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Can ChatGPT make videos? What it can and cannot do (2026)
Contents: Can ChatGPT make videos?
ChatGPT can write a video’s script, plan its shots and draw its thumbnail, but it cannot generate the video itself. No plan, from Free to Pro, includes a video model, and since OpenAI shut down Sora in 2026 the company has no video product at all. For the footage, you need a video plugin from another company that runs inside ChatGPT, or a dedicated video tool that takes ChatGPT’s script.
In this article
- Can ChatGPT make videos?
- Can ChatGPT make videos on the Free, Go, Plus or Pro plan?
- Can ChatGPT make videos with plugins?
- Is OpenAI bringing video generation to ChatGPT?
- What can ChatGPT do for video production?
- Which AI tools generate video in 2026?
- How do you make a video with ChatGPT?
Can ChatGPT make videos?
ChatGPT has no video model, so it cannot generate a video from a prompt. Its creative output is text and still images. Image generation runs on ChatGPT Images 2.5, which OpenAI lists as available on every plan, including Free.
ChatGPT cannot watch an uploaded video either. OpenAI’s list of supported file types covers documents, spreadsheets, presentations, images and, on paid plans, audio, but no video formats. The closest feature is live camera input in Advanced Voice on the ChatGPT phone apps for paid plans, which lets you point your camera at something and talk about it. That is camera input for a conversation, not video output.
Video generation is a different problem from writing text or making a single image. A video model has to keep characters, camera, lighting and motion consistent across many frames every second, which calls for a different kind of model and different training data from the ones behind ChatGPT. Our literature review on consistency in long-form AI video explains why this is hard.
Can ChatGPT make videos on the Free, Go, Plus or Pro plan?
No ChatGPT plan generates video. The plans differ in how much you can use ChatGPT and which models you get, but video generation is not part of any of them.
| Plan | Price per month | Makes video | Makes images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | No | Yes, with lower limits |
| Go | $8 | No | Yes, more than Free |
| Plus | $20 | No | Yes, including images with thinking |
| Pro | From $100 | No | Yes, including images with thinking |
Prices in US dollars, as listed on OpenAI’s pricing page in October 2026.
ChatGPT Go, the cheapest paid plan, is available in every country where ChatGPT is supported. It raises the limits on messages, image generation and file uploads compared with Free, but it adds no video features.
Can ChatGPT make videos with plugins?
ChatGPT can make videos through plugins, which are apps from other companies that run inside the chat. The video comes from the plugin company’s own tool, not from ChatGPT, and each one has its own account, pricing and limits. Availability also depends on your plan and, for work accounts, on your workspace settings.
Video plugins with pages on OpenAI’s plugin directory include:
- Video makers: invideo, VEED Video Generator, Visla Video Maker, Creative Claw and AI Video Maker, which runs on the Seedance model.
- Avatar videos: HeyGen, which makes talking avatar videos from a script.
- Model hubs: Higgsfield and OpenArt, which give access to several image and video models.
- Editing: Descript, a video editor you direct through conversation.
- Explainers: Explain Video Generator by Scrimba, which describes itself as a free AI explainer video maker.
A plugin is the quickest way to get a short video without leaving ChatGPT. For a long, multi scene video with recurring characters, a dedicated video tool still gives you more control over each shot.
Is OpenAI bringing video generation to ChatGPT?
OpenAI has not announced any plan to add video generation to ChatGPT. Its video generation guide states that the Sora 2 models and the Videos API “were shut down on September 24, 2026” and that “no one-to-one replacement API is available.” No ChatGPT plan or feature page mentions video generation.
How does the Sora shutdown affect ChatGPT?
Sora was OpenAI’s separate video product, and it never ran inside ChatGPT itself. OpenAI announced its shutdown on March 24, 2026, closed the Sora app and website on April 26, 2026, and shut down the Sora API on September 24, 2026. With Sora gone, OpenAI has no way to make video at all. The full timeline is in our article on whether OpenAI has a video generator.
What can ChatGPT do for video production?
ChatGPT is useful at almost every stage of making a video except generating the footage itself.
- Script writing: Drafts, revisions, changes of tone and translations into other languages.
