[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":251},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-make-a-social-video-with-chatgpt":3,"blog-post-around-make-a-social-video-with-chatgpt":223},{"post":4,"card":222},{"draft":5,"title":6,"slug":7,"category":8,"topic":9,"standfirst":10,"published":11,"updated":11,"hero":12,"inShort":13,"blocks":17,"faqs":118,"metaTitle":137,"metaDescription":138,"share":12,"thumb":12,"path":139,"author":140,"readMinutes":145,"featured":5,"sources":146},false,"How to make a social video with ChatGPT, step by step (the hard way)","make-a-social-video-with-chatgpt","Playbook","AI TOOLS","The real pipeline: a script in ChatGPT, a voice from ElevenLabs, visuals from HeyGen, AI clips or your own camera, an edit in CapCut, a cover in Canva and a schedule in Buffer. Every step, what it takes, and what it costs.","2026-10-28",null,[14,15,16],"The usual pipeline is six tools: ChatGPT, ElevenLabs, HeyGen (or AI clips, or your own footage), CapCut, Canva and Buffer.","It works. Budget roughly 2 to 4½ hours for one short video, and 4–6 subscriptions at about $61–$124 a month.","Or skip the stack: ask VEXI, and the video comes back cut, captioned and sized for each platform, then posted for you.",[18,21,23,25,29,31,33,35,38,40,42,45,47,49,51,53,56,58,60,62,64,66,68,70,72,74,76,79,81,83,85,88,90,92,95,97,99,101,103,105,108,110,112,114,116],{"type":19,"text":20},"p","Most people who make social video with AI do not use one tool. They chain several together, with ChatGPT at the start. Guides for faceless Reels and TikTok creators describe the same chain again and again ([one example](https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002Factivated-thinker\u002Fthe-ultimate-2026-tech-stack-for-faceless-tiktok-reels-creators-ebfb4fc7bd53), [and HeyGen's own roundup](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.heygen.com\u002Fblog\u002Fbest-ai-video-tools-youtube-creators-2026)): a chat AI writes the script, a voice tool reads it, an avatar or a video model makes the pictures, an editor puts it together, a design app makes the cover, and a scheduler posts it.",{"type":19,"text":22},"This is that pipeline, step by step, done properly. It is the hard way. It works, and you should know what it takes before you start.",{"type":19,"text":24},"Prices below are monthly billing, read on October 28, 2026, from each tool's own pricing page unless a line says otherwise. They change often, so check before you subscribe. The times are rough estimates for someone who already knows the apps. Your first video will take longer.",{"type":26,"text":27,"id":28},"h2","Step 1: Write the script in ChatGPT","step-1-write-the-script-in-chatgpt",{"type":19,"text":30},"**Cost:** ChatGPT Plus is [$20 a month](https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.openai.com\u002Fen\u002Farticles\u002F6950777-what-is-chatgpt-plus). The no-cost version writes scripts too, with [usage limits](https:\u002F\u002Fchatgpt.com\u002Fpricing\u002F). **Time:** about 15–30 minutes, most of it rewriting.",{"type":19,"text":32},"Open a new chat and give it the whole job, not just the topic. For example: “Write a 30-second voiceover script for a vertical social video about the weekend special at a neighborhood bakery. Open with a hook in the first line. Keep the sentences short enough to say out loud. End with one clear call to action. Then give me five short on-screen text lines and a caption with three hashtags.”",{"type":19,"text":34},"Read the result out loud with a timer running. If it runs long, ask: “Cut this to 25 seconds and make the first line punchier.” Expect two or three rounds. Then copy the final script, the on-screen lines and the caption into a note. You will paste them into three more tools.",{"type":26,"text":36,"id":37},"Step 2: Record the voice in ElevenLabs","step-2-record-the-voice-in-elevenlabs",{"type":19,"text":39},"**Cost:** [ElevenLabs](https:\u002F\u002Felevenlabs.io\u002Fpricing) Starter is $6 a month and Creator is $22. **Time:** about 10–20 minutes.",{"type":19,"text":41},"Skip this step if you will speak on camera yourself. Otherwise, sign in, open Text to Speech, pick a voice from the library, paste the script and generate. Listen all the way through. AI voices stumble on names, prices and abbreviations, so write those the way they should sound (“nine ninety-nine”, not “$9.99”) and generate the line again. When it sounds right, download the audio file.",{"type":26,"text":43,"id":44},"Step 3: Make the visuals: an avatar, AI clips or your own footage","step-3-make-the-visuals-an-avatar-ai-clips-or-your-own-footage",{"type":19,"text":46},"This step has the most choices and the most waiting. There are three routes.",{"type":19,"text":48},"**Route A: an avatar in HeyGen.