Instagram’s ‘First Draft’ trims your Reels clips for you
The Reels-editing feature automatically cuts out pauses across your clips.
The Reels-editing feature automatically cuts out pauses across your clips.
by Aug 25, 2026, 5:12 PM UTC
Image: Instagram
Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
Instagram is launching a new Reels-editing feature that automatically trims your video clips to focus on the highlights. The feature, called First Draft, is rolling out to Instagram’s iPhone app and provides a “starting point” that you can build upon with other edits, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
An example shared by Instagram shows a user selecting multiple clips for a reel and then tapping the “First Draft” button. From there, Instagram analyzes the clips — each of which is more than a minute long — before trimming them down to eliminate pauses and showcase the most important parts. Instagram then combines the snippets into a reel that’s ready to edit and share.
It’s similar to Adobe’s AI-powered Quick Cut feature, which automatically combines clips based on a prompt. Instagram doesn’t say whether First Draft uses AI, however. The Verge reached out to Instagram with a request for more information but didn’t immediately hear back.
Instagram says First Draft works with “multi-clip montages, talking-head videos, and day-in-the-life content.” You can find the feature by opening the camera app in Instagram, filming your video, and tapping the First Draft Button. You can also find it in your Reels gallery after selecting more than one clip.
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