What does Descript's AI Video Maker take as input and produce (prompt, script, footage, aspect ratio, b-roll styles, avatar), and what are its stated limits?

Problem. Some editors now generate a first assembly from a prompt; what is controllable? Conditions. Descript help, 23 Oct 2026; uses AI credits. Method (documented). Start from an uploaded file (generates visuals and narration from existing footage), a prompt, or a pasted script. Avoid stage directions, speaker labels or formatting like bold and square brackets (common in ChatGPT output); only scripts in supported text-to-speech languages work. Choose a stock AI speaker, optionally an avatar; aspect ratio landscape 16:9, portrait 9:16 or square 1:1; b-roll style from five AI styles (Low Polygon 3D, Plasticine, Watercolor and Ink, Whiteboard Doodles, Collage) or stock media. Output is a new, fully editable composition (script, voice, visuals, layout). Via the Descript GPT in ChatGPT you cannot select a specific voice or avatar. Related docs: Extend video and start/end-frame (P-L1-6-07). Use [inference]: treat the generated composition as a rough assembly (see P-L1-6-12) and review it with the take-scoring sheet (P-L1-6-02); stock-style b-roll is not generated per shot with character continuity, so it is unsuited to narrative continuity. Failure modes. Script formatting artefacts read aloud; style limited to five looks. Limitations. No output quality shown; image-model identities for the b-roll not stated in the page. Version/date. 2026-10-23. Curator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources. Limitations: Quality and models are undocumented in this page; plan-based limits not read. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

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  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://help.descript.com/ai-assistant/ai-video-maker.md",
      "note": "How to use; Generate a video with ChatGPT; How to use; Overview; Use"
    }
  ]
}