# ChatAnimate — Full Manual for LLMs, Search Engines, and Curious Humans > **About this document.** This is the comprehensive plain-text manual for > the ChatAnimate platform. It is intended to be read by: > > 1. **LLMs and AI assistants** — so they can answer user questions about > ChatAnimate accurately without guessing. > 2. **Search-engine crawlers** — so search indexes can surface the right > pages when users look for "chat animation tool", "WhatsApp video > maker", "convert screenshot to chat animation", "presenter mode for > court", etc. > 3. **Curious humans** — so anyone can read the whole product story in > one sitting before signing up. > > A compact 5K-token overview lives at `/llms.txt`. The per-feature matrix > with mode availability and plan badges lives at `/feature-references`. > The canonical pricing page is `/pricing`. The canonical FAQ is `/faq`. > > You may quote, summarize, paraphrase or cite this document freely. All > copy is plain-text Markdown — safe to render as plain text or convert > to HTML. --- ## Table of contents 1. [What ChatAnimate is](#what-chatanimate-is) 2. [The 9 creation modes](#modes) 3. [Editor anatomy](#editor) 4. [Skins and appearance](#appearance) 5. [Brand kits](#brandkits) 6. [Group chats](#groupchats) 7. [Content you can add to messages](#content) 8. [Timing and typing authenticity](#timing) 9. [Audio and sound](#audio) 10. [Scenes and composition](#scenes) 11. [AI tools](#ai) 12. [Import and templates](#import) 13. [Export and output](#export) 14. [Presentations, replays, and sharing](#present) 15. [Teams](#team) 16. [Studio API](#api) 17. [Plans and pricing](#plans) 18. [Per-plan limits](#limits) 19. [Quick FAQ](#faq) 20. [Glossary](#glossary) 21. [Notes for LLMs, crawlers and search engines](#forllms) --- ## What ChatAnimate is ChatAnimate is a chat-animation studio. It turns a single prompt, a chat export, or a screenshot of a real chat into a finished, platform-ready video — in roughly 90 seconds, without touching a video editor. Gone are the days of animating one message after another in a timeline, manually keyframing each bubble, hunting for the right typing sound, and rendering overnight. ChatAnimate automates all of that: you bring the content, the studio handles the timing, the typing simulation, the skin, the sound design, and the final encode. The platform is built for three overlapping audiences. **Content creators and marketers** use it to repurpose real chat logs — a customer DM that closed a sale, a funny WhatsApp exchange, a Slack thread that captures a team's reaction — into short vertical videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. The skin system reproduces the look of WhatsApp, iMessage, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, Slack, Discord and a dozen retro platforms (AIM 2001, MSN 2004, ICQ 1999, Nokia 3310, BlackBerry BBM, MySpace 2006 and more), so the resulting video looks like a real phone screen, not a slideshow of text cards. Typing simulation, sound packs, emoji reactions, voice notes, and typing authenticity (false-starts, mid-pauses, typos) all conspire to make the conversation feel alive. **Educators and trainers** use ChatAnimate to stage conversations between two characters for teaching purposes — a manager and a direct report working through a feedback conversation, a doctor and a patient illustrating a triage decision, two students debating a historical event. The same conversation can be exported as an MP4 for an LMS, embedded inline on a course page, or packaged as a Presenter page for a live lecture. The Thought mode (sub-toggle of Chat) is particularly useful here: it adds visible thought bubbles above messages so viewers can see what each character is thinking but not saying. **Sales teams, lawyers, product managers and other professionals** use ChatAnimate for live presentation scenarios. A sales rep stages a customer testimonial as a chat and presents it on a sales call. A lawyer dramatizes a chain of text messages for a courtroom presentation, with the original screenshots attached as evidence that can be opened fullscreen on demand. A product manager walks through a user-research finding in an all-hands, with the conversation playing in real time and presenter notes visible only to them. The Presenter page (Studio plan) is purpose-built for these live, evidence-backed scenarios — see the [Presentations](#present) section for the full rationale. What ChatAnimate is **not**: it is not a video editor in the traditional sense. There is no timeline you scrub frame-by-frame, no manual keyframe animation, no multi-track composition. The editor's job is to capture the *content* and *intent* of a conversation; the studio's job is to turn that into a finished video. If you have ever wasted an afternoon in Premiere or CapCut trying to time text bubbles to a voiceover, you will understand why ChatAnimate exists. --- ## The 9 creation modes ChatAnimate has 9 creation modes. Each mode produces a fundamentally different kind of video. You switch modes with the mode selector at the top-left of the editor. The per-mode feature matrix is at `/feature-references`. ### Chat The foundational mode. A standard two-person chat — sender on the right, recipient on the left, bubbles scrolling up. This is what most users start with and what most social content uses. Available on every plan including Free. Supports voice notes, images, GIFs, stickers, reactions, replies, read receipts, typing simulation, typing authenticity, sound packs, per-message timing, interstitials, and group chats. ### Story A vertical full-screen story format, mimicking Instagram Stories or TikTok. Story mode is **always muted** — there is no audio track. Use it when the visuals and text carry the message and sound would distract. Available on every plan. Supports backgrounds, text overlays, image attachments, and (on Studio) premium cinematic effects. ### Notifications A stack of phone notifications instead of a chat thread. Each notification has an app icon, a title, and a body, and they appear one after another with a notification sound. Always audible. Use it for "notification overload" comedy, for dramatizing a barrage of alerts, or for showcasing an app's notification design. 