited product’s concept, music, and timeline. In other words, a creator can simply request a specific effect, and the software will be able to deliver it.
Manual Editing Stays Available
Erdmann stated that creators will be able to jump back in time in order to manually edit the timeline at any given point. He then goes on to add that the creator would be able to tweak a few things for themselves should the need arise.
Her argument for this goes back to what she said previously about creative control and how this feature will not chain them to a particular AI process. The creator could ask the AI to generate something, make edits to the timeline themselves at any point, and then reiterate instructions if need be. The power of deciding when to implement what process still remains with the creator.
As a timeline is something people would use during the editing process, they would easily be able to jump back in it at any point to make manual adjustments.
Who the Feature Could Help
Social Media Today describes Conversational Editing as something that resembles an easy-to-use video editing process. The publication’s hypothesis was that this option would allow the busy creators to save time, as well as avoid getting bogged down by the complexities of the video editing process.
This premise implicitly targets a specific audience of video creators. Many of them are usually quite adept at conveying their intended message and vision but might lack editing expertise. Thus, an editing tool that makes use of natural language is beneficial to them, as it grants them another creative avenue to achieve their editing goals. The report itself positioned the tool as a time-saving utility, and Erdmann later described it as a means to accelerate the editing process without sacrificing control.
It is also noteworthy that the article does not position the tool as a substitute for editing know-how. In fact, it promotes it as a means to expedite the editing process for those who wish to retain a high level of control.
What the Report Does Not Say
Social Media Today’s report is all about what Erdmann showed at the event. Conversational Editing doesn’t have an official release date, and it’s unclear when creators will be able to try it out in the Shorts composer or within YouTube Create. Those wanting to test out this new tool will have to keep waiting for more details to come from YouTube.
FAQs
Q 1: What is Conversational Editing on YouTube?
It is a new feature that enables users to edit videos using natural language prompts. YouTube’s artificial intelligence (AI) translates these prompts into edits and alterations.
Q 2: Where will Conversational Editing be available?
It will be available on Shorts composer and the YouTube Create app. They are the tools used to make videos.
Q 3: Who demonstrated the feature?
The feature was demonstrated by creator Kelli Erdmann, also known as Happy Kelli. She unveiled the technology on Made On, YouTube’s creator space event.
Q 4: Can it edit clips on your camera roll?
Yes, according to the demo. It can make alterations to multiple clips on a user’s camera roll.
Q 5: Can creators tweak a video after the initial suggestions?
They can continually fine-tune their clips and prompts throughout the process. It allows them to update typography, music, and the hook of the short videos.
Q 6: What are contextual prompt suggestions?
They are recommendation features that suggest actions related to the draft. For instance, they can propose adding music and color effects throughout the editing process.
Q 7: What are the example action requests?
Erdmann demonstrated two examples. She asked the software to edit the clips in time with the music and request specific loop points.
Q 8: Can creators manually edit
Yes, Erdmann showed that creators could go back to the manual editing timeline and tweak the clips.
Q 9: Who will benefit from the development?
According to Social Media Today, it will benefit individuals who have the brilliant concept but do not have the technical expertise.
Q 10: When will the feature be available?
The article does not state when it will be available. It only reports what was revealed during the Made On presentation.
