How long does AI clipping take?
Roughly the runtime of the source video plus some overhead. A 30-minute VOD takes around half an hour. This is slower than transcript-only tools, and it is the direct cost of watching the footage instead of reading it.
Why it is not instant
Most AI clipping tools transcribe the audio and choose clips from the text. Reading a transcript is fast because it is a small amount of text. It is also why those tools cannot find a moment that nobody described out loud.
OptimusClips runs a vision model over the actual frames at 1.4 fps, alongside the audio and transcript. That is a great deal more work, and it takes about as long as the video itself.
If you need clips back within minutes, a transcript-only tool is genuinely the better choice for that job. We would rather say so than waste your time.
What to do while it runs
You can close the tab. The job continues on our side and you get an email when the clips are ready, with a link straight to them.
If you only need part of a long recording, the source-trim slider cuts both the wait and the cost, because you are charged for the span you select rather than the whole video.
The free tier covers 60 minutes of source video a month, no card required.
Clip a video