- Storyboard prompts: Breaking a script into scene by scene visual descriptions that an image or video model can work from.
- Shot lists: Numbered shots with camera angle, subject, duration and mood.
- Voiceover direction: Notes on the narrator’s voice, delivery and emotional beats.
- Thumbnails and stills: Images generated with ChatGPT Images 2.5, including images with text in them.
- Titles, captions and descriptions: Written for YouTube, social feeds or landing pages.
- Prompts for video tools: Turning a rough idea into a specific, well structured prompt for a dedicated video model.
For a full method, see our guide on how to write a script for a long YouTube video.
Which AI tools generate video in 2026?
Three kinds of tools generate AI video today, each suited to a different length and use.
- Short clip models: Google Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0 and Runway Gen-4.5 generate clips of a few seconds to about 15 seconds from a text or image prompt. They are strong on visual quality and motion, but each generation is short. They suit social clips, single scenes and intros.
- Long-form video platforms: Scenema and a few other platforms produce finished videos of 5 to 20 minutes from a prompt, a script or a document. They use short clip models as one stage of a larger pipeline that also writes the script, plans the shots, keeps characters consistent and adds narration. See the best AI tools for long-form explainer videos for a comparison.
- Presenter video tools: HeyGen and Synthesia generate a virtual presenter reading a script. They are used mainly for training, sales videos and translated versions of the same video.
Can you make AI videos for free?
ChatGPT itself makes no videos on any plan, free or paid. For free AI video, you need a dedicated tool or a ChatGPT plugin with a free tier, and most free tiers have tight limits or add a watermark. The newest video models are mostly on paid plans. The Gemini API, for example, has no free tier for any Veo 3.1 model.
Scenema has a free plan aimed at long-form explainer videos rather than short clips. See the pricing page for what each plan includes.
How do you make a video with ChatGPT?
The practical way to make a video with ChatGPT is to use it for planning and writing, and a dedicated tool for the footage.
Write the script and shot list in ChatGPT
Ask ChatGPT for a script with a strong hook, then for a numbered list of the shots the script needs.
Turn each shot into a prompt
Have ChatGPT rewrite each shot as a detailed visual prompt for the video tool you plan to use.
Generate the video in a dedicated tool
For a single short clip, generate it in a short clip model or a ChatGPT plugin. For a longer video, give the script to a long-form platform such as Scenema, which plans and generates every shot and keeps the characters consistent, so steps 2 and 3 become one.
Write the title and description in ChatGPT
Ask ChatGPT for a title, a description and captions that match the finished video. For an example of the full process, see how to make a 6-minute AI explainer video from a short prompt.
The TL;DR on whether ChatGPT can make videos
Can ChatGPT make videos? ChatGPT cannot generate videos on any plan, because none of its plans includes a video model. It can write the script, generate still images and connect to video plugins from other companies that make the footage.
Can ChatGPT make videos for free? ChatGPT makes no videos on the Free plan or any paid plan. Some video plugins inside ChatGPT, and some dedicated video tools, offer free tiers with limits.
Can ChatGPT Go make videos? ChatGPT Go cannot make videos. It raises the limits on messages, images and uploads compared with Free, but adds no video features.
Can ChatGPT Plus or Pro make videos? ChatGPT Plus and Pro cannot make videos either. They add more powerful models and image generation with thinking, but no video generation.
Can ChatGPT watch or edit a video? ChatGPT cannot open video files, because its supported upload types include no video formats. A plugin such as Descript can edit video inside ChatGPT.
Will ChatGPT be able to make videos? OpenAI has not announced video generation for ChatGPT. Its documentation says no replacement is available for the Sora video API, which shut down on September 24, 2026.
What is the difference between ChatGPT and Sora? ChatGPT is OpenAI’s AI assistant for text and images. Sora was OpenAI’s separate video product, which shut down in 2026.
Where to go next
- Read does OpenAI have a video generator for the full story of Sora and its shutdown.
- Read can Claude make videos for the same question about Anthropic’s Claude.
- Read is there an AI that can create explainer videos for the tools that can.
- Compare tools in the best AI tools for long-form explainer videos.
- See what is a long-form explainer video for the format AI video tools now handle best.
- Try Scenema at scenema.ai.