AI story writer
AI Story Generator
Start with an idea and the AI writes a story for your video. Polish it with AI prompts, then turn it into a video or a short video summary.
- A story written to be watched
- Shorten, lengthen or change the tone
- Narrated by an AI voice
- Free trial, online in your browser
4.6/5Trusted by over 20,000 teams and institutions worldwide.
What is an AI story generator?
An AI story generator writes a story from your idea. In Pictory the story is written for a video: start with an idea, read the story the AI writes, polish it with AI prompts, then turn it into a video with scenes and narration, or into a short video summary.
A story, told on screen. Each part of the story becomes a scene with a matching visual, read by an AI voice, with captions.
Use it as an AI story maker for reading videos, brand stories and training scenarios. To turn a story you already have into a video, use the story to video generator.
Start with an ideaShort story · 2 min
Story written5 scenes
Your source, any format
Start with what you’ve got
An idea, a draft or a story you already have. Use text to video to paste a story as it is.
Idea to Video
One sentence in. Script and scenes out.
Text to Video
Paste any text and get a finished video.
Story to Video
Turn a story into scenes with narration.
Script to Video
Paste it and keep every word, or let AI tighten it up.
Images to Video
Upload photos and clips. Get a story back.
Blog to Video
Turn a post into a video for social.
How it works
How to write a story with AI
To write a story with AI, click Start with an idea in Pictory and describe the premise and the length. Read the story the AI writes, polish it with the AI prompts, then turn it into a video with scenes, narration and captions, or a short video summary.
Describe the story
Click Start with an idea and type the premise.
Read the story
The AI writes it. Edit any line like a doc.
Polish it with AI prompts
Shorten, lengthen, rephrase or change the tone.
Make the video
Each part becomes a scene with narration and captions.
Writer
Story maker and story writer
Pictory is an AI story writer for stories that end up on screen: a reading video for a class, a brand story, a training scenario. Start from an idea, or use text to story and paste a draft to polish. Then the story becomes a video in the same place.
Example
An example short story
A short story for a children’s reading video, written by the AI story generator from the idea on the left. Each part became one scene of the video, read by an AI narrator with captions.
The idea
A two-minute reading video
“A gentle short story for young readers about a lighthouse cat who is afraid of the dark and learns that the light is there to help.”
- Audience
- Young readers
- Length
- Two minutes
- Tone
- Gentle
- BeginningAt the top of the cliff stood a white lighthouse, and in it lived a small grey cat called Pip. Pip loved the sunny window and the sound of the waves. But every evening, when the sky went dark, Pip hid under the stairs and closed both eyes tight.
- MiddleOne stormy night a little boat rocked far out at sea. The keeper climbed the stairs to light the great lamp, and Pip, too curious to stay hidden, crept up behind. The lamp turned, and a long gold beam swept across the water, over the waves and on to the boat.
- EndThe boat followed the light all the way home to the harbor. Pip watched it from the window, warm and wide awake. From that night on, when the sky went dark, Pip sat by the lamp. The dark was still there, but so was the light, and the light was there to help.
Features
Turn your story into a video
Scenes
Every part of the story becomes a scene
Pictory matches a visual to each part of the story from 18M+ stock assets. Keep it, swap it, or describe the picture you need and make it in AI Studio.
- A scene for every part
- 18M+ stock videos and images
- AI Studio images and clips
Narration
A narrator for the story
Choose one of 170+ AI voices in 29+ languages to read the story, or upload your own recording.
- 170+ AI voices in 29+ languages
- Your own narration, uploaded
- Preview before you apply
Summary
A full video or a short summary
Make the whole story into a video, or a short video summary of it for social. Captions follow the narration either way.
- A full story video
- A short video summary
- Captions timed to the voice
story-summary.mp49:16 · 0:45
Captions onNarration on
More AI video features
Your complete AI video generation tool
AI avatars
Add a talking presenter, or a digital twin of you.
Captions
Accurate, synced captions in your brand style.
Translation
Captions and voiceover for every market.
Text editing
Edit the transcript to edit the video.
Team workspaces
Share projects and brand kits with your team.
API
Generate branded videos from your own product.
