How to use Premiere Pro AI features (Sensei + Firefly)

Window → Text panel.

Click 'Create captions from media' → 'Speech to Text.'

Premiere uploads audio to Adobe servers, transcribes, returns caption track. 1-5 min for typical video.

Languages supported as of 2026: English (US/UK/AU/IN), Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean. Other languages: transcript only (limited captioning features).

Accuracy: 92-97% on clean audio, drops to 80-88% on noisy / phone audio / heavy accents.

Review and edit each caption: typos, punctuation, capitalization. Premiere doesn't add good punctuation reliably.

Style captions: select caption track → Essential Graphics → Edit. Font, size, position, color, stroke.

Export as SRT (for YouTube upload) or burn-in (for social video).

Time savings: 30-45 min of caption work reduced to 10-15 min of editing.

Auto Reframe converts between aspect ratios with subject tracking.

Right-click sequence → Auto Reframe Sequence.

Target aspect ratios: Vertical 9:16, Square 1:1, or Horizontal 16:9.

Motion preset: Slower (talking-head, minimal panning), Default (general), Faster (action/sports, aggressive tracking).

Click OK. New sequence is created with each clip reframed.

Accuracy: 70-85% depending on content. Single-subject scenes work great. Multi-subject or complex compositions need manual override.

Manual override per clip: select clip → Effect Controls → Motion → keyframe Position.

Time savings: manual reframe of 5-min horizontal to vertical = 30-45 min. Auto Reframe + 10-15 min cleanup = 15-25 min total.

Scene Edit Detection identifies cuts in an existing edited file (e.g., a video you downloaded that was already cut).

Use case 1: you have a 5-min video that's an existing edit. You want to re-edit it but Premiere sees it as one clip. Scene Edit Detection breaks it into the original cut points.

Use case 2: archive footage with multiple scenes. Auto-detect cuts to extract individual clips.

Select clip in Project panel → right-click → Scene Edit Detection.

Premiere analyzes (typically 30 sec - 2 min for a 5-min clip).

Cut points appear as markers OR (if you chose 'Create subclips') each scene becomes a separate clip in a new bin.

Accuracy: 90-95% on hard cuts. Less reliable on dissolves/fades — those need manual detection.

Lumetri Color → Color Wheels & Match → Auto button.

Premiere analyzes the clip and applies: white balance correction, exposure correction, contrast adjustment, basic saturation.

Use as: a starting point for primary correction, not a final grade.

Accuracy: works well on well-lit footage with neutral skin tones. Less reliable on mixed-lighting, log/flat profiles, or unusual color palettes.

Workflow: apply Auto Color → review with scopes → manually fine-tune.

Time savings: primary correction in 30 sec instead of 5-10 min. Frees you to spend that time on creative grade.

Effects panel → Audio → Noise Reduction (AI) or Enhance Speech.

Drag onto noisy dialog clip.

Noise Reduction (AI): removes background noise (AC, traffic, room rumble) while preserving voice. Tune intensity 0-100%; usually 30-50% is the sweet spot.

Enhance Speech: optimizes voice clarity by combining noise reduction + light EQ + light compression. One-click but less control than manual.

When to use: phone-quality interviews, podcasts recorded in noisy rooms, field-recorded audio.

When to skip: already-clean studio audio. AI processing on clean audio can over-process and introduce slight artifacts.

A/B compare with effect on/off. If you can hear the difference clearly, it's working. If you can't, you don't need it.

Premiere's newest AI feature (beta as of 2026): Generative Extend uses Firefly to add 1-3 seconds of generated content extending a clip.

Use case: you need just slightly more length on a clip — the cut feels abrupt, you need 2 more seconds to land the moment.

Workflow: select the clip → Window → Generative Extend → choose direction (extend start or extend end) → choose duration (typically 1-3 sec).

AI generates the extension by analyzing the existing scene and continuing it.

Quality: works best on simple scenes (stable shots, minimal motion). Action-heavy or complex scenes produce noticeable artifacts.

Review carefully: generated content can have subtle issues (small artifacts, weird limb positions in humans, background drift). Verify before shipping.

Time savings vs. re-shooting or finding stock: significant for short extensions. Not a substitute for proper coverage.

Use sparingly. The technology is impressive but the ethical/perceptual questions of AI-generated content in your work matter.

AI is fastest at mechanical, repetitive tasks. AI is worst at:

— Storytelling decisions (what to cut, what to emphasize, what pace to set)

— Editorial judgment (this quote is gold; this sentence is filler)

— Brand voice (does this feel like our show?)

— Creative variation (every AI output trends toward the average)

Use AI for the mechanical 60%: transcription, captioning, reframing, basic color, basic noise reduction.

Use your time + judgment for the editorial 40%: cuts, pacing, narrative, polish, brand consistency.

Always human-review AI output before shipping. AI mistakes get caught by you, not by Adobe's QC.

Track time savings vs DIY: AI typically cuts 40-60% of mechanical task time. Reinvest saved time into editorial quality.