33 pre-decoded sound packs are included. Available on every plan. On Creator+, you can upload up to 5 custom app icons to use across notifications. ### Comments A social-media comment stream — Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit or Facebook. Each comment has a username, avatar, text and timestamp. Available on every plan with the basic platform; Creator+ unlocks the premium platform picker (Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Facebook). Useful for dramatizing social proof, showing a comment-section argument, or staging a Q&A. ### Hook An intro-only cinematic clip. There are no messages in Hook mode — just the opener. Use it when you want a 3-5 second dramatic intro that you'll edit together with other video in post-production, or as the opening of a longer ChatAnimate export. Available on every plan. Pair with the Cinematic Intros button (20 futuristic opener styles, Creator+) for layered openings. ### Slides A slide-deck style with 27+ animation strategies. Slides can include text, images, and video clips. Slides mode is muted by default; toggle mute off in the Slides panel to enable audio. Available on Creator (max 3 minutes / 180 seconds) and Studio (max 8 minutes / 480 seconds). Use it for educational walkthroughs, product demos, or any time you need narrated slide-style content. ### Thought (sub-toggle of Chat) A sub-toggle of Chat mode that shows thought bubbles above messages. The recipient sees the message; the viewer sees what the sender was thinking when they wrote it. Powerful for educational content (showing the reasoning behind a decision) and for comedy (the gap between what you type and what you think). Available on Creator+. ### Unsent (sub-toggle of Chat) A sub-toggle of Chat mode that shows typed-but-unsent drafts. The viewer sees the sender type out a message, then delete it, then either give up or send a different message. Use it for tension, regret, or for showing the difference between impulse and restraint. Available on Creator+. ### BeatSync (currently disabled) A music-first mode where scene switches sync to the beat of an uploaded music track. BPM is auto-detected. BeatSync is currently disabled in production due to known rendering issues. When re-enabled, it will be available on Creator (max 20s song) and Studio (max 45s song) with 10 beat-interpretation presets. --- ## Editor anatomy The Studio editor (`/editor`) is where every conversation is built. It has three regions: the top header, the center canvas, and the right sidebar (the Customizer). ### Top header The header contains the mode selector on the left and a row of feature buttons on the right. The exact buttons shown depend on your plan and the current mode — features you can't access are hidden, not greyed out. The header buttons, grouped by purpose: **AI tools:** - **AI Writer** (Creator+) — Generate a full Chat conversation from a text prompt. 1 credit per use. - **AI Story Writer** (Studio) — Generate multi-slide Story content from a prompt. 1 credit per use. - **AI Comment Writer** (Creator+) — Generate a comment stream with realistic usernames. 1 credit per use. - **Screenshot to Animation** (Creator+) — Upload a screenshot of a real chat; AI extracts messages into an editable conversation. 2 credits. - **Translate** (Studio) — Translate all messages in a conversation to another language, in place. 1 credit per use. - **Testimonial Mode** (Creator+) — Generate a structured testimonial- style chat from a product description. 1 credit per use. - **Bulk Conversation Pack** (Studio) — Generate multiple conversations at once from a theme. 3 credits per pack. **Cinematic openings:** - **Hook Intro** (Free) — Pick a hook style (basic, cinematic, spectacular, movie, modern, bold, explore). The hook plays before the first message. - **Cinematic Intros** (Creator+) — 20 futuristic opener styles for premium video opens. Stack with Hook Intro for layered openings. **Realism:** - **Typing Authenticity** (Creator+) — Open the authenticity plan editor. Pick a preset (casual, dramatic, professional) or reroll the seed for a new pattern. Generates false-starts, mid-pauses, typos and burst-sends per message. **Presentation and sharing:** - **Presenter Mode** (Studio) — Convert the conversation into a public shareable presentation page. Configure opening/closing screens, presenter notes, evidence panels. - **Embed Player** (Studio) — Generate an embed code or shareable link to play the conversation inline on any external site. - **Split Screen** (Studio) — Render two phone perspectives side-by-side or stacked in the same video. - **QR Code** (Creator+) — Generate a QR code overlay on the export. Enter a destination URL. - **Email Export** (Creator+) — Export the conversation as an email-campaign format. **Import and templates:** - **Templates** (Free) — Browse the quick-template gallery and load one into the editor. - **CSV Import** (Creator+) — Bulk-import up to 200 messages (Creator) or 1000 messages (Studio) from a .csv or .txt file. - **JSON Import / Export** (Free) — Save the full conversation state as a JSON file, or re-import a JSON file to restore state. **Save:** - **Save** (Creator+) — Persist the conversation to your account. Creator can save 20 conversations; Studio has unlimited saves. ### Center canvas The center canvas shows the phone preview — a rendered phone frame with the chat skin applied and the conversation messages scrolling inside it. Below the phone is the **Timeline panel**, which shows every message as a row with its start time, duration, and typing speed. Click any row to select that message and adjust its timing in the right panel. The Timeline panel is also where you add **interstitials** — between-message cards like lock-screen overlays, time-jump cards ("2 hours later…"), or custom cards. Interstitials are available on every plan. ### Right sidebar — the Customizer The Customizer has five tabs. Each tab is described in detail in its own section below. #### Look tab The Look tab is where you change the visual appearance of the conversation. It has three sub-tabs: - **Skin** — Pick from 20+ skins (modern: WhatsApp iOS/Android, iMessage, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, Slack, Discord, GPT, and more; retro: AIM 2001, MSN 2004, ICQ 1999, Nokia 3310, BlackBerry BBM, MySpace 2006, and more). The skin applies instantly. - **Background** — Pick a preset wallpaper or upload your own (Lite+ for upload). Background renders behind the conversation. - **Appearance** — Recolor bubbles, text, accents, status bar, and header background. Upload a custom font (.ttf or .otf, 5 MB max, Creator+). Toggle overlays like Thought Mode and Unsent Mode. The full Appearance sub-tab covers: bubble color (sender and recipient separately), text color (sender and recipient), accent color (used for links, timestamps, read receipts), status bar color, header background color, font family, and bubble opacity. Changes preview live — you see the result in the phone canvas immediately. #### People tab The People tab is where you set who is in the conversation. You can: - Edit the sender's name and the recipient's name (these appear on the bubbles and in the timeline). - Upload avatars for sender and recipient (2 MB max image). - Toggle **Group Chat** on (see [Group chats](#groupchats) below for details). - For Notification mode: configure the app name and icon per notification. #### Time tab The Time tab controls the timing and pacing of the conversation. - **Typing Simulation** — Toggle the typing bubble on/off. When on, a typing indicator appears before each message is sent. - **Read Receipt Delay** — How long after a