How to edit videos with AI using CueEditio

# How to edit videos with AI using CueEditio

I keep running into the same problem with video editors. You find one that looks promising, then it wants you to download 2 GB, or pay before you can test it, or wait for a cloud render. CueEditio loads in a browser tab. The AI assistant actually controls the editor. Your files stay on your machine.

Here's a walkthrough of how it works, plus some of the ways people are using it.

## Sign up and make a project

Go to cueeditio.com, click "Get Started," sign up with Google or email. You land on a dashboard with your projects as cards.

Hit "+ New Project" in the top right, name it, and you're in the editor. Nothing to install.

## The editor

Three areas. Left sidebar has your tabs: Media, Music, Stock Videos, Text, Effects, Subtitles. Center is the video preview above the timeline. Right side is the AI Director.

[SCREENSHOT: Full editor view with Media panel, preview, timeline, and AI Director - ss_45379ahra]

The timeline along the bottom has four tracks: Main, B-Roll, Text, and Audio. Drag clips around, trim edges, rearrange. If you've used any timeline-based editor before, this will feel familiar.

## Getting media in

Open the Media tab. Two ways to bring files in:

"+ Add" uploads from your computer (video, images, audio).
The green "Photos" button connects to Google Photos if your media lives there.

Files show up as thumbnails. Drag them to the timeline when you're ready.

[SCREENSHOT: Media panel with uploaded files - ss_9285779ui]

## Stock footage

You won't always have the right clip on hand. The "Video" tab opens a stock library powered by Pexels. Search by keyword or browse categories like Nature, City, Business, Travel.

[SCREENSHOT: Stock Videos panel with search and categories - ss_84897hwwc]

Click a result, it goes to your media library. Drag it to the timeline. Free to use.

## Music and sound effects

The Music tab pulls from Freesound. Toggle between Songs and Sound Effects at the top.

[SCREENSHOT: Music Library with Songs/Sound Effects toggle and category tags - ss_7489pb0bh]

Browse by tags (Ambient, Piano, SFX, Rain) or search directly. Drop what you find onto the Audio track.

## Text overlays

The Text tab has four presets:

Title (72px)
Subtitle (36px)
Caption (24px)
Lower Third (28px)

[SCREENSHOT: Text panel showing the four presets - ss_8455ydd6l]

Click one, it lands on the Text track. Edit the wording, reposition, adjust timing from there.

## Auto subtitles

This one saves real time. Open the Subtitles tab, click "AI Generate," and CueEditio transcribes the audio and drops timed captions onto the Text track.

[SCREENSHOT: Subtitles panel with AI Generate button - ss_50675wodg]

You can edit the text or shift the timing after. There's also a manual "+ Add" button.

## The AI Director

The Director panel sits on the right side. You type what you want in plain English, and it makes the edits. Not suggestions. It moves clips, adds text, searches stock footage, writes scripts.

[SCREENSHOT: AI Director panel on the right side - ss_45379ahra]

Some examples:

"Add a title that says 'Welcome to my channel'"
"Find stock footage of a sunset and put it on the B-Roll track"
"Generate subtitles for this video"
"Write a voiceover script about cooking tips"
"Trim the main clip to 30 seconds"

It's more like having a second person helping with the edit than a chatbot that gives you tips. You tell it what you want, and the timeline changes.

## Effects

Select a clip on the timeline, open the Effects tab. You get opacity, brightness, contrast, saturation, blur. Each clip gets its own settings, so you can grade different sections separately.

[SCREENSHOT: Effects panel - ss_2923s54sb]

## Exporting

Hit the purple "Export" button, top right.

[SCREENSHOT: Export modal showing resolution, frame rate, and format options - ss_8981mhbqr]

It renders at 1920x1080, 30 fps, MP4 (H.264). The whole thing runs in your browser via FFmpeg. Nothing uploads to a server. Your footage literally never leaves your computer. Click "Start Export," wait for the render, and the MP4 downloads.

## Ways people use it

### Quick social clips

Raw phone footage goes in, the Director trims and arranges it, auto-subtitles go on, background music from the library, export. The whole thing happens in the browser. Works well for Reels and TikToks when you don't want to open Premiere for a 30-second clip.

### Chopping long videos into short ones

Take a longer video, split it up, layer stock footage on the B-Roll track for variety, add text overlays per segment. Each one exports as its own project.

### Building videos from scratch

Start with Pexels stock footage. Have the Director write a script. Generate an AI voiceover. Add subtitles. You can put together a full video without recording anything. Useful for explainer content or faceless channels.

### Tutorials and walkthroughs

Import screen recordings or screenshots. Text presets work well for section headers and callouts. Background music keeps it from sounding hollow.

### Google Photos workflow

If your footage is already in Google Photos, import directly instead of downloading first. Useful when you're on a different device or want to skip managing local files.

## How it compares

Most browser-based editors either feel like toys or require uploading everything to their servers for rendering. CueEditio renders locally, so exports are faster and your footage stays private.

The four-track timeline (Main, B-Roll, Text, Audio) is closer to what you'd find in a desktop editor. The AI Director is where it really separates from other tools. Other editors might have auto-captions or template suggestions. This one rearranges your timeline when you ask it to.

## Try it