Answers
The questions people actually ask about making explainer and training videos with AI, answered with real numbers. Including the things DistilBook cannot do, because you should find that out here rather than after an afternoon of work.
Last updated . Timings measured against the live product.
Getting started
How do I turn a company document into a training video?
Upload the document to DistilBook, choose the section you want, pick a visual style, review the narration script it writes, and approve. It generates animated scenes and AI narration from your text. A 10 page policy commonly becomes a 5 to 7 slide video. The first narrated slide plays about 6 minutes in, and the whole thing typically finishes in about 35 minutes.
Can AI turn our existing SOPs and manuals into videos?
Yes, and that is the intended use. The document already carries the correct process, so converting it beats writing a video script from scratch. Upload the SOP as PDF, Word or plain text, choose the audience, and approve the script before anything renders.
What kinds of company documents work best for training videos?
Documents with real heading structure and clear sections: SOPs, policies, handbooks, onboarding guides, and slide exports. The headings become the slide breaks, so a well structured document produces a well structured video. Documents formatted with bold text instead of heading styles produce a poor breakdown.
Do I need to rewrite our documents before turning them into videos?
No. The AI rewrites for speech, because written documents read badly out loud. What you do instead is read the generated script at the review step and fix anything that drifted. That is usually a couple of minutes of editing rather than a rewrite.
How do I turn a 50 page document into a short training video?
Use the page range selector and convert only the section that matters. Converting all 50 pages would produce something nobody watches, and it would cost 10 credits per slide. Most teams pick the 3 to 8 pages that carry the actual procedure.
How do I make a training video from a PowerPoint or PDF?
PDFs upload directly. For PowerPoint or Google Slides, export the deck to PDF first (File then Export in PowerPoint, File then Download then PDF in Google Slides), then upload that. There is no direct .pptx import.
Accuracy and control
How do I make sure the AI does not change or invent information?
Read the script at the review step, which happens before anything is generated. DistilBook writes the narration from your uploaded document, then pauses and shows you every line. No audio and no visuals exist yet. Nothing renders until you approve, so no unreviewed sentence can reach the finished video. Check numbers, dates, names, thresholds and conditional words like must, should and may, because those carry the meaning and are what paraphrasing most often softens.
Can AI write the training video script from our documents?
Yes, that is the default. It reads the document and writes one narration per slide. If you would rather keep your own exact wording, paste your script in instead and it will narrate what you wrote rather than authoring anything.
How do I know what information to leave out of the video?
The AI condenses to the main idea per section, and you control the rest two ways: the page range decides what is covered at all, and the script review is where you delete anything that does not belong. A video that covers less, well, beats one that covers everything badly.
Can I use our company terminology, branding, and tone of voice?
Branding yes: add your logo and brand colours once and every scene uses them. Terminology is handled at the script review, where you fix acronyms and internal names. There is no persistent glossary or trained tone-of-voice model today, so terminology fixes are per video.
Can I turn company policies into videos without making them boring?
The realistic answer is that the format helps and the source still matters. Animation, narration and one idea per slide beat a wall of text, but a policy written defensively will still narrate defensively. The script review is where you cut the sentences that only exist for legal comfort.
Time and cost
How long does it take to make an AI explainer video?
Generation runs about 7 minutes per slide, and the first narrated slide plays about 6 minutes after you start. A 3 slide video is roughly 20 minutes end to end and an 8 slide video about 35 to 40 minutes. Rendering the final MP4 is fast, roughly 15 seconds per slide, so the wait is the generation, not the export.
How much does it cost to make an AI explainer video?
A slide costs 10 credits. Signup grants 30 credits free, so a 3 slide video costs nothing. Paid plans start at $15 per month for 170 credits, about 17 slides, then $35 for 450 credits and $75 for 1,000. A 6 slide training video is 60 credits, roughly $5 on the $15 plan.
Are there any AI video makers that do not require a credit card?
DistilBook does not ask for one. Signup takes an email, 30 credits are granted immediately, and no payment method is collected at that point. Many tools in this category advertise a free trial and still collect card details up front, so check the signup form rather than the pricing page, which is where the difference actually shows.