AI Studio
Create any image or video you need with generative AI
The latest image and video models, built into the editor. Generate it, then drop it straight into your scene.
Generate and edit images
Describe it, or edit an existing image with a prompt.
Keep characters consistent
Use reference images to keep the same person or product in every scene.
Create video clips with sound
Generate clips with audio. Yes, characters can talk.
Extend any clip
Keep any clip going with a new prompt, even one you uploaded.
✓Get four options at once
Generate up to four versions and keep the best one.
Stay on brand
Your brand kit’s colors guide every generation.
✓
Choose your model
Pick a model for stills or 5 to 10-second clips.
Also in AI Studio: Nano Banana Lite for images and Omni Flash for video.
Use cases
Who is using AI story generators?
TeachersReading videos for young learners
Write a short story for a class and turn it into a narrated video.
- Training teams
Scenario stories for training
Turn a situation staff will meet into a short story they can watch.
- Nonprofits
Impact stories as short videos
Turn a story from the field into a short video summary for social.
Why Pictory
Loved by creators, trusted by enterprise teams
From solo creators to global marketing teams. Read the case studies
4.6 / 5
Average rating on G2, plus Capterra’s Best Ease of Use award for 2025.
20,000+
companies and institutions creating video with Pictory.
SOC 2
and GDPR compliant, ready for enterprise security reviews
GDPR
Case studies
Teams that scaled video with Pictory
“Pictory is the easiest, most efficient way to get from an idea in text to multimedia imagery on the screen. It’s the critical component to get us out of death by PowerPoint.”
Read the Whirlybird Labs case study“Pictory helps us consistently deliver the high-quality videos we’re known for, content we’re proud of and our clients are proud to use. They always get a five-star response.”
Read the VRC case study“82% of our 10,000+ partners keep coming back to our training videos even though they aren’t mandatory courses. That’s how we know the content’s working.”
Read the AppDirect case study“It increased subscriber growth by 78% and cut my video creation time from a couple of hours to a few minutes. It’s been a godsend.”
Read the NetRock case study“Through Pictory videos, leads up by 500%, video production costs are down 90%.”
Read the Online Super Tutors case study“We only launched our new app a few months ago and already have over 500 subscribers. People come back regularly to watch more videos made with Pictory.”
Read the Game of Yield case study
Compare
AI story generator vs. video editing software
One story, from idea to narrated video, made two ways.
| Step | With Pictory | Traditional editing software |
|---|---|---|
| The script | Drafted from your idea, then edited like a doc | Written separately, in another app |
| Fitting the length | Shorten or lengthen with an AI prompt | Trimmed by hand on the timeline |
| Visuals | Matched to every line, then swapped where you like | Sourced and placed on a timeline |
| Voiceover | An AI voice applied in the editor | Recorded, then synced on the timeline |
| Captions | Automatic and timed to the voice | A separate step, styled on the timeline |
| A change of wording | Edit the line and the scene updates | Re-record and re-edit |
Video API
Make video at scale from your own product
Send text, links or slides to the Pictory API and get branded videos back, automatically.
POST /v1/video/storyboard
{
"videoName": "q3-update",
"scenes": [{ "text": "Q3 in 90 seconds..." }]
}Enterprise
Enterprise video at scale
Custom plans, onboarding and support for company-wide rollouts.
- SOC 2 and GDPR compliant
- Custom plans and personalized onboarding
- Shared brand kits and team workspaces
- Dedicated support
Click Start with an idea in Pictory and describe the premise and the length. Read the story the AI writes, polish it with the AI prompts, then turn it into a video.
Yes. Pictory turns each part of the story into a scene with a matching visual, adds narration from one of 170+ AI voices and captions. You can also paste a story you wrote yourself.
Yes. Pictory can turn the story into a short video summary as well as a full video, which suits social feeds.
Yes. Edit any line like a doc, or use the AI prompts to optimize, rephrase, shorten, lengthen or change the tone.
Yes. You can try Pictory’s AI story generator on a free trial, online in your browser. The trial includes 50 AI credits, and videos downloaded on it carry a watermark. Paid plans start at $25 a month, billed annually.
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