#213 - Should You Use Ai Editing Software?

Every week there's a new AI editor promising to turn your footage into viral videos in one click, and most of those claims come from the companies selling the platforms. In this episode I share why, as of today (11/06/2026), AI editors aren't ready to replace learning how to edit your own content, where AI actually does help you as a creator, and why viewers follow messy, real humans over perfect AI ones. The answer right now is balance: learn this much, lean on the platforms for this much. Key Points The decent ones cost real money: any AI editor worth trying is a paid subscription. A few people I know who pay for them told me they just have to learn to do it themselves, because the edits don't come out the way they want, it takes too many tries, and there are a lot of problems. My Opus Clips test: I thought I'd have it edit my podcast teaser. All it did was grab a chunk of the podcast, which I could have done myself in five minutes. It didn't understand that I wanted a teaser or that I didn't want it to finish the sentence. The prompts would take longer than just editing it myself. Formulas create sameness: these tools work off formulas, so your content ends up looking like everyone else's. Same hook lines, same opening sentence, another world of copycats. That's the worst thing happening to social media right now. Learn to cut your own content: I'm not talking slick effects, just straight cutting so your speaking video is more concise. You'll do it better than an AI bot. Six months from now this might be old news, but right now AI editors are not the answer. Sprinkle AI trends into your plan: AI trends can help you get seen when they're being pushed out. Think of going into the TV screen during the World Cup (some people kept their heels on, some ended up in a soccer outfit) or riding the witch's broom down the street at Halloween. Viewers follow messy: don't build your whole account on an AI character or an AI editor. Perfectly said, perfectly presented, perfectly dressed won't build connection or community. Too polished invites negativity in the comments. AI sets unreal standards: there's an AI generated woman who's super fit in her nineties. She isn't real, and now she's setting the standard for what 90 looks like. That's not helping anyone. Read the comments: if something seems too good to be true, someone in the comments will call out that it's AI. I almost fell for the baby kissing the statue myself. Educate yourself so you're not the one forwarding it to all your friends. Realness is the whole point: what makes social media valuable is connecting with real humans far away from where we live. Lean into realness if you want to stand out and actually impact people. Play, just don't lean: have fun with CapCut's little AI functions and features. Just don't make them the entire basis of your content. That's a losing battle right now. Vet before you subscribe: the minute I started researching AI editors, the ads came one after the next. Go off the app, Google it, check Reddit, and find real people talking about it before you spend hundreds of dollars. AI as a problem solving tool: the value of AI is huge. We're moving our email platform to Kit, and I went back and forth with a bot asking why this one, why that one, where did you get that, where was it published. Because I probed, I figured out I could use my existing platform to host my emails instead of getting a new domain, which is what it first suggested. Call out your bot: don't take every answer as truth. I've told a bot "no, TikTok doesn't work that way," and it said "Oh yes, Muthership, you're correct." It's only as good as its information, and you might know more. Use it to learn, then become smarter than it. Don't believe the viral claims: creators saying Claude is solving all their business problems and making all their content? Not reality. It's like "press like, follow, and save and you'll go viral." Get your antennas (your bunny ears) on. Use your resources: ask people who know more than you. Studio members, post your AI questions in the community chat, because some of our creators are really into it. I'm trying to be the faster solution too: instead of only teaching keyframes for the pinch zoom trend, I made a template so members just shoot the shot and drop it in. The keyframe lessons are still in the Studio for anyone who wants to make their own version. Find your balance: the whole day can go by without getting outside. Just like work life balance, find your AI and real editing balance so you have time to live, breathe, and touch grass. Challenge / CTA Find your AI and real editing balance this week. Learn enough to cut your own speaking videos, play with one AI feature or trend for fun, and if you're tempted by a paid AI editor, check real reviews first. Studio members, bring your AI questions to the community chat. And the 2027 Creator Retreats are live as of today, so go check them out. Click HERE to learn more and reserve your spot for Los Angeles Click HERE to learn more and reserve your spot for New York City