Can I make an AI explainer video for free?
Yes, with a limit worth knowing up front. 30 credits on signup covers a complete 3 slide narrated video, roughly 1.5 minutes, which you can watch in full in the browser. It renders with a watermark. Downloading a clean MP4 starts at $15 per month.
Can I remove the watermark from an AI generated explainer video?
On a paid plan, yes. The free tier renders with a watermark and plays in the browser; any paid plan from $15 per month removes it and unlocks MP4 export at up to 1440p.
Is the free version good enough to make a professional explainer video?
Good enough to judge the quality on your own material, not good enough to publish, because of the watermark and the 3 slide limit. That is the honest trade across most of this category: build and evaluate free, pay to use it publicly.
Do free credits refresh every month?
No. The 30 credits are a one-time signup grant. Monthly credit refreshes come with a paid plan.
What DistilBook does not do
Can I add quizzes or questions to the training videos?
No. DistilBook produces video, not interactive coursework. If you need quizzes and scoring, put the video inside an LMS that provides them.
Can I track who watched the videos and whether they completed the training?
No. There is no viewer tracking or completion reporting. That is an LMS job, and the practical approach is to export the MP4 and host it where your tracking already lives.
Where should I host the training videos once they are created?
You get a shareable web link on any plan, and an MP4 on a paid plan. For anything needing assignment, tracking or certificates, host the MP4 in your LMS. DistilBook is the production step, not the delivery platform.
Can I create different versions of the same training for different employees?
Not automatically. You can choose a different audience and regenerate from the same document, which produces a differently written script, but there is no automated per-employee variant generation.
Does DistilBook make cartoon videos with characters?
No. It makes explanatory animation: scenes, diagrams, icons and text illustrating your content, in a hand-drawn whiteboard style or 14 motion-graphics styles. If you need animated characters with dialogue, a character animation tool is the right choice.
Can it record my screen?
No. If you need actual software footage, record the screen separately and use DistilBook for the explanatory sections around it.
Can I use my own voice recording?
Not today. Narration uses AI voices in 20 or more languages, and you choose the voice and language before generating.
Keeping videos current
How do I keep the videos up to date when our documents change?
Re-upload the revised document, review the regenerated script, and render again. This is the structural advantage over filmed or hand-edited video, where one changed sentence can mean rebooking a studio or re-timing a whole timeline. Regenerating costs credits again, 10 per slide, which is far less than reshooting.
Can I update just one slide?
You can convert a narrower page range so only the changed section is regenerated, which keeps the cost down when a single clause changed.
Will the updated video look the same as the old one?
If you keep the same style and brand settings, yes. Scenes are generated fresh, so individual images may differ while the overall look stays consistent.
Can it tell me which videos need updating?
No. There is no monitoring of your documents for changes. Knowing which policy changed remains your process; what DistilBook removes is the cost of acting on it.
Languages and formats
Can I make training videos in multiple languages?
Yes, 20 or more. The script is written in the target language rather than translated after the fact, so the phrasing sounds native rather than converted.
What file formats can I upload?
PDF, Word (.docx), plain text, Markdown, images, a public web article URL, or just a written prompt if you have no document. PowerPoint, Keynote and Google Slides need a PDF export first.
Does it work on a scanned PDF?
Not directly. A scan is images with no text layer, so there is nothing to read. Run OCR first, then upload. This trips people up more often than any other limit.
What can I export?
A shareable web link on any plan, and MP4 at 720p, 1080p or 1440p on a paid plan. Subtitles are generated alongside the narration.
What does it cost?
| Plan | Price | Credits | What that makes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 30 credits on signup | 3 narrated slides, watermarked preview | No credit card |
| Basic | $15 / month | 170 credits / month | About 17 slides, 30 to 35 minutes of video | MP4 download, no watermark |
| Pro | $35 / month | 450 credits / month | About 45 slides | 1080p export, longer videos |
| Max | $75 / month | 1,000 credits / month | About 100 slides | 1440p export, priority queue |
One slide costs 10 credits. Yearly plans are about 50% cheaper. Full details on the pricing page.