Selects is an AI video editor for your desktop. You have the taste. Selects has the skills. Say what you want in plain words and Selects edits with you, from the first cut to the finished video, all in one app.
Download the Selects app to get started. Start today for free.
What Selects does
Selects takes you from a folder of footage, or just an idea, to a finished video. You can start in three ways from the Home screen:
Start from your files: Drop in your footage and describe the video you want. Selects analyzes the footage when you ask, and chat builds a first cut that you can shape from there.
Start from an idea: No footage yet? Describe the video and Selects builds it with motion graphics, text, and AI-generated video, images, and voice.
Start from a reference: Paste a link to a video you like and tell Selects what to take from it, like its style, structure, or captions.
From there, you can edit by chatting, by editing the transcript like a text document, or by hand on the timeline. Add captions, effects, and motion graphics, then export the finished video.
Why analysis matters
An AI edit is only as good as what the AI knows about your footage: garbage in, garbage out. Analysis is how Selects gives your AI agent that knowledge.
Most AI editors only read the transcript. Selects also watches: it reads what is on screen and who is speaking, and on multi-camera shoots it works out which camera shows each speaker.
When you analyze your footage, you get:
Transcript: Every word is time-stamped
Speakers: Each speaker is identified and matched to their audio
Topics and subtopics: See what the footage covers at a glance
Visual analysis: A short description of what is on screen in each clip
The Selects team spent months fine-tuning analysis for video editing. It gives your AI agent high-quality data to work from, so the rough cut it builds is based on what you filmed and actually saves you time. Most AI features in Selects build on analysis: first cuts from chat, captions, removing silence, cutting filler words, removing retakes, search, and camera switching.
Note: Analysis uses Selects credits. Nothing is analyzed until you start it, and you see the estimated credits before it runs.
Learn more in How AI analysis works in Selects.
What's free and what uses credits
Selects is free to use, and every new user gets 3,600 free trial credits to try Selects analysis and the AI features without paying.
Free: The full editor, with multi-track timeline editing, transitions, effects, text, color, and video export. No credit card required.
Free with an AI agent you already pay for: Connect your own Claude or ChatGPT subscription, or drive Selects from your own AI app with the Selects MCP. Your agent can then edit and build motion graphics in Selects on your own plan, without using Selects credits.
Uses Selects credits: Analysis, meaning the transcript and visual analysis. Text-based editing, rough cuts from chat, captions, and the cleanup apps all depend on it, whichever agent you use. Chatting on Selects models and generating video, images, and voiceover use credits too.
Free trial credits: Every new user gets 3,600 Selects credits, enough to analyze up to 10 hours of video. Try it on your own footage, then decide. After the trial, credits come with a paid plan.
To compare the ways to use AI in Selects, see Which AI setup should you use in Selects?. For plans and credit amounts, see Selects app: plans and pricing.
Who Selects is for
Selects is for anyone making a video, from a first vlog to a client project shot on 10 cameras.
New to editing, or short on time
If you are new to editing, you do not need to learn a timeline first. Say what you want, like "cut this down to three minutes and tighten the pauses", then give notes the way you would to an editor. You can also paste a link to a video you like, or start from an idea with no footage at all.
Professional editors and teams
Selects was developed with professional editors working on real projects, so it handles the technical side of editing that simpler tools skip:
Multi-cam sync by audio waveform or timecode, across 10 or more camera angles
A transcript with word-level timing, speakers, and topics for long-form footage
A multi-track timeline with proxy file support
Handoff to Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve as a project file, with your edit points, track layout, and speaker labels
You make the calls
Selects does the work, and you make the creative and final decisions. Nothing runs on its own: analysis, drafts, and generation start only when you ask. Every edit lands on the timeline as a draft, so you can change anything by hand or tell chat what to fix.
What you can do in Selects
Understand your footage
AI analysis: Selects transcribes your footage with word-level timing, identifies speakers, detects topics and subtopics, and describes what is on screen.
Search your footage: Find a moment by what was said, or by describing the scene.
Check names and terms: Fix names and jargon the transcript got wrong before you edit.