** [HeyGen](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.heygen.com\u002Fpricing) Creator is $29 a month ($24 billed yearly); its no-cost tier gives three watermarked videos a month, up to a minute each. Start a new video, pick an avatar, set the frame to portrait, then paste the script or upload the ElevenLabs audio so the avatar speaks it. Check the script before you generate: some reviewers [report credits that burn fast, and failed generations that still take credits](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.trustpilot.com\u002Freview\u002Fheygen.com). **Time:** about 20–40 minutes, much of it waiting.",{"type":19,"text":50},"**Route B: AI clips from Sora or Veo.** Instead of a talking head, generate short scenes to lay under the voice. OpenAI's Sora makes clips, but what each ChatGPT plan includes has changed more than once, so check OpenAI's help pages for your plan first. Google's models run in the Gemini app on paid plans: [Gemini AI Pro](https:\u002F\u002Fgemini.google\u002Fsubscriptions\u002F) is $19.99 a month and includes a trial of Veo 3.1 Lite, and the newer [Gemini Omni](https:\u002F\u002Fengadget.com\u002F2176590\u002Fgoogles-gemini-omni-can-generate-anything-from-any-input-starting-with-video) model makes and edits video by conversation. Write one prompt per scene (“slow push-in on a tray of croissants on a marble counter, morning light, vertical”), generate a few, keep the best. Keep words out of the clips: some reviewers [report spelling errors in generated video text](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.trustpilot.com\u002Freview\u002Fgemini.google.com), so add text in the edit instead. **Time:** about 30–60 minutes, mostly regenerating clips that came out wrong.",{"type":19,"text":52},"**Route C: your own footage.** Film on your phone, held upright, in good light. It costs nothing extra, and it is often the most convincing route, because it is really you and your business. It is also the route that needs the most editing in step 4. **Time:** about 20–60 minutes, depending on the takes.",{"type":26,"text":54,"id":55},"Step 4: Edit it in CapCut","step-4-edit-it-in-capcut",{"type":19,"text":57},"**Cost:** [CapCut](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.capcut.com\u002Fpricing) has a no-cost tier with basic tools, and Pro is $19.99 a month on monthly billing (prices can vary by region). **Time:** about 45 minutes to 2 hours. This is the longest step.",{"type":19,"text":59},"This order saves the most redoing:",{"type":19,"text":61},"**1. Set the frame.** Start a new project and set the ratio to 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts.",{"type":19,"text":63},"**2. Lay the voice first.** Import the voiceover (or your own footage) onto the main track. Everything else is timed to it.",{"type":19,"text":65},"**3. Cut.** Split and delete the dead air, the ums and the false starts. Keep something changing on screen so the video never sits still.",{"type":19,"text":67},"**4. Add B-roll.** Drag the avatar video, the AI clips or extra shots of your business onto a track above the main one, so they cover the cuts.",{"type":19,"text":69},"**5. Captions.** Generate auto captions, then read every line: they mishear names and numbers. Fix them by hand and pick one caption style to reuse.",{"type":19,"text":71},"**6. Music.** Add a track and keep it well under the voice. Check that the track is cleared for business use on the platform you post to.",{"type":19,"text":73},"**7. Export, then export again.** Export the vertical version at 1080 x 1920. If you also post to a feed that prefers 4:5 or square, duplicate the project, change the ratio, re-frame each clip and export again. Every size is another export.",{"type":19,"text":75},"Some reviewers report [exports locked behind Pro and unexpected charges](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.trustpilot.com\u002Freview\u002Fcapcut.com), so check what your plan includes before you spend an hour on the edit.",{"type":26,"text":77,"id":78},"Step 5: Make the cover in Canva","step-5-make-the-cover-in-canva",{"type":19,"text":80},"**Cost:** Canva Pro is about $18 a month ([as reported by Piktochart](https:\u002F\u002Fpiktochart.com\u002Fblog\u002Fcanva-pricing-2026-costs-raised\u002F); Canva's own pricing page could not be read). **Time:** about 15–20 minutes.",{"type":19,"text":82},"The cover is the still people see on your profile grid. In Canva, create a design at 1080 x 1920, drop in a frame from your video (export one frame from CapCut or take a screenshot), and add a short title in big type. Keep the important part in the middle, because profile grids crop covers. Download it as a PNG or JPG and upload it as the cover when you schedule.",{"type":19,"text":84},"ChatGPT also has a [Canva app](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canva.com\u002Fhelp\u002Fchatgpt-templates\u002F) that makes designs inside the chat, but you [still finish and export in