# Faceless YouTube > An end-to-end faceless channel pipeline. Topic research, scripts in your voice, AI voiceover, generative B-roll, captions, upload. Start to finish in an afternoon. Source: https://aistack.sh/stack/faceless-youtube Category: Video · Creator Level: Intermediate Last verified by a human: 2026-05-05 ## The tools ### Perplexity — Topic + research - Pricing: $20/mo Pro · API tier-based - Site: https://perplexity.ai - Why this one: Cited research synth means scripts cite real sources, not hallucinated ones. - Swap in instead: Gemini - More: https://aistack.sh/tool/perplexity ### Claude — Script + hook - Pricing: Free · $20/mo Pro · $100/mo Max 5x · $200/mo Max 20x · Sonnet API $2/$10 per M tokens (input/output) - Site: https://claude.ai - Why this one: Claude writes the cleanest narrator voice and respects pacing in long scripts. - Swap in instead: ChatGPT - More: https://aistack.sh/tool/claude ### ElevenLabs — Voiceover - Pricing: $6/mo Starter · $22/mo Creator - Site: https://elevenlabs.io - Why this one: Cinematic-grade voice cloning. Clone yourself once and you never have to record. - Swap in instead: openai-voice - More: https://aistack.sh/tool/elevenlabs ### Runway — Generative B-roll - Pricing: Free · $12/mo Standard · $28/mo Pro - Site: https://runwayml.com - Why this one: Gen-3 b-roll fills the gaps when stock footage doesn't exist. - Swap in instead: Pika - More: https://aistack.sh/tool/runway ### CapCut — Edit + captions - Pricing: Free · $9.99/mo Standard · $19.99/mo Pro - Site: https://capcut.com - Why this one: Free, fast, AI captions. Slot the audio + b-roll, export at 1080p. - Swap in instead: Descript - More: https://aistack.sh/tool/capcut ## Monthly cost ### $46/mo — 1 video / week (small) - Perplexity: $20 - Claude: $20 - ElevenLabs: $6 - Runway: $0 - CapCut: $0 ### $92/mo — 3 videos / week (medium) - Perplexity: $20 - Claude: $20 - ElevenLabs: $22 - Runway: $15 - CapCut: $15 ### $309/mo — Daily uploads, 2 channels (heavy) - Perplexity: $20 - Claude: $80 API - ElevenLabs: $99 - Runway: $95 - CapCut: $15 ## Workflow ### 1. Pick a topic (Perplexity) Use Perplexity to scope a topic and collect 6 to 10 cited sources. **Prompt: Sourced research brief** ``` Topic: {{topic}} I'm researching this for a 7 to 10 minute faceless YouTube video aimed at {{audience}}. The angle is {{angle}}. Pull 6 to 10 reputable sources covering: - the core story or claim - 2 surprising specific details with dates and numbers - 1 counter-narrative - 1 expert quote with attribution For each source: title, publisher, date, URL, and a 2-sentence summary of what it gives me. Skip listicles, content farms, and AI-generated articles. ``` ### 2. Write the script (Claude) Claude turns the sources into a 1,200-word narration with a hook and retention beats. **Prompt: Script from sources** ``` Write a 1,200-word YouTube narration script. Topic: {{topic}} Angle: {{angle}} Tone: {{e.g. documentary, sardonic explainer, true-crime tense}} Length target: 7 to 8 minutes spoken at a brisk pace. Sources to draw from (cite specifics, never fabricate): """ {{paste perplexity research}} """ Structure: - 0:00 Hook: open with the most specific, vivid moment from the sources. No "in this video". - 0:20 Stakes: why this matters in one line. - Body: 4 to 5 beats, each opening with a sharp transition. Concrete numbers and names, not generalities. - Retention beat every 60 seconds: a pattern interrupt, surprising fact, or rhetorical pivot. - Close: a single line that lands the takeaway. No "subscribe" outro in the script. Format as plain prose with [B-ROLL: …] tags every 8 to 12 seconds for the editor. ``` ### 3. Generate voiceover (ElevenLabs) Cloned voice in ElevenLabs. Render at 192kbps mono. ### 4. B-roll pass (Runway) Runway Gen-3 for any shot you can't find on Pexels. 4–6s clips per beat. ### 5. Edit + caption + ship (CapCut) CapCut: slot audio, drop b-roll, AI captions, export. Upload with thumbnail. ## What it produced **'How a Cold War spy died from a poisoned umbrella', 1.4M views in 3 weeks** Total time start-to-upload: 3.5 hours. RPM landed at $4.20 because the niche was history. Channel was 6 weeks old. ## Pitfalls - **Generic AI voice = no retention** — Clone your own voice or buy a paid pro voice. The 'free Eleven voices' kill watch time within 30s. - **Generative B-roll uncanny valley** — Cap each Runway clip at 4s; cut on motion. Long generative shots look obviously off. - **Copyright on uncited sources** — Don't shortcut Perplexity's citations. Claims without sources get demonetized fast. ## Recent changes affecting this stack - **Scribe v2 Medical speech recognition model released** (2026-09-11, release) — Scribe v2 Medical is now generally available as a specialized batch speech recognition model for medical and clinical audio. It maintains the same billing rate as Scribe v2 and supports keyterm prompting, entity detection, speaker diarization, and no-verbatim mode. Pass scribe_v2_medical as the model_id parameter. Source: https://elevenlabs.io/docs/changelog - **Runway Plugins for Adobe integrate Runway directly into Premiere Pro and After Effects** (2026-09-08, feature) — Runway now runs as a native panel in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, enabling users to generate images and videos with Runway's full model lineup directly in their timeline. Generated content can be styled with Aleph 2 and placed directly into compositions without leaving the editing application. Source: https://runway.com/changelog - **Runway integrates with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects via native plugins** (2026-09-08, feature) — Runway is now available as a plugin panel inside Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, allowing video generation and editing directly within the editing timeline. Users can access Runway's full model lineup, apply Aleph 2 restyling to existing footage, and export results directly into compositions without leaving the editor. The free plugin works with existing paid plans on macOS and Windows. Source: https://runway.com/changelog - **Runway now runs as a plugin inside Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects** (2026-09-08, feature) — Runway launched native plugins for Adobe's creative suite, allowing users to generate images and video with Runway's full model lineup directly within Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, then place results directly into compositions or sequences. Available free for macOS and Windows with existing paid plans. Source: https://runway.com/changelog - **Runway Plugins for Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects released** (2026-09-08, feature) — Runway now runs as a native panel inside Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, enabling video generation and editing directly within Adobe applications. Users can generate images and video with Runway's full model lineup and place results into their compositions without leaving Adobe. Source: https://runway.com/changelog ## Other ways to do this - [Faceless YouTube (budget)](https://aistack.sh/stack/faceless-youtube-budget): Zero-budget starter. Free voices, stock b-roll. — $6/mo --- Curated by ryan-c on aistack.sh. Last updated 2026-05-05.