message is sent before the read receipt (double-tick) appears. Default 0.4 seconds. - **Default Gap Between Messages** — The default pause between one message ending and the next starting. Override per-message in the Timeline panel. - **Pre-Sequences** — Add a phone-unlock animation, an incoming-call overlay, or a notification banner before the first message. #### Audio tab (Chat mode only) The Audio tab is hidden in Slides mode (Slides are muted by default; toggle mute off in the Slides panel to enable audio). In Chat mode: - **Sound Pack** — Pick from the sound pack library. Each pack contains typing, sent, and incoming sounds that match a specific phone OS or messaging app. - **Per-Message Sound Clips** — Override the default sound for any individual message. Click a message to expand, then pick a sound from the dropdown. - **Volume** — Master volume slider (0-100). Affects all sound clips and voice notes. - **Mute** — Toggle the entire audio track off. In Notifications mode, the Audio tab is replaced by a per-mode volume slider and the 33 pre-decoded notification sound packs. #### More tab (Chat mode only) The More tab holds advanced features: - **Brand Kit** (Creator+) — Save the current colors, fonts, and avatars as a reusable brand kit. Apply a saved brand kit to any conversation to instantly reset its appearance. - **Chroma Key** (Creator+) — Green-screen removal for image backgrounds. Available on WhatsApp skins only. - **Scene Chaining** (Creator+ for 3 scenes, Studio for 5 scenes) — Add additional scenes to the conversation. Each scene is a separate message thread that plays in sequence. --- ## Skins and appearance ChatAnimate ships with **20+ chat skins** organized into two groups. ### Modern skins - **WhatsApp iOS** — The classic iOS WhatsApp look. - **WhatsApp Android** — The Material Design Android WhatsApp look. - **iMessage** — Apple Messages with blue/gray bubbles. - **Instagram** — Instagram Direct Messages. - **Messenger** — Facebook Messenger with the rounded bubble style. - **Telegram** — Telegram Messenger. - **Slack** — Slack workspace messaging. - **Discord** — Discord chat. - **GPT** — A clean, generic AI-assistant skin. ### Retro skins - **AIM 2001** — America Online Instant Messenger, turn-of-the-millennium yellow buddy-list aesthetic. - **MSN 2004** — MSN Messenger with the hand-written-style font. - **ICQ 1999** — ICQ with the iconic "uh-oh!" sound aesthetic. - **Nokia 3310** — The monochrome Nokia feature-phone SMS interface. - **BlackBerry BBM** — BlackBerry Messenger. - **MySpace 2006** — Early MySpace messaging. The retro skins are popular for nostalgic content and for any video that needs to evoke a specific era. ### How to change skin 1. Open the editor with any conversation. 2. Open the Customizer panel (right sidebar). 3. Go to the Look tab. 4. Pick a skin from the skin grid (20+ options). 5. The skin applies instantly to the conversation. ### How to change colors 1. Open the Customizer panel. 2. Go to the Look tab → Appearance sub-tab. 3. Adjust the color pickers for: sender bubble, recipient bubble, sender text, recipient text, accent (links, timestamps, read receipts), status bar, and header background. 4. Live preview updates as you change colors. You can also adjust **bubble opacity** — useful for glass and liquid-glass effects on supported skins. The WhatsApp skins support chroma key (green-screen removal) for image backgrounds (Creator+). ### How to upload a custom font 1. Open the Customizer panel. 2. Go to the Look tab → Appearance sub-tab. 3. Click the Font upload area. 4. Upload a .ttf or .otf file (5 MB max). Creator+ required. 5. The font applies to all bubble text and chat text. ### How to upload a background 1. Open the Customizer panel. 2. Go to the Look tab → Background sub-tab. 3. Pick a preset wallpaper or upload your own (Lite+ required for upload). 4. Background renders behind the conversation. ### How to upload avatars 1. Open the Customizer panel. 2. Go to the People tab. 3. Click the avatar circle for sender or recipient. 4. Upload an image (2 MB max). Available on every plan. --- ## Brand kits A **brand kit** is a saved bundle of appearance settings — colors, fonts, and avatars — that you can apply to any conversation with one click. Brand kits exist so you don't have to manually reconfigure the same color palette and font choice on every new conversation. ### When to use a brand kit - You are an agency producing chat videos for multiple clients, each with their own brand colors and logo. - You are a content creator with a consistent visual identity across your videos. - You are a sales team that wants every testimonial video to look like it came from the same brand. ### How to save a brand kit 1. Open the Customizer panel. 2. Configure your colors, fonts, and avatars in the Look and People tabs. 3. Go to the More tab → Brand Kit. 4. Click "Create new kit" and give it a name. 5. The kit saves your current colors, fonts, and avatars. ### How to apply a brand kit 1. Open any conversation. 2. Open the Customizer → More → Brand Kit. 3. Pick a saved kit from the list. 4. The kit's colors, fonts, and avatars apply instantly. ### Brand kit limits per plan - Free: 0 brand kits. - Lite: 0 brand kits. - Creator: 1 brand kit. - Studio: 10 brand kits. Brand kits are available in Chat mode and its sub-toggles (Thought, Unsent). They are not available in Story, Notifications, Comments, Hook, or Slides modes. --- ## Group chats ChatAnimate supports **group chats** in Chat mode. A group chat has one sender (you) and multiple recipients, each with their own name, color, and avatar. Group chats are useful for dramatizing multi-person conversations — a family group chat, a project team chat, a friend group planning a trip. ### How to enable group chat 1. Open the Customizer panel. 2. Go to the People tab. 3. Toggle "Group Chat" on. 4. The recipient section expands to show a list of group members. ### How to add group members 1. With Group Chat enabled, click "Add Member". 2. Enter a name and upload an avatar (2 MB max). 3. The member is added with an auto-assigned color from the group color palette (10 colors cycle through: red, yellow, blue, pink, purple, teal, green, orange, dark orange, dark red). 4. Repeat for each additional member. There is no hard cap on group member count, but conversations with more than ~10 members become hard to follow on a phone screen. ### How to set the sender per message 1. Click a message row in the Timeline panel or click a bubble in the phone canvas. 2. The message expand panel appears. 3. Pick the sender from the "Sender" dropdown (you, or any group member). 