Pictory 3 adds an AI video agent that drafts the first cut

Pictory announced Pictory 3 on October 22, 2026, an AI video agent that drafts the first version of a video from a brief.

The announcement sits on Pictory's own blog, and no established outlet has reported on the launch, so everything below is Pictory's account of its own product.

Pictory 3 starts from a description rather than a blank timeline. You give the topic, audience, purpose and length, add any source files or URLs, and answer five setup questions: the voiceover, the visual sources, the aspect ratio, the layout preset and the brand kit. Pictory offers "Decide for me" where it is available.

The agent accepts more ways to start. You can begin with an idea or a pasted script, a web page, documents, a PowerPoint deck or an audio recording, and Pictory lists the document formats as DOCX, DOC, PDF, TXT, MD and RTF. Documents and URLs share a limit of five sources per creation request.

The agent then prepares a script, scenes and a preview. You review the story, refine it by chat or in the editor, and select Generate video to create the download. Pictory says the file is built only when you press that button, so you get a draft to approve.

Pictory 2.0 arrived on March 3, 2026, adding AI avatars, a prompt-based AI Studio, audio-to-video and interactive video hosting, according to a Business Wire release. Pictory's pricing page lists more than 20,000 companies and institutions using the platform.

Not everything converts. Existing work stays in Projects, and opening Pictory 3 does not convert an older video, so each project uses the editing experience it offers. The editor keeps panels for Story, Visuals, Avatars, Audio, Text, Elements, Styles and Branding, and personal avatars, voice clones and translation live there. The agent does not create or translate them.

Pricing is listed as Starter at $25 a month billed annually, Professional at $35 and Teams at $119, with monthly rates of $29, $59 and $199. The pricing page carries the AI video agent on the Starter plan, so the agent is not saved for higher tiers.

Neighboring agent tools price the same job differently. Renderly's prompt-to-b-roll feature charges 0.5 credits per second on its fast tier for 4 to 8 second clips at 720p with no audio, which is about 10 cents a second at its pay-as-you-go rate of $0.20 a credit.

Pictory says Pictory 3 fits people who make videos from content they already have and want a structured first draft, and is a weaker fit if you want to place every element yourself. The company also advises checking facts, names and numbers against the source before you generate.

Pictory 3 is rolling out, and Pictory says new users start in it while existing accounts open it from Projects. A 14-day free trial is at app.pictory.ai/signup.