Turn Long Videos into AI-Generated Shorts Automatically

Generate Shorts is Bitcut's most powerful AI feature. Give it a long video (podcast, interview, lecture, vlog) and it automatically finds the best self-contained moments, creates separate projects for each, and adds word-level subtitles. A 30-minute video typically produces 5-10 ready-to-edit Shorts in 2-3 minutes.

How It Works

1. Audio Extraction

Bitcut extracts the audio track from your video. Only audio is sent to the server — your video file never leaves your device.

2. AI Transcription

The server transcribes the audio with word-level timestamps accurate to ~50ms, then corrects any errors automatically.

3. Smart Segmentation

AI analyzes the full transcript and finds segments that work as standalone clips — complete ideas with strong hooks.

4. Quality Scoring

Each segment is scored on 5 criteria: hook strength, coherence, standalone value, completeness, and engagement potential.

Step by Step

1

Create a project with a long video

Import your long video (podcast, interview, etc.) into a new project. The video should contain speech — Generate Shorts works by analyzing spoken words.

2

Tap the AI button

In the editor toolbar, tap the AI button and select Generate Shorts.

3

Wait for processing

A progress screen shows each stage: uploading audio, transcribing, analyzing. Total time is typically 1-3 minutes for a 30-minute video. You can close the app — processing continues on the server.

4

Review generated Shorts

Bitcut creates a new project for each detected segment. Back in the project list, you'll see the generated projects with suggested titles and quality scores. Higher scores indicate stronger standalone potential.

5

Edit and polish

Open any generated project to fine-tune. Subtitles are already added. You can adjust trim points, style subtitles, enable face tracking for vertical reframe, and add background music.

What Works Best

Generate Shorts works best with speech-heavy content where each topic segment is relatively self-contained:

  • Podcasts — topic transitions make natural clip boundaries
  • Interviews — each question/answer can be a standalone Short
  • Lectures — individual concepts or examples
  • Vlogs with narration — spoken segments with clear points
  • Commentary / reaction videos
Not ideal for: Music videos, B-roll montages, or videos without speech. The AI needs spoken words to analyze — it segments based on content meaning, not visual changes.

Quality Scores Explained

Each generated Short gets a composite score (0-100) based on five criteria:

  • Hook (30%) — does the first 3-5 seconds grab attention?
  • Coherence (25%) — does the clip stay on one topic without drifting?
  • Standalone (20%) — can a viewer understand it without watching the full video?
  • Completeness (15%) — does the idea feel finished, not cut off?
  • Engagement (10%) — is the content interesting, surprising, or useful?

AI Quota Usage

Generate Shorts uses your AI minutes quota. A 30-minute video uses approximately 30 minutes of quota. The free plan includes 30 minutes per month. See AI Quota & Usage Limits for details.