# Clip long videos into shorts

> Researched. Small business · Intermediate · Content. Updated 2026-10-31.

Canonical page: https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/auto-clip-long-videos-into-shorts-with-ai/

## What it does
Turn one long video into several short clips with OpusClip, check each one, and schedule the approved ones in YouTube Studio.

## Who it's for
Small businesses and creators with a long video or recording, such as a webinar or interview. Get permission from anyone who appears in the video. Review every clip for claims and context before it goes public.

## Tools
- An OpusClip account with a brand template
- A long video, uploaded or linked
- YouTube Studio
- ChatGPT or Claude to draft titles and descriptions

## Steps
1. Pick one long video you own and have the right to reuse. Confirm anyone who appears is fine with short clips.
2. In OpusClip, set up your brand template. Its help center says to do this and connect your social accounts before your first clips.
3. Import the video and add instructions about what to look for, such as customer questions answered. OpusClip says you can give the AI specific instructions after upload.
4. Click to generate. OpusClip says the number of clips depends on the video's length.
5. Watch each clip fully. Delete any that cut a sentence in half, change the meaning, or show something private. Captions and editing options: check OpusClip's own pages, not stated in the pages read.
6. Draft a title and description for each approved clip with the prompt below, and fix any claim you cannot back up.
7. Upload to YouTube Studio and use the Schedule card to set the date, time and time zone. YouTube's help says the video must be set to scheduled or private first. You approve each one by scheduling it.

## Copy-paste prompt
Adapt bracketed fields to your situation.
```text
I have approved short clips cut from one long video. Write a title and a two-sentence description for each.

Video topic: [TOPIC]
Audience: [WHO WATCHES]
Clips:
1. [what is said in clip 1]
2. [what is said in clip 2]
3. [what is said in clip 3]

Rules:
- Use only what is said in the clips. Do not add claims, numbers or promises.
- Titles under 60 characters, plain words.
- Mark anything that needs a fact check with [CHECK].
- Do not post or schedule anything. Show me the list first.
```

## Guardrails
- What it touches: Chat input you provide (An OpusClip account with a brand template; A long video, uploaded or linked).
- Needs your OK: Send, pay, publish, delete, and CRM updates stay with you unless you explicitly opt in.
- Safety level: Drafts for you
- Clips that lose context. Watch each one in full.
- Publishing from the tool before review. Schedule from YouTube Studio instead.
- Using video with people in it who did not agree to clips.

## Tips
- OpusClip says it can publish across multiple social platforms. Keep that off until you trust the clips.
- YouTube says a scheduled video will not publish during a Community Guidelines strike penalty period.
- Start with one video before you batch.

## Estimates (labeled, not measured)
- Time saved: About 2 hours per long video compared with cutting clips by hand.
- Money saved: Not stated in sources.
- Tool cost: OpusClip and YouTube Studio pricing and limits: Not stated in sources.

## Sources
Summaries use the public sources below, not independent verification.
- OpusClip: https://help.opus.pro/docs/article/introduction-to-opusclip (Introduction to OpusClip: brand template and social accounts, import a video, give instructions, results page, publish to multiple platforms (read 2026-10-31 through a page fetch tool, not a direct browser open))
- YouTube Help: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1270709 (Schedule video publish time: set private or scheduled, Schedule card, date, time and time zone, strike note (read 2026-10-31 through a page fetch tool, not a direct browser open))

## Get the free starter pack
Five beginner copy-paste AI setups, free by email: https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/starter-pack/?utm_source=ai-agent&utm_medium=markdown&utm_campaign=setup-auto-clip-long-videos-into-shorts-with-ai

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