AI Product Video Brief Template: Plan Your Video Before You Generate It

A video brief template is a one-page plan you fill in before you make a video. For an AI product video, it should cover your audience, one message, the source assets, approved claims, brand voice, scope limits, and one call to action. Fill it in first, and the video gets faster to make and easier to check.

You open an AI video tool, upload a few screenshots, and hit generate. The result is close. But it shows an old screen, makes a claim nobody checked, and ends with three different calls to action.

The fix isn't a cleverer prompt. It's a plan you make before you generate anything. This guide gives you a blank brief and a filled-in example, so scattered product info turns into clear inputs.

What should an AI product video brief include?

Most public templates, from project tools to video teams, agree on the basics: a goal, an audience, a core message, assets, output details, and who reviews the work. Those templates were built with film crews in mind, though. For an AI product video brief, you also need to spell out which screens to show and which to leave out.

Here is what each field does to the final video:

• Goal: sets the pace. A video that earns a trial signup moves faster than one that teaches an existing user.
• Audience: decides the jargon level, the captions, and what you show first.
• Core message: one sentence. It stops the video from touring every feature you have.
• Source assets: the raw material. Old or messy screens give you an old or messy video.
• Approved claims: the only statements the video may make. Your team checks them before you start.
• Brand voice: sets the tone, such as friendly or formal.
• CTA: the one action you want after the video ends.
• Scope and exclusions: what must not appear, such as retired screens, unreleased features or pricing.

Honestly, the exclusions field is the one people skip. It's also the one that saves the most rework.

Narration is its own topic, so I'm leaving it for this related guide. Here is the blank video brief template. Copy it and fill it in.

Blank video brief template

How do you define the product video audience?

Pick one person. Not "small businesses" or "marketing teams." One role, one problem, and one place where they'll watch.

Illustrative example: the first-time buyer

We'll use a made-up invoicing app called Tidyflow for the rest of this post. The first-time buyer is the office manager at a 15-person company.

• Role: office manager, new to invoicing software.
• Problem: she chases late payments with a messy spreadsheet.
• Viewing context: she opens a link from an email on her laptop at work, with the sound off.

Each detail changes the brief. A silent viewer needs captions and on-screen labels. A busy one needs the product on screen in the first few seconds. A first-time buyer needs plain words, not feature names.

One brief, one audience. If you also want to reach an accountant, write a second brief. Sharing one video between very different roles usually waters down both.

Which product video source assets should you prepare?

Source assets are your ingredients. You need three kinds:

• Current UI screenshots: captured from the latest release, with no personal data, test text or developer overlays.
• A focused recording: one workflow from start to finish, with a tidy screen and smooth cursor moves.
• Approved feature descriptions: one or two checked sentences for each screen, so nobody has to guess what a button does.

PuppyDog's own site says you can start from a screenshot or a screen recording, so you don't need a full production kit to begin.

How to label your files

Labeling saves you later. Here is a simple naming pattern. It's my suggestion, not a standard:

• tidyflow_create-invoice_screenshot_v1_2026-10-02.png
• tidyflow_create-invoice_recording_v2_2026-10-02.mp4

One rule matters most: never overwrite a file without changing its version number.

How do you write product video messaging without unsupported claims?

Take one verified feature and turn it into one benefit. A feature is what the product does. A benefit is why the viewer cares.

• Feature: Tidyflow fills in client details when you create an invoice.
• Benefit: You retype less.

That benefit is modest, and it's true. Compare it with "Cuts invoicing time by 50%." That's a number, and a number needs proof. If you don't have it, mark it as evidence needed and leave it out of the brief.

There's a legal side too. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission expects advertisers to have a reasonable basis for a claim before they publish it (FTC Policy Statement on Advertising Substantiation, 1983). So proof comes first, and the video comes second. I'm not a lawyer, so check bigger claims with someone who is.

How do you choose a product video CTA?

Pick one action, and match it to where the viewer is in their journey. A video that asks for three things usually gets none of them. Video team Shootsta makes the same point in its brief guide.

Here are three illustrative examples:

• Trial stage: "Start your free trial." The viewer is curious, so make the next step small.
• Feature-use stage: "Try this feature in your account." The viewer already uses the product.
• Sales-review stage: "Book a short walkthrough call." The viewer is comparing options and wants to talk to a person.

What does a completed video brief example look like?

Here is the Tidyflow brief, filled in. It's illustrative. The product, the files, and the details are made up.

Tidyflow video brief (illustrative example)

• Video name: Send your first invoice
• Goal: Get new visitors to start a free trial.
• Audience: Office manager, 15-person company, new to invoicing software. She tracks late payments in a spreadsheet and watches on a work laptop with the sound off.
• Core message: Tidyflow helps you send a clear invoice with less retyping.
• Source assets: tidyflow_create-invoice_screenshot_v1_2026-10-02.png, tidyflow_create-invoice_recording_v2_2026-10-02.mp4
• Approved claims: "Client details fill in for you." Checked by the product owner. No numbers used. "Cuts invoicing time by 50%" is evidence needed, so it stays out.
• Brand voice: friendly, plain, calm. No jargon, no hype.
• Show only: creating and sending one invoice.
• Do not show: settings, billing pages, the old dashboard.
• CTA: Start your free trial.
• Length and where it will play: about a minute, on the landing page and in a welcome email.
• Owner and reviewers: marketer owns the brief. Product owner checks claims.

How the brief moves through PuppyDog

This walkthrough is based on how PuppyDog describes its process. It's not a test result.

1. You add the approved screenshots or recording.
2. You add details about the product, the audience, and the use case.
3. PuppyDog generates a draft script from your assets.
4. You review the script and adjust the messaging.
5. You add narration, then check the finished video against your brief.

The brief does the thinking up front. PuppyDog is how you turn approved source assets into a product video with a reviewed script and narration, without a production team.

FAQs

Do I need a finished script before creating an AI product video?

No. Your brief needs the message, the audience, the assets, and the claims, not word-for-word lines. The tool drafts a script from your assets, and you review it. For tips on that step, see the related guide linked above.

Can one video brief serve different buyer personas?

It's better not to. Each persona has a different problem and a different viewing setup, so one video ends up speaking to nobody. Write a short brief for each, and reuse the assets and approved claims where they apply.

What should I include if I only have screenshots?

Add a short note for each image: what the screen shows, what the viewer should notice and what comes next. Use current, uncropped screens with no personal data. Screenshots alone can work, as PuppyDog's site says you can start from a screenshot.

Who should approve a product video brief?

Someone who knows the product, someone who knows the brand, and someone who can check claims. In a small team, that may be two people. This is your own team's sign-off, done before you generate the video, not a step inside PuppyDog.

Next step

Fill in the video brief template above for one real product workflow. Then bring your screenshots or recording into the AI product video maker and create your first video. Want to see how it works for product videos? Visit Product video creation.