Is a new ChatGPT plugin a sign that the how-to economy is shifting from YouTube to AI?

It just became a lot easier to create AI-assisted how-to videos. A new plugin available on ChatGPT turns static images into multi-step instructional content.

The tool comes from Camtasia, a screen recording service first launched in 2002 by the software company TechSmith. For years, creators in the how-to category have used TechSmith products to record and edit first-person, on-screen demonstrations.

Machine learning has already been integrated into Camtasia’s Screentelligence product, and the ChatGPT plugin builds on that offering. After users share sequential images with ChatGPT, the plugin gets to work building a customizable storyboard and script. Contextual suggestions guide viewers through the demonstrations, making those instructional videos easier to follow.

“We know that creating AI-generated videos hasn’t been as iterative or flexible as working with text prompts,” said TechSmith Learning & Video Ambassador Matt Pierce in a statement. “That’s why we built the generative screencast workflow to give users control over every scene, from narration and titles to callouts and focus points, enabling them to easily refine their AI-generated content and deliver instructional videos that are as clear and effective as those created manually.”

The Camtasia plugin is being positioned as an innovation for ChatGPT users, but its arrival may say more about the future of YouTube than the future of generative AI. The association between YouTube and how-to content goes back decades. At one point, more than half of U.S. YouTube users said that they use the platform to learn new things. YouTube’s instructional library is so iconic that it’s even the subject of ample parodies.

In recent years, however, services like ChatGPT have become viable sources for how-to guides. The LLMs that power those bots have scraped instructional content from YouTube, and that has made them valuable for students. Last year, a Pew study found that about a quarter of surveyed students have turned to ChatGPT to get help with their schoolwork.

If products like the Camtasia plugin become commonplace, those usage figures will continue to rise. For now, the plugin is available for Camtasia and ChatGPT users.