Getting Started with Chat
The Subscribr chat is your AI-powered creative partner. Use it for brainstorming, research, competitor analysis, and planning your videos before you start writing.
Before You Start: Select Your Channel
Important
Always select a channel before starting a chat! The channel you select determines which voice profile and audience context the AI uses. Chatting without a channel selected won't give you personalized results.
Look for the channel selector at the top of the chat interface. Make sure you've chosen the right channel for the content you're planning.
What Chat is For
The chat interface is designed for:
- Brainstorming - Generate and refine video ideas
- Research - Analyze competitors, topics, and trends
- Planning - Develop video concepts before writing
- Strategy - Get channel strategy advice
- Analysis - Understand what makes content work
Chat vs Canvas: When to Use Each
Subscribr has two main interfaces, and knowing when to use each is important:
Use Chat When:
- You're still exploring ideas
- You want to research before committing to a topic
- You need to analyze competitors or videos
- You're brainstorming multiple concepts
- You want strategic advice
Use Canvas When:
- You've decided on a topic and are ready to write
- You want to create a structured outline
- You're writing and editing your actual script
- You need to add research context to a specific script
Many creators start in Chat to develop their idea, then say "Let's write this script" to transition into the Canvas when they're ready.
Starting a Conversation
Start a new chat by going to /chat/new or clicking "New Chat" in the interface. You can:
- Ask questions in plain language
- Paste YouTube video or channel URLs for analysis
- Use prompts from the Prompt Library
- Upload documents for context
Example Starting Prompts
Not sure what to ask? Try these:
- "Give me 10 video ideas for my channel based on current trends"
- "Analyze this video and tell me why it performed well: [URL]"
- "What are the biggest gaps in content for [topic]?"
- "Help me brainstorm hooks for a video about [topic]"
- "Compare my channel's approach to @competitor"
- "What questions does my audience have about [topic]?"
The Research Sidebar
As you chat, any research the AI generates gets saved to your sidebar. This includes:
- Video analyses
- Channel breakdowns
- Competitor insights
- Web search results
You can star important research to make it available across all your scripts, not just the current conversation.
Moving from Chat to Script
When you're ready to start writing, simply tell the AI:
- "Let's write this script"
- "I want to turn this into a video"
- "Create a script from this idea"
The Canvas will open with planning questions to gather more context, then help you build an outline and write your script.