Canva](https:\u002F\u002Ffindskill.ai\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-use-canva-in-chatgpt\u002F).",{"type":26,"text":86,"id":87},"Step 6: Schedule it in Buffer","step-6-schedule-it-in-buffer",{"type":19,"text":89},"**Cost:** [Buffer](https:\u002F\u002Fbuffer.com\u002Fpricing) Essentials is $5 a month per connected channel, so Instagram, TikTok and Facebook come to $15. **Time:** about 10–15 minutes per video.",{"type":19,"text":91},"ChatGPT does not post to Instagram or TikTok on its own; [third-party apps](https:\u002F\u002Ftimetopost.co\u002Fblog\u002Fcan-chatgpt-post-to-social-media) and schedulers do that part. In Buffer, connect your accounts once. Then for each video: create a post, upload the video and the cover, paste the caption from step 1, adjust it for each platform, pick a time and schedule it. If you exported different sizes, attach the right one to each platform.",{"type":26,"text":93,"id":94},"The honest tally","the-honest-tally",{"type":19,"text":96},"**Time:** add up the estimates above and one 30-second video takes roughly 2 to 4½ hours, once you know the apps. Editing is the biggest block, and the first few videos take longer while you learn each tool.",{"type":19,"text":98},"**Logins:** up to six tools, six accounts and six bills, with a file to download from one tool and upload to the next at every step.",{"type":19,"text":100},"**Money:** the full stack (ChatGPT Plus $20, ElevenLabs Creator $22, HeyGen Creator $29, CapCut Pro $19.99, Canva Pro $18 and Buffer at $15) comes to about $124 a month. A lean version (ChatGPT Plus, ElevenLabs Starter, CapCut Pro and Buffer) is about $61. That is 4–6 subscriptions, priced from the links above.",{"type":19,"text":102},"And that is one video. A business that posts several times a week does all of it again, every time. The stack does not plan the week, does not remember to post on Tuesday, and does not tell you which video worked. You are the glue between the tools.",{"type":19,"text":104},"In dollars, that stack costs less than VEXI. In hours, it costs you the afternoon.",{"type":26,"text":106,"id":107},"Or just ask VEXI","or-just-ask-vexi",{"type":19,"text":109},"VEXI costs more than the stack: plans are $199, $399 or $599 a month, and every plan starts with a 15-day trial. What you pay for is the work you no longer do.",{"type":19,"text":111},"Instead of six tools, there is one chat. Type what you want the way you would say it to a person: “a 30-second reel for our weekend special.” It writes the script. Videos come back cut, with B-roll and captions, sized for each platform, without you opening an editor. Upload a long raw recording and get back the clips that work best, captioned, with music laid under each cut. If you want to be on camera, your script rolls on screen while you record.",{"type":19,"text":113},"To change something, tap it on the design or say what you wanted instead, and it remakes it. Then it posts for you to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads and your Google Business Profile. Switch on Autopilot and it fills your week ahead, posting at the times your audience actually shows up, and it can wait for your approval on everything.",{"type":19,"text":115},"So yes, you can do it the hard way. Or just ask VEXI.",{"type":19,"text":117},"[See what VEXI makes](\u002Ffeatures), [compare it with ChatGPT](\u002Fcompare\u002Fchatgpt-vs-vexi), or [see the plans](\u002Fpricing).",[119,122,125,128,131,134],{"q":120,"a":121},"How long does it take to make one social video with ChatGPT?","Adding up the rough estimates in this guide, about 2 to 4½ hours for one 30-second video once you know the apps, and longer while you learn them. The edit is the biggest block.",{"q":123,"a":124},"How much does the ChatGPT video stack cost?","About $61 to $124 a month for 4 to 6 subscriptions on monthly billing, priced from each tool on October 28, 2026. Prices change often, so check each one before you subscribe.",{"q":126,"a":127},"Can ChatGPT post the video for me?","Not on its own. ChatGPT does not post to Instagram or TikTok itself; a scheduler such as Buffer, or a third-party app, does that part.",{"q":129,"a":130},"Do I need the voice and avatar steps?","No. If you are happy on camera, film yourself and skip both. Your own footage is often the most convincing route, but it needs the most editing.",{"q":132,"a":133},"Do I need editing skills?","No. You describe what you want in chat and it comes back finished. To change something, tap it on the design or ask.",{"q":135,"a":136},"Where does it post?","Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads and your Google Business Profile, posted for you.","Make a Social Video With ChatGPT, Step by Step","The real ChatGPT video pipeline, step by step: script, voice, visuals, edit, cover and schedule. What each step takes, what it costs, and the shortcut.","\u002Fblog\u002Fmake-a-social-video-with-chatgpt",{"name":141,"role":142,"photo":143,"bio":144},"Trent