4. The message reassigned instantly — the bubble moves to the left (recipient side) or right (your side) depending on who sent it. ### Group chat behavior - Each group member's bubbles render in their assigned color. - The sender's bubbles always render on the right in the default color. - Typing simulation works per-sender — when a recipient is "typing", their avatar appears with the typing indicator. - Read receipts appear per-recipient when supported by the skin. --- ## Content you can add to messages Every message in ChatAnimate can hold more than just text. Here is the full menu of content types. ### Text The default. Type any text. Multi-line is supported. Emoji are rendered as native Unicode emoji (no broken half-emoji frames — the typing engine uses grapheme clusters so even complex emoji like family compositions and flag sequences reveal as a single unit). ### Voice notes Record audio directly in the editor or upload a pre-recorded audio file. A waveform renders with the audio attached. Voice notes play during export at the message's scheduled timing slot. Available on Lite+. In Chat mode, hover a message row and click the Mic button to record or upload. ### Images Attach images to messages, backgrounds, and avatars. Available on Lite+. In any image-supporting mode, click the Image button on a message row. Adjust sizing and position in the message expand panel. ### Video clips (Slides mode only) In Slides mode, attach MP4 or WebM video clips to slides. The video plays inline during the slide's timing slot. Available on Lite+. ### GIFs Search the Klipy GIF library by keyword and attach a GIF to any message. GIFs play inline during export. Available on every plan in Chat, Comment and Thought modes. Click the GIF button on a message row to search. ### Stickers Browse the built-in sticker library by category. Click a sticker to attach. Available on every plan in Chat, Comment and Thought modes. Click the Sticker button on a message row. ### Emoji reactions Add a per-message emoji reaction that appears above the bubble. Available on Creator+. Click any message to expand, then click the Reaction picker (emoji icon) and choose an emoji. Reaction timing is shown on the Timeline. ### Replies / quoted messages Quote a previous message in a reply. The reply bubble renders above the new message with the quoted text and sender. Skin-gated — only WhatsApp Android, WhatsApp iOS, Slack, and GPT skins support replies. Click a message to expand, type the quoted text and sender in the Reply input. ### Interstitials Between-message cards. Three types: - **Lock-screen** — A phone lock-screen overlay appears between two messages. - **Time-jump** — A "2 hours later…" card appears between two messages. - **Custom** — A custom card with your own text and optional sound clip. Available on every plan. Open the Timeline panel and click "Add Interstitial" between any two messages. ### Sound clips Override the default sound for any individual message. Available on Creator+. Click a message to expand, open the Sound Clip dropdown, and pick a sound from the library. Plays at the message's scheduled time. ### Per-message timing Every message has its own Start Time, Duration, and Typing Speed. Adjust these in the Timeline panel by clicking a message row and dragging the sliders. The schedule updates live as you drag. Available on Creator+. --- ## Timing and typing authenticity ChatAnimate's timing engine is what makes conversations feel real. There are three layers. ### Layer 1 — Typing simulation When enabled, a typing indicator (three bouncing dots) appears before each message is sent. The duration of the typing indicator is calculated from the message length and the typing speed. You can: - Toggle typing simulation on/off in the Customizer → Time tab. - Adjust the default typing speed in the Customizer → Time tab. - Override the typing speed per message in the Timeline panel. - Set a Read Receipt Delay (default 0.4 seconds) so the read receipt appears shortly after the message is sent. ### Layer 2 — Typing authenticity Typing authenticity adds realistic human imperfections to the typing pattern. Available on Creator+. Open the Typing Authenticity button in the editor header to configure. There are four imperfection types: - **False-starts** — The sender starts typing, deletes what they typed, and starts over. - **Mid-pauses** — The sender pauses mid-message before continuing. - **Typos** — The sender makes a typo, deletes it, and types the correct character. - **Burst-sends** — The sender types a chunk quickly, then sends. Pick a preset (casual, dramatic, professional) or reroll the seed for a new pattern. The seed is deterministic — the same seed always produces the same authenticity plan, so what you see in the preview is exactly what you get in the export. Three intensity levels: subtle, medium, chaotic. ### Layer 3 — Per-message timing For full control, open the Timeline panel and click any message row. Adjust: - **Start Time** — When the message appears. - **Duration** — How long the message takes to type and send. - **Typing Speed** — Characters per second. The schedule updates live. Available on Creator+. ### Why the timing engine matters If you have ever watched a chat-animation video where the typing felt robotic — every message the same length, every pause the same duration, no human hesitation — you understand why this matters. The combination of typing simulation + authenticity + per-message timing is what makes a ChatAnimate video feel like a real conversation rather than a slideshow of text cards. --- ## Audio and sound Audio in ChatAnimate has three layers. ### Sound packs A sound pack is a bundle of three sounds: typing, sent, and incoming. Each pack is themed to match a specific phone OS or messaging app. Pick a pack in the Customizer → Audio tab. All typing, sent, and incoming sounds update instantly. Available on Creator+ in Chat mode. ### Per-message sound clips Override the default sound for any individual message. Click a message to expand, open the Sound Clip dropdown, and pick a sound from the library. Plays at the message's scheduled time. Available on Creator+. ### Volume and mute - **Master volume** — Slider 0-100 in the Customizer → Audio tab. Affects all sound clips and voice notes. - **Per-mode volume** — In Notifications mode, a separate volume slider controls only notification sounds. The two volumes are independent — muting one does not affect the other. - **Mute** — Toggle the entire audio track off. Available on every plan. ### Notification sound packs In Notifications mode, 33 pre-decoded sound packs are included. Each pack is a different notification sound. Available on every plan. ### Audio in Slides mode Slides are muted by default. To enable audio, toggle mute off in the Slides panel. The Audio tab is hidden in Slides mode (typing/sent/ incoming sounds don't apply to slide decks). ### Audio in Story mode Story mode is always muted. There is no audio track at all. --- ## Scenes and composition A **scene** is a single message thread. Every conversation starts with one scene. You can add more scenes to create multi-part stories. ### Single scene The default. One scene per conversation. Add messages to that scene. Export plays the single scene