Edit with chat or by hand
Edit with chat: Ask for a first cut, a cut that follows your script, a highlight pass, or a target length, then keep giving notes.
Your own AI agent: Edit in Selects chat, on your own Claude or ChatGPT subscription, or from your own AI app with the Selects MCP.
Reference links: Paste a link to a social media video you like and use it as inspiration for style, pacing, captions, and motion graphics.
Skills: Save a workflow you repeat as a skill. For example, if your short-form videos follow the same brand style, ask chat to save it, and Selects edits later videos using those instructions.
Remove retakes: Ask chat to group the takes of a line and keep the best one.
Short-form clips: Ask chat for shorts and Selects cuts them from your footage, up to 10 at a time. Each short arrives as its own draft.
Text-based editing: Edit your video by editing the transcript. Select, cut, and rearrange content at the word level.
Timeline editing: Trim, reorder, and layer clips by hand on a multi-track timeline.
Cleanup apps: Remove silence and cut filler words (hesitations, hedging, repeats; English footage only) from the [Apps] tab.
Finish and export
Captions, effects, and color: Add styled captions, text, transitions, zooms, filters, and sound effects, and adjust position, color, speed, and audio.
Motion graphics: Ask chat for titles and animated graphics.
Generate with AI: Create video, images, and voice inside your project.
Export: Export a finished video, or publish it to YouTube or TikTok.
Multi-camera shoots and handoff
Multi-cam sync: Line up 10 or more camera angles and separately recorded audio by audio waveform or timecode.
Camera switching: Ask chat to switch cameras by speaker across your edit.
Handoff: Prefer to finish in your editing software? Hand off as a .prproj for Premiere, an .fcpxml for Final Cut Pro, or a .drp for DaVinci Resolve. Captions, effects, color, and graphics added in Selects do not carry over.
Build your own apps
Apps are the tools in the [Apps] tab that each do one job for you. Selects comes with built-in apps, and you can also ask chat to build an app of your own. Describe the job and the controls you want, and Selects builds the interface for it inside Selects, so you can use it right away.
Note: Building your own apps is new and still changing, so expect it to keep improving.
Getting started
Ready to try it? Follow Quick start: create your first video in Selects. It takes you from your footage to a finished, exported video.
FAQs
Is Selects free to use?
Yes, Selects is free to use as a video editor, with no credit card required. You can edit on the timeline, add transitions, effects, and text, and export your video. Analysis and the AI features built on it use Selects credits, and every new user gets 3,600 free trial credits to try them. Learn more in Selects app: plans and pricing.
Do I need footage to use Selects?
You do not need footage to use Selects. Describe your idea in the chat box on the Home screen and Selects builds the video from scratch with motion graphics and text. Chatting uses Selects credits, or your own Claude or ChatGPT plan if you connect one. Generating video, images, and voice uses Selects credits.
Do I have to analyze my footage?
You do not have to analyze your footage if you edit by hand. You can place clips on the timeline and export a video without analysis. You need analysis for anything that reads your footage: the transcript, drafts from chat, captions, search, and the cleanup apps.
Is Selects for beginners or professionals?
Selects is for beginners, professionals, and anyone in between. Beginners can finish a video just by describing what they want. Professionals get multi-cam sync, a multi-track timeline, and handoff to Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve.
Do I need internet access to use Selects?
Yes, an internet connection is required for Selects to function properly. The AI features and server-based processing depend on cloud connectivity to deliver real-time responses and updates.
Is my footage secure during processing?
Yes. Your files are processed in secure environments and deleted automatically after completion according to Cutback's privacy policy.
Can I use Selects without Premiere?
Yes. Selects is a standalone video editor, so you can make and export a finished video without Premiere. If you want to, you can also hand off to Premiere, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve.
Does Selects support vertical reframing for social media?
Yes, Selects supports vertical output. Set your draft's frame size to a vertical size, then reposition and scale each shot in the Adjust tab. To have AI recenter a shot and fill in the new edges, use Reframe in the Generate video app, for clips up to 60 seconds.