Stonehouse","Founder","\u002Fpress\u002Ftrent-stonehouse-168.webp","Trent Stonehouse founded VEXI, the platform that was Social Realtr, and writes here about what it makes and how clients use it.",8,[147,152,157,162,167,171,173,178,183,188,191,195,198,203,208,213,217],{"url":148,"title":149,"publisher":150,"host":151},"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002Factivated-thinker\u002Fthe-ultimate-2026-tech-stack-for-faceless-tiktok-reels-creators-ebfb4fc7bd53","One example","Medium","medium.com",{"url":153,"title":154,"publisher":155,"host":156},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.heygen.com\u002Fblog\u002Fbest-ai-video-tools-youtube-creators-2026","And HeyGen's own roundup","HeyGen","heygen.com",{"url":158,"title":159,"publisher":160,"host":161},"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.openai.com\u002Fen\u002Farticles\u002F6950777-what-is-chatgpt-plus","$20 a month","OpenAI Help Center","help.openai.com",{"url":163,"title":164,"publisher":165,"host":166},"https:\u002F\u002Fchatgpt.com\u002Fpricing\u002F","Usage limits","ChatGPT","chatgpt.com",{"url":168,"title":169,"publisher":169,"host":170},"https:\u002F\u002Felevenlabs.io\u002Fpricing","ElevenLabs","elevenlabs.io",{"url":172,"title":155,"publisher":155,"host":156},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.heygen.com\u002Fpricing",{"url":174,"title":175,"publisher":176,"host":177},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.trustpilot.com\u002Freview\u002Fheygen.com","Report credits that burn fast, and failed generations that still take credits","Trustpilot","trustpilot.com",{"url":179,"title":180,"publisher":181,"host":182},"https:\u002F\u002Fgemini.google\u002Fsubscriptions\u002F","Gemini AI Pro","Google Gemini","gemini.google",{"url":184,"title":185,"publisher":186,"host":187},"https:\u002F\u002Fengadget.com\u002F2176590\u002Fgoogles-gemini-omni-can-generate-anything-from-any-input-starting-with-video","Gemini Omni","Engadget","engadget.com",{"url":189,"title":190,"publisher":176,"host":177},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.trustpilot.com\u002Freview\u002Fgemini.google.com","Report spelling errors in generated video text",{"url":192,"title":193,"publisher":193,"host":194},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.capcut.com\u002Fpricing","CapCut","capcut.com",{"url":196,"title":197,"publisher":176,"host":177},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.trustpilot.com\u002Freview\u002Fcapcut.com","Exports locked behind Pro and unexpected charges",{"url":199,"title":200,"publisher":201,"host":202},"https:\u002F\u002Fpiktochart.com\u002Fblog\u002Fcanva-pricing-2026-costs-raised\u002F","As reported by Piktochart","Piktochart","piktochart.com",{"url":204,"title":205,"publisher":206,"host":207},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canva.com\u002Fhelp\u002Fchatgpt-templates\u002F","Canva app","Canva Help","canva.com",{"url":209,"title":210,"publisher":211,"host":212},"https:\u002F\u002Ffindskill.ai\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-use-canva-in-chatgpt\u002F","Still finish and export in Canva","FindSkill.ai","findskill.ai",{"url":214,"title":215,"publisher":215,"host":216},"https:\u002F\u002Fbuffer.com\u002Fpricing","Buffer","buffer.com",{"url":218,"title":219,"publisher":220,"host":221},"https:\u002F\u002Ftimetopost.co\u002Fblog\u002Fcan-chatgpt-post-to-social-media","Third-party apps","TimeToPost","timetopost.co","\u002Fshare\u002Fblog\u002Fmake-a-social-video-with-chatgpt.png",{"prev":224,"next":230,"related":235},{"slug":225,"path":226,"title":227,"hero":12,"readMinutes":228,"topic":229,"published":11},"service-as-software","\u002Fblog\u002Fservice-as-software","Service as software",4,"PLAYBOOKS",{"slug":231,"path":232,"title":233,"hero":12,"readMinutes":234,"topic":9,"published":11},"is-ai-replacing-the-videographer","\u002Fblog\u002Fis-ai-replacing-the-videographer","Is AI replacing the videographer and the content creator?",6,[236,242,247],{"slug":237,"path":238,"title":239,"hero":12,"readMinutes":240,"topic":9,"published":241},"ai-video-editing-explained","\u002Fblog\u002Fai-video-editing-explained","AI video editing, explained for a business: what it does well, what it still can’t, and how to use it",7,"2026-10-29",{"slug":243,"path":244,"title":245,"hero":12,"readMinutes":240,"topic":246,"published":241},"black-hat-social-media-tricks-2026","\u002Fblog\u002Fblack-hat-social-media-tricks-2026","Black-hat watch: the social media tricks people are trying right now, and what happens to the accounts","GROWTH TRICKS",{"slug":248,"path":249,"title":250,"hero":12,"readMinutes":240,"topic":9,"published":11},"captions-vs-service-as-software","\u002Fblog\u002Fcaptions-vs-service-as-software","Captions (now Mirage) vs service as software: which one a business actually needs",1793774293082]