Who's Building the Best AI Agent for Video Editing? (A Look at the Landscape)

By Miguel, Founder of EditFast | May 3, 2025

The AI Video Editing Arms Race is On

Video editing is tedious. We all know it. That's why the promise of AI taking over the grunt work is so appealing. We're moving beyond simple AI effects or filters into the realm of AI Agents – tools designed to understand your intent and actively perform editing tasks for you.

But not all AI agents are created equal. They have different philosophies, strengths, and weaknesses. As the founder of EditFast, I've spent countless hours thinking about the right way to integrate AI, and I wanted to share my perspective on the current landscape.

1. EditFast: Your Integrated Co-Pilot

Okay, I'm biased, but I built EditFast to solve my own frustrations. Our AI Agent isn't a separate tool or a black box; it's deeply integrated into the editor.

Philosophy: Co-pilot, not autopilot. The AI assists, you direct.
How it Works: You give natural language commands ("Make this clip black and white," "Animate the logo spinning in"). The Agent understands the context (your timeline, selected elements), creates a plan, and executes the steps using the editor's core functions.
Key Strength: Control + Safety Net. Because it's integrated, the Agent manipulates the actual timeline elements. Crucially, we built a robust AI Undo (Safety Net). Before any complex AI action, a snapshot is saved. Don't like the result? One click reverts everything instantly. You can experiment fearlessly.
Best For: Creators who want to automate tedious tasks and speed up workflows without giving up creative control. You want an assistant, not a replacement.

2. Runway ML: The Generative Powerhouse

Runway has been a pioneer in generative AI for video (like Gen-1 and Gen-2) and is rapidly adding more traditional editing features combined with AI.

Philosophy: Push the boundaries of AI generation and manipulation.
How it Works: Offers a suite of AI Magic Tools for tasks like removing objects, extending scenes, generating video from text/images, and more. Editing feels more like applying powerful AI effects.
Key Strength: Cutting-edge generative capabilities and a wide array of AI-powered effects.
Consideration: Can sometimes feel like a collection of powerful but distinct tools rather than a single, seamlessly integrated agent managing a traditional timeline workflow. Integration with existing non-Runway workflows can be a factor.
Best For: Creators heavily focused on generative AI, special effects, and exploring the absolute latest in AI video transformation.

3. Descript: The Text-Based Innovator

Descript took a unique approach by making video editing feel like editing a text document.

Philosophy: Edit video like you edit text.
How it Works: Transcribes your video, allowing you to cut, copy, paste, and delete parts of the video by editing the transcript. It also has AI features like Studio Sound (noise removal), eye contact correction, and filler word removal.
Key Strength: Unparalleled workflow for transcript-heavy content (interviews, podcasts, presentations). Excellent AI audio enhancement.
Consideration: While powerful for dialogue-driven content, it's less focused on complex visual animation, intricate timeline manipulation, or purely visual storytelling compared to timeline-centric editors.
Best For: Podcasters, interviewers, educators, and anyone whose workflow revolves heavily around spoken word content.

4. Adobe Sensei (in Premiere Pro): The Incumbent's AI

Adobe has been integrating AI features into Premiere Pro under the "Sensei" umbrella for a while.

Philosophy: Enhance the existing professional NLE with AI-powered features.
How it Works: Features like Auto Reframe, Text-Based Editing, Remix (music retiming), and Speech to Text are built into the Premiere Pro interface.
Key Strength: Integration within a widely-used, industry-standard professional editor. Leverages Adobe's ecosystem.
Consideration: These are often specific features rather than a single, conversational "agent" you instruct. You're still operating within the complex Premiere Pro environment, which has a steep learning curve. The AI assists with specific tasks rather than orchestrating broader workflows from natural language.
Best For: Professional editors already invested in the Adobe ecosystem who want AI assistance for specific tasks within their existing workflow.

Why EditFast's Approach is Different

While all these tools are pushing boundaries, our focus with EditFast was clear: build an AI assistant that works with you, inside a familiar editing paradigm, always keeping you in the driver's seat.

Deep Integration: It's not a bolt-on feature; it's core to the experience.
User Control: The safety net is non-negotiable. AI is powerful, but you need the final say and the ability to undo easily.
Workflow Focus: We target the entire editing process, from rough cuts to final touches, automating the clicks, not just applying effects.

The Future is Collaborative

AI agents are transforming video editing. The key is finding the right balance between automation and creative control. If you want an AI that handles the tedious work but lets you remain the director, that's exactly what we're building at EditFast.