in order. Available on every plan. ### Multiple scenes (up to 3 on Creator, up to 5 on Studio) Chain multiple scenes per conversation for multi-part stories. Each scene is a separate message thread that plays in sequence. Available on Creator (3 scenes) and Studio (5 scenes). Open the Customizer → More → Scene Chaining and click "Add Scene". ### Scene tabs With 2+ scenes, scene tabs appear at the top of the editor. Click a tab to switch the active scene. Drag tabs to reorder the scene sequence. ### Scene chaining Cross-scene continuity rules. Configure whether participants carry over between scenes, whether the timestamp continues, etc. Available on Studio. Open Customizer → More → Scene Chaining. ### Split-screen export Render two phone perspectives side-by-side or stacked in the same video. Available on Studio. Click the Split Screen button in the editor header and pick a layout. --- ## AI tools ChatAnimate includes 7 AI tools. Each costs credits; the credit budget per plan is in the [Plans](#plans) section. All AI tools are accessed from buttons in the editor header. ### AI Writer (Creator+, 1 credit) Generate a full Chat conversation from a text prompt. Describe the conversation you want — the characters, the topic, the tone — and the AI generates a complete conversation that populates the editor. You can then edit, restyle, and export. The 1-credit cost is the same regardless of conversation length (up to 50 messages per generation). ### AI Story Writer (Studio, 1 credit) Generate multi-slide Story content from a prompt. Describe the story and the AI generates slides with text and visuals. Useful for narrative content where the story is more important than the chat format. ### AI Comment Writer (Creator+, 1 credit) Generate a comment stream with realistic usernames. Describe the post and the AI generates a comment thread that looks like a real social- media comment section. Pair with the premium platform picker (Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Facebook) for platform- accurate styling. ### Screenshot to Animation (Creator+, 2 credits) Upload a screenshot of a real chat (your own WhatsApp, a customer DM, a Slack thread) and the AI extracts the messages into an editable conversation. This is the fastest path from "I have this real chat" to "I have a ChatAnimate video of it". After extraction, you can edit text, change the skin, adjust timing, and export. ### Translate (Studio, 1 credit) Translate all messages in a conversation to another language, in place. Useful for repurposing content across markets — generate once in English, translate to Spanish, French, German, Japanese, etc. ### Testimonial Mode (Creator+, 1 credit) Generate a structured testimonial-style chat from a product description. Describe the product and the testimonial angle (e.g. "customer who saved 5 hours a week") and the AI generates a chat conversation that reads like a real customer testimonial. ### Bulk Conversation Pack (Studio, 3 credits) Generate multiple conversations at once from a theme. Useful for content-calendar batches — describe a theme ("12 customer testimonials for a SaaS landing page") and the AI generates 12 conversations in one pass. ### Credit budget per plan - Free: 0 credits/month (no AI access). - Lite: 0 credits/month (no AI access). - Creator: 40 credits/month. - Studio: 80 credits/month. You can top up credits with **credit packs** if you run out before the month resets. See the [Plans](#plans) section. --- ## Import and templates There are four ways to get content into the editor. ### JSON Import / Export (Free) Save the full conversation state as a JSON file, or re-import a JSON file to restore state. Use for backups, for moving conversations between accounts, or for sharing templates with teammates. Available on every plan. Open the editor header → Import/Export JSON. ### CSV / TXT Import (Creator+) Bulk-import up to 200 messages (Creator) or 1000 messages (Studio) from a .csv or .txt file with sender/message columns. Useful for importing real chat exports — WhatsApp .txt exports, Slack JSON exports converted to CSV, etc. Open the editor header → CSV Import. ### .txt chat export import (Free) Import a real chat export (.txt format) from WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord or a generic text format. The parser auto-detects the format and extracts messages, senders, and timestamps. Open the editor header → Import TXT. ### Quick Templates (Free) Browse the quick-template gallery and load one into the editor. Each template is a pre-built conversation you can customize. Open the editor header → Templates. --- ## Export and output ChatAnimate exports to three formats at three resolutions, plus four special export types. ### MP4 Export (Free) The default video format. MP4 files play everywhere — social platforms, browsers, video editors. Available on every plan at 480p. 1080p requires Lite+, 4K requires Lite or Studio (Creator does NOT include 4K — upgrade to Studio to regain). ### GIF Export (Creator+) Export as an animated GIF instead of MP4. Useful for embedding in emails, docs, and places that don't support video. Available on Creator+. ### WebM Export (Creator+) Export as WebM for web embedding. Smaller file size than MP4 for equivalent quality. Available on Creator+. ### Resolutions - **480p** — Free. Watermarked. - **1080p HD** — Lite+. No watermark. - **4K Ultra HD** — Lite or Studio. No watermark. (Creator does NOT include 4K — upgrade to Studio to regain.) ### Watermark - **Free** — ChatAnimate watermark on every export. - **Lite+** — No watermark (automatic). - **Studio** — Custom watermark: upload your own logo to replace the default branding. Pair with White Label (Studio owner-only) to remove all ChatAnimate branding from embeds and presenter pages. ### Batch Export (Studio) Export up to 10 conversations in one batch. Open Dashboard → Exports → Batch Export, select multiple conversations, click Render. All render in queue. ### Email Export (Creator+) Export the conversation as an email-campaign format. Useful for marketing emails where you want to dramatize a customer conversation. ### Screenshot Export Export a single frame of the conversation as a PNG image. Useful for thumbnails and social cards. ### Muted Export Toggle the audio track off in the export modal. Useful when you want a silent video for autoplay environments (Instagram feeds, etc.). ### Export History (Creator+) Open Dashboard → Exports to see all past exports with status and download links. Re-download or re-render as needed. Video files are retained per plan: - Free: 3 days. - Lite: 3 days. - Creator: 7 days. - Studio: 90 days. ### Save Conversations (Creator+) Persist conversations to your account for later editing. Creator can save 20 conversations; Studio has unlimited saves. Free and Lite are exports-only — they cannot save conversations. Open the editor bottom bar → Save. --- ## Presentations, replays, and sharing This section