TLDR: WATCH THE VIDEO (click above)
Launching new AI features? Better make them wild. We’ve gotten used to AI fast. What seemed like science fiction two years ago is just “normal” now. As product teams scramble to build AI features, the bar for what’s “good” just keeps rising. It’s tough to stand out.
But I wasn’t thinking any of that when I heard about Descript’s new AI editing tool, Underlord. I was thinking: “Amazing!” 🤩 Show me a tool that takes the tedium out of video editing and I’ll show you my credit card. But did Underlord live up to its promise? And what can product teams learn from this? Let’s find out.
The features: Do more parts = more value?
Underlord combines several AI-powered capabilities: Edit for Clarity, Studio Sound, Remove Filler Words, and Remove Retakes. Rather than bundling these into a single "magic edit" button, Descript lists each feature separately. Behavioral science tells us people can see more value when we “unpack” relevant features vs. collapse them into all-inclusive offers that could apply to anyone.
In one study, people spent more effort towards a loyalty program that offered points at a particular grocery chain and gas station chain than one that offered the same amount of points for ALL grocery stores and ALL gas stations. Providing something relevant and specific to the user can help them see the value more clearly. Descript did this (maybe unintentionally) by unpacking all of its AI editing features into a long list.
Engaging users in a world of adaptation
Descript’s features make video editing faster, but the Green Screen is the only thing that feels super novel. The adaptation principle means we quickly get used to new tools. Remember when you first got wi-fi on a plane? It felt like magic. Then you hit some connectivity issues and got annoyed. You forgot that just 10 minutes ago you didn’t know wi-fi on planes was even an option! 🛬
What’s an Underlord to do? Sadly, status quo is real. To steal market share from Adobe or Riverside, it will need to shake us out of our video editing routines. One way to do that is by introducing more novelty. Instead of incrementally improving video editing by 10-20% with their AI package, could Underlord have launched one or two unexpected, “holy moly, omg, wow” features that really blew our minds? Imagine it modulating your voice to sound like a Kardashian, or Daffy Duck. 🐤 You might not want this feature, but you’d try it—at least once. ✨
Vision vs. reality: When good ideas fall flat
If I’m honest (and why else do I do these teardowns?) Underlord isn’t there yet. The summarizing and social post features are nice. But the results are not usable. The show notes feature? Better, but it needs work. Underlord didn’t answer my question of “how can I add captions” with a tutorial—it just showed a few captions for my video (what?!). 🤔
Craving novelty, I prompted it to “add a picture of a duck talking at the end of the video.” 20 minutes later, I was still trying to make sense of the response. In a future AI world, we all hope video editing software will be as simple as just telling the editor what you want. Underlord made me feel like we’re still a long way from that vision. The main AI chat function said it couldn’t generate a picture of a woman with a duckbill for a mouth—even though Underlord has a built-in AI image generator!!! Guess I’ll have to amuse myself elsewhere. 🤷♀️
Summing up, Underlord has potential. And I’m confident it will get there. But currently it lacks that end-to-end usability we’d want with new feature launches. The tools need to be more intuitive and seamlessly fit into the user workflow—and also be a little wild. 🦆
3 actionable insights from this teardown:
🧩 Unpack features to increase perceived value. Specific, detailed listings make features feel more valuable.
🔄 Keep features fresh to avoid adaptation. Regularly introduce surprising capabilities to keep users excited.
📈 Use context-aware guidance to boost adoption: Provide prompts to help users discover and use new features.
👉 Underlord needs work. What do you think? Share your experiences! In the meantime, I’m headed back to the editing board. 🎬
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Descript Underlord: Why you should make your AI features “wild”