How to Use Video Edit by Chat in PowerDirector
Change what is inside a shot by describing it in one sentence, instead of building the change by hand on the timeline.
Updated Aug. 17, 2026 · 6 min read
In a hurry? Use the Video Edit by Chat quick guide instead.
PowerDirector's Video Edit by Chat changes what is actually inside a shot, and you direct it by typing a sentence rather than by stacking masks, keys and color work on the timeline. You bring in the clip you are already cutting with, say what should be different, and PowerDirector hands back a new version of it.
- In PowerDirector, open Video Edit by Chat and drop your clip into Import your video.
- Type the change you want in the prompt box, and add up to three stills with Images if the change needs a reference.
- Click Generate, play the clip that comes back, and use Re-generate if you want another take.
Steps to Use Video Edit by Chat
Step 1: Bring In the Clip You Want to Change
Open Video Edit by Chat from the GenAI menu at the top of the window, or select the clip and pick it from Tools on the Video tab of the Edit panel.
This works on one clip at a time, so the first decision is which shot in your project actually needs the help.
The left side of the window is a single drop area labeled Import your video: drag the file onto it, or click it and pick the file. Ours is a rooftop dancing shot filmed under heavy cloud, the kind of gray you cannot grade your way out of.
Once the clip lands, its first frame and its length replace the drop area. That is a quick way to confirm you grabbed the right take before you spend anything on it.
Still deciding what to ask for? The Explore video editing ideas row along the bottom is a good scan: each card shows a split before and after, from Make a Character Older and Change Scene to Sunny Day to Turn Scene into Winter, Add Explosion and Autumn Glow.
Step 2: Type the Change You Want
Here is the whole of the direction you get to give, and it is the part worth slowing down for.
Click into the box and write the change in the words you would use out loud. We typed Replace the weather and left everything else alone.
Naming the one thing that should be different works better than describing the whole shot, though the counter in the corner of the box shows there is room for up to 2,000 characters when you genuinely need to be precise.
The line along the bottom of the box explains the other half of it: you can attach up to three reference stills and point at one with an @ mention when a change is easier to show than to write.
The model that will run it is named next to Generate. The button stays gray until there is both a clip and a sentence. The number on it is what this run costs, and it moves with what you have asked for.
Step 3: Watch What Comes Back
Generating turns the window into a conversation. Your request sits on the right as a card holding the clip and the words you typed; the new version comes back on the left, ready to play in place.
Watch it there before anything else. If it is close but not right, Re-generate on your own request card runs the same sentence again for a different take.
Moving on to a different shot? New Chat at the top left starts a clean conversation.
The Result
Here is the clip that came back from those three words. The sky is clear, the light on the roof has warmed up to match it, and the dancer, the camera move and the timing are exactly as filmed. That last part is what makes this usable in a real edit rather than a party trick: the shot is still your shot, so it cuts into the sequence next to the takes around it.
Haven't got PowerDirector yet? Describing a change in a sentence is quicker to try than to explain, and it works on footage you already have.
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