Video Editing

Descript

Descript is an AI video and audio editor that works like a word processor: it transcribes your recording, then lets you cut, rearrange, and clean up the footage by editing the text itself.

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✓ Software download·Commercial·Updated September 24, 2026
DeveloperDescript, Inc.
LicenseCommercial
File size—
Languageen-US
Downloads10

What Descript Does and How Text-Based Editing Works

Descript is an AI-powered video and audio editor built around a single idea: editing a recording should feel as simple as editing a document. Import footage, a podcast session, or a screen capture, and Descript transcribes the speech automatically, then pairs every word with the exact moment it was spoken. Delete a sentence and that section of audio and video disappears; move a paragraph and the clips reorder themselves. From there you can polish audio, cut filler words and retakes, add captions, and export finished video, podcast episodes, or short social clips, all inside the same project.

Descript suits anyone who talks for a living and needs the result to look and sound finished: podcasters, marketers, trainers, and support or sales teams producing product demos. Because recording and editing live in the same workspace, you can capture a call or a screen walkthrough and start cutting it immediately without exporting between tools. The AI layer handles the tedious parts, so a rough 40-minute conversation becomes a tight edit without scrubbing a timeline. It is not a replacement for a full media organiser for large local libraries, which is a different job better served by something like JRiver Media Center. Editing on a transcript also keeps collaboration simple, since a colleague can read the text and suggest changes.

Benefits of Using Descript

Descript removes the two biggest costs in spoken-word video: time spent scrubbing timelines and money spent on separate tools. One project holds the recording, transcript, audio cleanup, captions, and export, so a single person can publish an episode or a demo that previously needed an editor and a sound engineer. Editing by text is faster than frame-by-frame cutting because you fix the content first and the visuals follow, and mistakes are easy to correct by typing the words back in. Studio Sound rescues recordings made in untreated rooms, filler word removal tightens rambling takes in one click, and clip creation turns one long recording into several short posts. The result is fewer handoffs, shorter turnaround, and video that looks and sounds intentional rather than improvised.

Descript features

Key capabilities and highlights.

Feature 1

Text-Based Editing With Automatic Transcription

Every recording is transcribed on import, with speaker labels and word-level timing that stay attached to the media. Deleting text removes that moment of video, moving a sentence reorders the footage, and typing words back in restores them, so first cuts take minutes rather than hours.

Feature 2

Underlord AI Editing Assistant

Underlord is Descript's built-in AI editor: describe the result you want, such as a tight ten-minute cut or a set of social clips, and it performs the edits on your project. It also answers questions about the recording and suggests next steps, which shortens the learning curve for newcomers.

Feature 3

Studio Sound Noise Removal and Voice Enhancement

One click applies AI audio processing that suppresses background noise, room reverb, and hum while lifting voice clarity, turning a laptop-microphone take recorded in a kitchen into something that sounds presentable. The effect can be dialled back or switched off per track when you want a rougher feel.

Feature 4

Filler Word and Retake Removal

Descript detects the ums, uhs, and repeated false starts that clutter unscripted speech and deletes them in a single pass, along with long awkward pauses. Combined with retake removal, which keeps only the last reading of a repeated line, this is the fastest way to cut dead time.

Feature 5

Screen Recording and Remote Rooms

Record your screen, a webcam, or both for tutorials, demos, and walkthroughs, then edit the capture on its transcript like any other clip. Rooms lets you record a remote guest or a panel from a browser link with separate tracks per participant, which keeps interview audio clean.

Feature 6

AI Voices, Voice Cloning, and Speech Regeneration

Fix a fluffed word by typing the correction and letting the tool regenerate it in a clone of the original speaker's voice, or record a scratch voiceover and replace it with a stock AI voice later. This avoids re-recording whole sections when a single sentence goes wrong.

Feature 7

Captions, Clips, and Publishing in One Step

Generate styled, accurate captions for accessibility and silent scrolling, then publish the finished file or export it for another platform. Clip creation analyses a long recording and proposes short highlights sized for social feeds, and translation can produce subtitled versions for other languages from the same project.

Feature 8

Eye Contact, Green Screen, and Automatic Multicam

Applied as a light touch, these AI corrections adjust your gaze toward the lens, cut out the background without a physical green screen, and switch between camera angles recorded in the same session. The result is a more polished webcam look without a studio or an extra editor.

Old versions

Browse historical releases and previous builds.

2.14.0October 14, 2025

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Descript.

How does editing text change the video in Descript?

Each transcribed word is tied to its exact position in the recording, so deleting a word or sentence removes that slice of audio and video, and moving a paragraph moves the matching footage. The timeline is still there for fine adjustments such as volume, opacity, or precise trimming when you need them.

Is Descript only for podcasts?

No. Podcasting is a common use, but the same transcript-based workflow handles screen recordings, product demos, tutorials, training videos, webinars, testimonials, and short social clips. Anything containing speech can be transcribed and edited, and silent footage can still be cut with the standard timeline tools.

Can I use Descript for free?

Descript offers a free plan that requires no credit card and covers recording, transcription, and editing within usage limits, with fewer premium AI actions available. Paid plans lift those limits and unlock the heavier AI features, so finishing one real project on the free tier is a sensible way to judge whether you need one.

Does it clean up bad audio recorded in a noisy room?

Studio Sound applies AI noise and reverb reduction that noticeably improves recordings captured on laptop or phone microphones in untreated rooms. It is not a substitute for a decent microphone and quiet surroundings, but in most cases it lifts intelligibility enough that listeners stop noticing the room.

Will generated or cloned voices sound robotic?

Voice generation and speech regeneration aim to match the tone and pacing of the surrounding recording rather than sounding synthetic, and Descript lets you revert to the original take if the result is not convincing. For narration you can also pick from a library of stock voices instead of using your own clone.

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Download Descript

Descript is an AI video and audio editor that works like a word processor: it transcribes your recording, then lets you cut, rearrange, and clean up the footage by editing the text itself.