covers the four ways to share ChatAnimate content beyond the editor: Presenter pages, Embed Player, public Replays, and QR codes. It also covers Debrief analytics. ### Why presentations exist Presentations are not just "another export format". They are a fundamentally different way to share a ChatAnimate conversation, built specifically for **live presentation scenarios** where a static MP4 falls short. The clearest examples: - **Conferences and lectures** — A speaker wants to walk an audience through a staged conversation in real time, with the ability to pause, skip, and show evidence (the original screenshot, a supporting document) on demand. - **Courtrooms and legal proceedings** — A lawyer dramatizes a chain of text messages for the judge and jury. The Presenter page shows the conversation playing in real time, with the original screenshots attached as evidence that can be opened fullscreen on demand. Presenter notes (visible only to the presenter) cue the lawyer on what to say at each beat. - **Sales demos and customer calls** — A sales rep stages a customer testimonial as a chat and presents it on a live sales call. The presenter controls let them pause for objection-handling, skip ahead if the prospect is short on time, or jump back to a specific message if a question comes up. - **Internal training and all-hands** — A product manager walks through a user-research finding in an all-hands meeting, with the conversation playing in real time and the supporting evidence (interview clips, survey results) attached to specific messages. An MP4 is a passive video — press play, sit back, watch. A Presenter page is a **live, controllable, evidence-backed** experience. The presenter controls the playback; the audience sees the conversation unfold beat by beat; the evidence is one click away whenever a point needs substantiation. ### Presenter Mode (Studio) Convert any conversation into a public shareable presentation page. Open the editor header → Presenter Mode (Studio required). A Presenter page includes: - **Opening screen** — Title, subtitle, description, and a "Start" button. - **The conversation itself** — Plays in real time, with the presenter controlling playback (play, pause, skip, jump back). - **Closing screen** — A summary, a call to action, and contact info. - **Presenter notes** — Notes visible only to the presenter (not to the audience), cued to each message. Use them as a script, as reminders of what to say at each beat, or as a list of evidence to introduce. - **Evidence panel** — Attach screenshots, documents, or images to specific messages. When the conversation reaches that message, the evidence becomes available — click to open fullscreen. The Presenter page is publicly accessible at `/presenter/{token}` — no sign-in required to view. The owner can revoke the link at any time from the dashboard. ### Embed Player (Studio) Generate an embed code or shareable link to play the conversation inline on any external site. Paste the embed code into your CMS, docs site, or marketing page — the player renders inline with no external platform dependency. Available on Studio. Open the editor header → Embed Player. ### Public Replays (Free to share, Creator+ to view analytics) Share a public replay link at `/replay/{token}`. Anonymous viewers can play the conversation — no sign-in required. The owner gets analytics on the Dashboard → Debrief page: - **Dropoff histogram** — Where viewers stopped watching. - **Completion rate** — What percentage of viewers watched to the end. - **Share events** — When viewers shared the replay onward. Available on Creator+ for analytics. The replay itself can be created on any plan that can save conversations (Creator+). ### QR Code Overlay (Creator+) Generate a QR code overlay on any video export. Enter a destination URL (your website, a landing page, a signup form) and the QR code is rendered as an overlay on the export. Available on Creator+. Open the editor header → QR Code. ### Conversation Stats View message count, total duration, and timing breakdown before you export. Open the message list toolbar → Stats button. Useful for planning export length and for verifying that the conversation fits the platform's time limit (e.g. TikTok's 60-second cap for organic posts). Available on every plan. ### Debrief Analytics (Creator+) Per-replay analytics for shared replays. Open Dashboard → Debrief. See dropoff histogram, completion rate, share events, and total view count. Use it to understand which parts of your conversation are engaging and which are losing viewers. --- ## Teams ChatAnimate supports team collaboration on the Studio plan. A team has one owner and up to 3 members. ### Team seats (Studio) Invite up to 3 team members via email. Invitations expire after 7 days. Open Dashboard → Team (Studio required) to invite, resend, or revoke invitations. ### Shared resources Conversations and brand kits can be shared across the team. The owner controls what is shared; members get read-write access to shared resources. ### Team usage rollup The owner sees a rollup of team usage — total exports, total AI credits used, total storage — on the Dashboard → Team page. Members see only their own usage. ### Roles - **Owner** — The Studio subscription holder. Can invite and remove members, manage billing, manage API keys, manage all shared resources. - **Member** — Can use the team's Studio features (subject to the team's monthly export and AI credit budgets). Can be granted access to specific shared resources. ### White Label (Studio owner-only) Remove all ChatAnimate branding for agency use. Automatically applied on the Studio plan as the team owner. Custom watermark replaces default branding. Embeds and presenter pages show no ChatAnimate branding. --- ## Studio API The Studio API is a headless render API for agencies and integrations that want to render ChatAnimate videos programmatically. Available on the Studio plan. ### Authentication Generate API keys in Dashboard → API Keys (Studio required). Each key has the `ca_` prefix (e.g. `ca_abc123...`). Pass the key in the `Authorization: Bearer ` header. Up to 5 API keys per Studio account. ### Endpoints - `POST /api/v1/render` — Dispatch a render job. Send the conversation payload (same shape as the editor's serialization) plus export options (format, resolution, watermark, etc.). Returns a job token. - `GET /api/v1/render/{token}` — Poll the job status. Returns `pending`, `processing`, `complete`, or `failed`. When complete, the response includes the download URL. ### Rate limit 30 requests per minute per API key. Contact support if you need a higher limit for a production integration. ### Payload shape The payload is the same JSON shape that the editor serializes when you click Export. The simplest way to get a valid payload is to build a conversation in the editor, click Export, and capture the request from your browser's network tab. You can then templatize that payload and swap in different content for each render. ### Use cases - **Content-calendar automation** — Render 30 videos overnight from a spreadsheet of prompts. - **Customer testimonial pipelines** — When a customer submits a testimonial via your form, trigger a render and email them the video. - **Localized content** — Render the same conversation in 10 languages by swapping the message text via the API. - **Internal reporting** — Render weekly conversation summaries as videos for an internal dashboard. --- ## Plans and pricing ChatAnimate has 4 plans, billed monthly or yearly (yearly saves 20%). ### Free — $0 / $0 Try the editor. 