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After you connect Pictory, you can use it in your ChatGPT chats. Choose Pictory for your message, then say what you want in everyday language. ChatGPT uses Pictory’s tools for you and shows the result in the chat. You do not need to know the tool names or write API requests.

Start a Chat with Pictory

1

Open a chat

Start a new chat. You can also select … next to Pictory on the Plugins page, then select Try now.
2

Choose the Pictory plugin

Type @Pictory in the message box. A list opens. Choose Pictory at the top of the list. It shows the plugin icon and, if you entered one, the plugin’s description.
Do not choose Pictory GPT for Videos under Custom GPTs. It is a separate custom GPT, not the Pictory plugin you connected.
Pictory then appears as a label at the start of your message.
The list that opens after typing @Pictory in ChatGPT, with the Pictory plugin at the top and Pictory GPT for Videos under Custom GPTs

Choose the Pictory plugin at the top of the list, not the custom GPT below it.

3

Ask for what you want

Write your request after the Pictory label, then send it. For example:
How many AI Credits do I have?
4

Read the answer

ChatGPT asks Pictory for the information, then replies in the chat. Above the reply, it shows how long it worked, for example Worked for 15s. Select that line to see the steps it took.

Example: Check Your AI Credits

Checking your credits is a good first request. It confirms that the connection works, and it does not change anything in your account. In this example, ChatGPT replies with three figures:
  • Total credit limit: all the AI Credits available on your account.
  • Credits used: the AI Credits you have spent so far.
  • Credits remaining: the AI Credits you can still use.
A ChatGPT chat with the message Pictory How many AI credits I have, and a reply listing the total credit limit, credits used, and credits remaining

Ask Pictory how many AI Credits you have. ChatGPT replies with your limit, the credits used, and the credits remaining.

What You Can Ask For

Your Account and Options

  • “How many AI Credits do I have?”
  • “How many video minutes are left on my plan?” (Pictory 2.0 accounts)
  • “Which voices do you have? Show me English voices.”
  • “List my brand kits.”
  • “Which subtitle styles can I use?”
On a Pictory 3.0 account, video creation, voice-over, and AI media all use one balance of AI Credits, so ask about your AI Credits.

Motion Graphics Videos: Pictory 3.0

On a Pictory 3.0 account, every new video is a Motion Graphics video. For example:
Create a motion graphics video about the advantages of AI in a job search. Use animated headlines and simple diagrams. Show me a preview and include the Pictory project link.
ChatGPT then helps you settle the details:
  1. A brand kit. Choose a Brand Kit 2.0 from Pictory 3.0, or None.
  2. The story. Agree on the narration, the narrator, the music, and the number of scenes.
  3. Media. Choose stock media, AI-generated media, both, or none. ChatGPT asks only if you have not already said what you want.
  4. Transitions. Choose how one scene moves to the next, or use simple cuts.
Finalize the narration, narrator, music, and scene count before the project is created. Later changes through the chat can refine the visual design, but they cannot change those choices. The video is saved as an editable project in your Pictory account. Open the project link to keep editing in the Motion Studio editor in Pictory 3.0. See the motion graphics guide for more.

Standard Videos: Pictory 2.0

On a Pictory 2.0 account, every new video is a Standard video. For example:
  • “Make a 60-second explainer about our new expense-tracking feature, professional tone, for YouTube.”
  • “Create a vertical Instagram teaser for our coffee brand: warm, cozy, upbeat music.”
  • “Turn this blog post into a video: https://example.com/post”
ChatGPT then asks for the choices that have no safe default:
  1. Who designs the scenes. Pictory designs them, or you design them together with ChatGPT.
  2. What the video includes. Narration, background music, and saving the video as an editable project are each off unless you ask for them.
  3. The shape. 16:9 for landscape, 9:16 for vertical, or 1:1 for square.
  4. The voice. If you want narration and did not name a voice, ChatGPT lists the voices on your account.
  5. Preview or finished video. A preview lets you check the scenes first. Edits to a preview cost nothing.
See who designs the scenes for both design modes.

