AI changed the workflow, not the judgement
Transcription, subtitling, rough assembly, reframing for four aspect ratios, generating twelve variants of a cut. All of that is now fast and cheap, and it used to eat most of a week. What has not changed is the part that decides whether anyone watches: the idea, the opening line, where the cut lands. Any agency selling AI as a replacement for that is selling you a faster route to content nobody finishes.
Ask what the tools are actually doing
There is a large difference between an agency using AI to remove drudgery and one feeding your brief to a model and forwarding the output. Ask which tools, at which step, and who reviews the result. A studio that cannot answer that in plain language is either not using AI or not admitting how much.
Judge the reel, not the showreel
A showreel is edited to impress other editors. Ask instead for three pieces made for a brand like yours, and the retention graph for each. Watch-through is the only number that survives contact with a real feed, and an agency confident in its work will show it without being pushed.
Turnaround claims are worth testing on one job
Everyone promises fast delivery. The honest test is a single paid pilot with a real deadline, before any retainer. What you are measuring is not the edit. It is how they handle the second round of changes, which is where most relationships actually fail.
Who owns the footage
Get this in writing before the first shoot. Raw footage, project files, edits and any licensed music should be yours outright, handed over in source format on request. An agency that keeps your project files is keeping leverage, and you will feel it the day you want to move.
Revisions need a number, not a spirit
"Unlimited revisions" usually means unlimited within reason, and reason is defined afterwards by whoever is more tired. A fixed number of rounds with a clear brief produces better work than an open door, because it forces the thinking to happen before the timeline.
Where we stand
We have been editing short-form since 2018 and we use AI across the workflow: transcription, versioning, first assembly, captions. Scripting, direction and the final cut stay with people, because that is where a video is won or lost. Our own feed is public and carries the same production standard we sell; judging us on it is fair.
Common questions
What does AI actually do in a video editing workflow?
Mostly the mechanical passes: transcription and subtitling, rough cuts from a transcript, silence and filler removal, reframing a landscape edit for vertical, and first pass colour and audio cleanup. The decisions about pace, order, what to cut and what the video is for remain human, and they are what separates a watchable edit from a fast one.
Is AI edited video cheaper?
It is usually faster rather than simply cheaper, and the saving tends to appear as more output for the same retainer rather than a lower invoice. Be careful with any studio whose price drop is much larger than the time saved, because the difference is normally coming out of the human review pass.
How do I judge an editing partner before hiring them?
Watch their own channel, not their showreel. A showreel is a collection of best moments assembled without a deadline; a channel is evidence they can hold a standard week after week. Then ask to see a raw file next to the finished edit, which shows you what they actually contributed.
How many reels can a small studio realistically deliver each month?
It depends entirely on whether footage exists. Editing capacity is rarely the constraint. Getting consistent raw footage out of a busy business is, and any plan that does not say who is filming and when will stall in the second month whatever the editing capacity.