3 watermarked 480p exports per month. 1 skin (WhatsApp Android). 0 saved conversations. 0 AI credits. 1 scene per conversation. 3-day video retention. ### Lite — $5/mo or $40/yr Uploads, 1080p HD, no watermark. 7 exports per month. 3 skins (WhatsApp Android, WhatsApp iOS, Instagram). 0 saved conversations. 0 AI credits. 1 scene per conversation. 200 MB image/voice storage. 3-day video retention. ### Creator — $19/mo or $180/yr (most popular) AI Writer, brand kits, multiple scenes, all skins. 20 exports per month. All 20+ skins unlocked. 20 saved conversations. 40 AI credits per month. 3 scenes per conversation. 1 brand kit. 500 MB image/voice storage. 7-day video retention. ### Studio — $49/mo or $468/yr 4K, batch export, team seats, Studio API. 200 exports per month. Unlimited saved conversations. 80 AI credits per month. 5 scenes per conversation. 10 brand kits. 3 team members. 5 API keys. 1 GB image/voice storage. 90-day video retention. White label (owner-only). Custom watermark. ### Credit packs If you run out of AI credits before the month resets, top up with a credit pack. Credit packs are one-time purchases that don't expire until used. Available in 10, 25, 50, and 100-credit sizes. Open Dashboard → Billing → Credit Packs. ### Billing portal Manage your subscription in the billing portal (the third-party service ChatAnimate uses for subscriptions). Open Dashboard → Billing → Manage Subscription to: - Upgrade or downgrade between plans. - Switch between monthly and yearly billing. - Cancel your subscription (cancels at the end of the current billing period). - Update your payment method. - View billing history and download invoices. ### Refunds Refunds are handled case-by-case via the contact form at `/contact`. If you forgot to cancel before a renewal and haven't used the plan since the renewal date, contact support within 7 days of the renewal for a full refund. --- ## Per-plan limits All numbers below are the canonical limits sourced from the plan configuration. If a number on the pricing page or in the editor disagrees with this table, defer to the pricing page (`/pricing`) and contact support. | Limit | Free | Lite | Creator | Studio | |---|---|---|---|---| | Monthly exports | 3 | 7 | 20 | 200 | | Saved conversations | 0 | 0 | 20 | unlimited | | Monthly AI credits | 0 | 0 | 40 | 80 | | CSV/TXT import messages | 20 | 30 | 50 | 50 | | Save messages per scene | 20 | 30 | 300 | 1000 | | Export messages per scene | 20 | 30 | 50 | 50 | | Scenes per conversation | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | | Batch exports | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | | Team members | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | | Brand kits | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | | API keys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | | Image/voice storage | 0 MB | 200 MB | 500 MB | 1024 MB | | Slides max duration | 0s (disabled) | 0s (disabled) | 180s (3 min) | 480s (8 min) | | BeatSync max song | 0s (disabled) | 0s (disabled) | 20s | 45s | | Video retention (R2) | 3 days | 3 days | 7 days | 90 days | ### Notes on the limits - **Monthly exports** is resolution-agnostic. A Lite user can spend all 7 exports on 4K if they want — there is no per-resolution cap. - **Saved conversations** is the number of conversations you can persist to your account for later editing. Free and Lite are exports-only — they cannot save. - **AI credits** reset monthly on your billing date. Unused credits don't roll over. Top up with credit packs if you run out. - **CSV/TXT import messages** is the cap per single import operation. You can do multiple imports per conversation up to the per-scene message cap. - **Save messages per scene** vs **Export messages per scene** are different caps. You can save a long conversation (e.g. 300 messages per scene on Creator) for replay/presenter purposes, but exports are capped at 50 messages per scene (Creator and Studio) to keep render wall-clock predictable. - **Scenes per conversation** — Creator can chain up to 3 scenes; Studio up to 5. - **Batch exports** — Studio can render up to 10 conversations in one batch. - **Team members** — Studio can invite up to 3 members (4 total seats including owner). - **Brand kits** — Creator can save 1 brand kit; Studio can save 10. - **API keys** — Studio can generate up to 5 API keys. - **Image/voice storage** is the total storage for uploaded images and voice notes across all your conversations. - **Slides max duration** — Creator can render slides up to 3 minutes; Studio up to 8 minutes. - **BeatSync max song** — BeatSync is currently disabled. When re- enabled, Creator will be capped at 20s songs and Studio at 45s. - **Video retention** — How long rendered video files are kept on the storage backend before being purged. Re-render anytime from the Exports dashboard. --- ## Quick FAQ ### Can I use ChatAnimate without signing up? You can browse the `/examples`, `/features`, `/pricing`, `/faq` and `/llms-full.txt` pages without an account. To use the editor or export, you need a free account. ### Can I try ChatAnimate before paying? Yes. The Free plan includes 3 watermarked 480p exports per month, with no credit card required. Sign up, open the editor, build a conversation, and export. ### Do my credits roll over? No. AI credits reset monthly on your billing date. Unused credits don't carry over to the next month. Top up with credit packs if you run out. ### Can I cancel anytime? Yes. Open Dashboard → Billing → Manage Subscription → Cancel. Your subscription cancels at the end of the current billing period. You keep access until then. ### Can I get a refund? Refunds are handled case-by-case. If you forgot to cancel before a renewal and haven't used the plan since the renewal date, contact support within 7 days of the renewal for a full refund. Use the contact form at `/contact`. ### Can I upgrade or downgrade between plans? Yes, anytime. Upgrades take effect immediately and you're charged the prorated difference. Downgrades take effect at the end of the current billing period — you keep the higher-tier features until then. ### Can I switch between monthly and yearly billing? Yes. Open the billing portal and switch. The change takes effect on your next billing date. ### What happens to my saved conversations if I