Videos from Your Audio Recordings: Pictory 3.0

On a Pictory 3.0 account, you can turn a podcast episode, a talk, or a voice memo into a Motion Graphics video. For example:
Turn my podcast episode into a video.
Here is what happens:
  1. ChatGPT checks your account, then opens an upload panel in the chat.
  2. You upload one MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, or WebM recording. It can be up to 200 MB, and from 5 seconds to 50 minutes long.
  3. Pictory writes down what you say. ChatGPT then asks only for the choices you have not made: the shape, brand kit, music, transitions, and visuals. Settle the brand kit and the music at this point. You cannot change them through the chat after your project is created.
  4. ChatGPT tells you about how many AI Credits the transcription uses, then creates your project.
  5. You review a preview, confirm the render cost, and get your video.
Your recording is the voice-over, exactly as you recorded it. ChatGPT does not ask you to pick a narrator. On a Pictory 2.0 account, ChatGPT explains that this feature needs Pictory 3.0.
Upload the recording through the panel. A link to an audio file does not work for this feature.
See create videos from audio recordings for how scenes work, costs, and troubleshooting. That page uses Claude in its examples, and the same rules apply in ChatGPT.

Media, Music, and AI-Generated Visuals

  • “Find stock footage of a city skyline at night.”
  • “Find calm background music for a 60-second product video.”
  • “Generate an AI image of a modern office with natural light.”
  • “Use this image as the background of the first scene: https://example.com/photo.jpg”
Stock media and music do not use AI Credits. AI-generated images and clips do. Before generating AI media, ChatGPT shows the estimated cost and your balance, then waits for you to agree.

Your Own Images and Videos

Ask ChatGPT to use your own photo, logo, or video clip. For example:
Use my product photo as the background of the first scene.
An upload panel opens in the chat:
  1. Drag your file onto the panel, or select Browse and pick it from your computer.
  2. Select Upload.
  3. ChatGPT receives the file and uses it in your video.
You can upload images and videos up to 100 MB each. If your file is already online, you can give ChatGPT a public link instead. This works for Motion Graphics videos, and for Standard videos that you design together with ChatGPT. See upload your own images and videos.

Before Anything Is Created

ChatGPT follows these rules to protect your account and your credits:
  • It checks your account first. Before a new video, ChatGPT checks which video type your account supports and uses that type.
  • It asks for missing choices. ChatGPT asks about anything important you did not mention. Say “you decide” to let it pick sensible defaults.
  • It shows the cost before rendering. Before making a finished Motion Graphics video, ChatGPT shows your available credits and the render cost, then waits for you to confirm. It does this even if you asked to render in your first message.
  • It does not render a preview without your go-ahead. A preview becomes a finished video only after you approve it.
On plans that charge render credits, Motion Graphics videos made through MCP cost 200 AI Credits per video minute for the project’s first successful render. See credits and rendering.

What You Get Back

For Motion Graphics videos, you receive a preview and a Pictory project link. After you confirm the render cost, you also receive the finished video with watch, share, and download links. The project is saved automatically, so you can open it in Pictory 3.0 and keep editing. For Standard videos, rendering takes 5–15 minutes. The finished job returns the MP4 file, a watch link, an embed link, the narration audio, and subtitles in both SRT and VTT formats.
For Standard videos, ask for a preview whenever the design matters. Fixing a preview takes 2–5 minutes, and a new render takes 5–15 minutes. Also say yes to saving the video as an editable project if you might revise it. Without a saved project, every change needs a new render.

Troubleshooting

Cause: Pictory was not chosen for the message, so ChatGPT answered on its own.Resolution:
  1. Type @Pictory in the message box and choose the Pictory plugin at the top of the list.
  2. Send your request again.
  3. If Pictory is not in the list, check that it appears under Installed on the Plugins page. See Connect from ChatGPT.
Cause: Pictory GPT for Videos was chosen from the list that opens after you type @Pictory. It is a separate custom GPT, not the Pictory plugin you connected.Resolution:
  1. Start a new chat.
  2. Type @Pictory and choose Pictory at the top of the list. It shows the plugin icon and, if you entered one, the plugin’s description.
  3. Send your request again.
Cause: Pictory 2.0 accounts can create only Standard Pictory videos through MCP.Resolution: Contact Pictory support to enable Pictory 3.0 for your account. After this one-way move, you cannot switch back to Pictory 2.0. You will get Motion Graphics by default, and it will be the only type of new video you can create through MCP. You do not need an API subscription to use the plugin.
Cause: The render or the AI-generated media costs more AI Credits than your account has left.Resolution:
  1. Ask ChatGPT how many AI Credits you have.
  2. Ask for a cheaper model, or use stock media instead of AI-generated media.
  3. Check your plan and remaining usage at app.pictory.ai.
Cause: The sign-in has expired, or the connected account does not have access to the requested feature.Resolution:
  1. Check your plan and remaining usage at app.pictory.ai.
  2. Uninstall Pictory, add it again, and sign in. See Connect from ChatGPT.

Next Steps

Pictory MCP Server

Every tool, video type, and option available through your connection

Motion graphics videos

What Pictory 3.0 accounts can create, and how render credits work