AI Clip Agent

Unspool Studio's AI Clip Agent automatically transcribes new podcast episodes and suggests shareable clips for your subscribed shows. Subscribe once, and the agent handles everything: detecting new episodes, generating word-level transcripts, finding the most compelling moments, and delivering ready-to-export clips without manual work. You simply review, approve, or reject suggestions.

How does the AI Clip Agent work?

Unspool Studio's AI Clip Agent automatically transcribes new episodes from your subscribed podcasts and suggests 3-5 shareable clips per episode. The agent runs entirely in the background: detecting episodes from RSS feeds, generating transcripts with word-level timestamps, analyzing the transcript for hook-worthy moments, scoring clips on viral potential, and pre-loading everything into a canvas—all without any action from you.

When a new episode drops on a podcast you've subscribed to, the agent handles everything automatically:

1. Detects the new episode from the podcast's RSS feed
2. Transcribes the full audio using AI speech-to-text with word-level timestamps
3. Analyzes the transcript to find the most compelling, shareable moments — quotes, insights, stories, debates, and funny exchanges
4. Scores each clip on hook strength and viral potential so the best moments surface first
5. Creates a canvas with all suggested clips pre-loaded and ready to edit or export
6. Notifies you when clips are ready for review

You just open the Agent page and start reviewing.

How do I set up the Agent?

Getting the agent running takes three steps: subscribe to podcasts, navigate to the Agent page, and the clips arrive automatically. Subscribe to any podcast from the podcast search page, then go to the Agent section where your subscribed shows appear as threads. When new episodes publish, Unspool Studio detects them instantly and starts processing—no toggles, no configuration needed.

1. Subscribe to a podcast — Search for any podcast and subscribe from the podcast page
2. Visit the Agent page — Navigate to the Agent section. Your subscribed podcasts appear as threads automatically.
3. Wait for new episodes — When the podcast publishes a new episode, the agent picks it up and starts processing. You'll see a progress indicator as it works through transcription and analysis.

That's it. If you're subscribed, the agent is watching.

How do I review AI-suggested clips?

Each episode displays a grid of AI-suggested clips with thumbnails, scores, and action buttons. Scan all clips at a glance, click any clip to open a full-detail modal with video preview and transcript, then download, edit in canvas, or delete — clips stay in your thread until you act on them.

When clips are ready, each episode shows a clip grid in the Agent view:

• Responsive grid — All clips for an episode are visible at once with thumbnails, titles, and AI scores

• Content type labels tell you what kind of moment it is — Story, Insight, Quote, Debate, or Funny

• Hook score and viral potential (1–10) help you prioritize which clips to use first

• Click for detail — Open any clip in a modal with full video preview, transcript expand/collapse, and navigation between clips

• Three actions per clip:

  • Download — Downloads the video and opens a social copy modal with AI-generated platform-specific text ready to post
  • Edit in Canvas — Opens the full canvas editor to fine-tune clip boundaries, transcript text, or export settings
  • Delete — Removes the clip from your queue

Customizing Agent Preferences

Open preferences from the settings button on the Agent page to control how clips are generated:

• Video Template — Choose between Gravitas, Modern Dark, or Classic styles for video exports
• Aspect Ratio — Set your default: 16:9 (YouTube/LinkedIn), 1:1 (Square/Twitter), or 9:16 (Reels/TikTok/Shorts)
• Video Style — Pick from 16 color palettes and 8 font presets to match your brand. Toggle between dark and light mode palettes.
• Include Captions — Toggle animated transcript captions on or off in video exports
• Max Clips Per Episode — Set how many clips the AI suggests per episode (1–5, default is 3)
• Notification Frequency — Choose how you want to be notified when clips are ready

These preferences apply to all agent-generated clips. You can override settings for individual clips in the canvas editor.

How do I edit agent-suggested clips?

Click Edit in Canvas on any clip to open Unspool Studio's visual editor where the canvas is pre-loaded with the episode and all suggested clips. Adjust clip boundaries by dragging handles, fix transcription errors in the caption text, change export settings (template, aspect ratio, captions), and download the final video. Any changes sync instantly between the Agent view and main Canvas page.

When you click Edit in Canvas on any clip, the agent has already created a canvas workspace with the episode and all its clips pre-loaded. You land directly in the editor where you can:

• Adjust clip boundaries — Drag handles to change where the clip starts and ends
• Edit transcript text — Fix any transcription errors in the captions
• Change export settings — Switch templates, aspect ratios, or toggle captions for individual clips
• Export — Download the clip as video with subtitles, audio, or transcript text

How do I get notified when clips are ready?

Unspool Studio offers three notification modes: Immediate (email per episode with direct review links), Daily Digest (one email at 9 AM UTC summarizing all processed episodes), or Off (check manually when ready). Email notifications include deep links that take you directly to the specific episode in the Agent view for instant review.

Choose your notification frequency in preferences:

• Immediate — Get an email each time an episode's clips are ready, with a direct link to review them
• Daily Digest — Receive one email per day at 9 AM UTC summarizing all episodes processed that day
• Off — No emails. Check the Agent page when you're ready.

What happens after I download a clip?

After downloading a clip — from the Agent view or the canvas — a social copy modal appears with AI-generated text tailored to your selected platform. You can pick between X, LinkedIn, Threads, and Instagram, toggle between short and long copy, edit the text inline, or enter a custom prompt to regenerate. Click "Copy to Clipboard" and you're ready to post alongside your video. Your preferred platform is remembered across sessions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long until clips are ready after an episode publishes?

Most episodes are transcribed and analyzed within 2-5 minutes of being detected, depending on episode length. You'll see a real-time progress indicator showing the current stage — Transcribing, Finding clip-worthy moments, Setting up your canvas. Shorter episodes (under 45 minutes) typically finish in under 3 minutes.

Can I pause the agent for a specific podcast?

Yes. Each podcast thread has a pause/resume toggle in the thread menu. Pausing stops automatic processing for that show while preserving all existing clips. Resume anytime to restart processing new episodes. Your subscriptions and clip history remain intact whether paused or active.

What happens when I reject a clip?

Rejecting removes the clip from your Agent view and canvas workspace, but the episode and other clips remain unaffected. Rejected clips also feed into Unspool Studio's learning system—the AI uses your feedback to refine future suggestions based on your content preferences and style.

Does the agent learn from my feedback?

Yes. Unspool Studio tracks every approve, reject, and edit you make as feedback data. The AI learns your preferences—ideal clip duration, favored content types (quotes, stories, debates), topics you focus on, and hook strength you prefer—and applies this to future suggestions within 2-3 episodes.

Can I change export settings for agent clips?

Yes. Agent preferences set defaults (template, aspect ratio, captions) for all new clips, but you can override every setting per-clip in the canvas editor. Change templates from Gravitas/Modern Dark/Classic, switch aspect ratios (16:9/1:1/9:16), toggle captions on/off, and adjust any other export option before downloading.

Do I need to keep the app open for the agent to work?

No. The agent runs entirely on Unspool Studio's servers in the background. It detects new episodes, transcribes audio, and analyzes clips 24/7 whether or not you're logged in. Clips are ready for review whenever you return to the Agent page.

Related: AI Transcription | Editing Clips | Export Formats