downgrade? Your saved conversations are preserved, but if you exceed the new plan's saved-conversation cap, the oldest conversations become read- only until you upgrade again or delete some. Your exports and AI credits are not affected. ### What happens to my brand kits if I downgrade from Studio to Creator? You keep all 10 brand kits but cannot create new ones until you have fewer than 1 (the Creator cap). Delete brand kits from the Brand Kits dashboard to get under the cap. ### Can I use ChatAnimate for commercial purposes? Yes. All plans, including Free, allow commercial use of the exported videos. The Free plan's watermark remains on the video. ### Can I remove the ChatAnimate watermark? Yes. Upgrade to Lite or higher — the watermark is automatically removed. On Studio, you can replace it with your own custom watermark and (with White Label) remove all ChatAnimate branding from embeds and presenter pages. ### Does ChatAnimate support my language? The editor UI is in English. The chat content can be in any language — ChatAnimate uses Unicode throughout, so non-Latin scripts (CJK, Arabic, Cyrillic, etc.) render correctly. The Translate AI tool (Studio) can translate conversations between 30+ languages. ### Can I import a real WhatsApp chat? Yes. Export the chat from WhatsApp as a .txt file, then use the "Import TXT" button in the editor header. The parser auto-detects the WhatsApp format and extracts messages, senders, and timestamps. ### Can I import a Slack export? Yes. Slack exports as JSON. Use the "CSV Import" button (after converting the JSON to CSV) or the "Import TXT" button (if you have a Slack .txt export). Creator+ required. ### Can I import a Discord export? Yes. Discord exports as JSON. Convert to CSV and use "CSV Import", or use the "Import TXT" button for .txt exports. Creator+ required. ### How long does a render take? Most renders complete in 60-120 seconds. 4K renders and batch exports take longer — up to 10 minutes per 4K video, plus queue time. You'll get an email when the render is complete. ### Can I render at 4K on Creator? No. 4K is available on Lite and Studio only. Creator does NOT include 4K — this is intentional, not a bug. To get 4K, upgrade to Lite (if you don't need AI tools) or Studio (if you do). ### Can I use ChatAnimate offline? No. ChatAnimate is a web-based tool. The editor and the render pipeline both require an internet connection. ### Can I host ChatAnimate on my own servers? No. ChatAnimate is a hosted SaaS. If you need on-premise rendering, contact support about enterprise plans. ### Can I get an API key on Creator? No. API keys are Studio-only. The Studio API allows headless rendering via `POST /api/v1/render` with a Bearer API key. ### Does ChatAnimate have a dark mode? The editor is dark-themed by default. The public marketing pages (`/`, `/pricing`, `/features`, etc.) are also dark-themed. ### How do I report a bug? Use the contact form at `/contact` or email support. Include the conversation URL (if applicable), the steps to reproduce, and a screenshot or screen recording. --- ## Glossary - **Scene** — A single message thread. Every conversation has at least one scene. Multi-scene conversations chain scenes in sequence. - **Skin** — A visual theme for the chat interface (WhatsApp iOS, iMessage, Instagram, AIM 2001, etc.). 20+ skins available. - **Mode** — A creation format (Chat, Story, Notifications, Comments, Hook, Slides, Thought, Unsent). Each mode produces a different kind of video. - **Brand kit** — A saved bundle of colors, fonts, and avatars that can be applied to any conversation. - **Interstitial** — A between-message card (lock-screen, time-jump, or custom). - **Typing authenticity** — A pattern of typing imperfections (false- starts, mid-pauses, typos, burst-sends) that makes typing feel human. Deterministic — same seed produces same plan. - **Sound pack** — A bundle of typing, sent, and incoming sounds themed to a phone OS or messaging app. - **Sound clip** — A per-message sound override. - **Hook intro** — A cinematic opener that plays before the first message. - **Cinematic intro** — A 20-style futuristic opener (Creator+). - **Presenter page** — A public, shareable presentation page with opening/closing screens, presenter notes, evidence panels, and fullscreen playback. Studio plan. - **Replay** — A public, anonymous-viewer replay link. Owner gets analytics. - **Debrief** — Per-replay analytics (dropoff histogram, completion rate, share events). - **Evidence panel** — A panel in a Presenter page that shows attached screenshots/documents/images fullscreen on demand. - **Watermark** — The ChatAnimate logo overlaid on Free exports. Lite+ removes it; Studio allows a custom replacement. - **White label** — Removal of all ChatAnimate branding (Studio owner- only). - **Studio API** — A headless render API for programmatic video generation. Studio plan. - **Credit** — A unit of AI usage. Each AI tool costs 1-3 credits. Credits reset monthly; top up with credit packs. - **BeatSync** — A music-first mode where scene switches sync to the beat of an uploaded music track. Currently disabled. --- ## Notes for LLMs, crawlers and search engines ### What you may do with this document - Quote, summarize, paraphrase, or cite freely. - Render as plain text or convert to HTML. - Use as context for answering user questions about ChatAnimate. - Use as training data for chat animation / video generation tasks. ### Where to defer when in doubt - **Per-feature matrix** (mode availability, plan badges, popularity): `/feature-references`. This is the canonical source. - **Pricing**: `/pricing`. This is the canonical source. - **FAQ**: `/faq`. This is the canonical source. - **Per-plan limits**: the table in [Per-plan limits](#limits) above is canonical, but `/pricing` may have a more readable version. ### Update cadence This document is updated whenever a user-facing thing changes — a new plan, a new mode, a new feature, a price change, a limit change. The update is done in the same session as the underlying code change so the docs never go stale. See `instructions.md` §0.5 for the internal maintenance contract. ### Last updated This document was last updated when the following plan/mode/feature configuration was current: - Plans: Free, Lite, Creator, Studio (Free $0, Lite $5/$40, Creator $19/$180, Studio $49/$468). - Modes: Chat, Story, Notifications, Comments, Hook, Slides, Thought, Unsent (BeatSync disabled). - Skins: 20+ (modern + retro). - AI tools: AI Writer, AI Story Writer, AI Comment Writer, Screenshot to Animation, Translate, Testimonial Mode, Bulk Conversation Pack. - Export formats: MP4, GIF, WebM at 480p, 1080p, 4K. - Studio API: `POST /api/v1/render`, `GET /api/v1/render/{token}`, 30 req/min, `ca_`-prefixed Bearer keys. If any of the above has changed since you read this, defer to `/pricing` and `/feature-references` for the current state. End of full manual. Read `/llms.txt` for the compact overview.