Discord Bot for AI Explainer Videos
Add the KolaVid Discord bot, type /video with a topic or a link, and get a narrated whiteboard explainer video posted in your server or DM in minutes.
To make an explainer video in Discord, add the KolaVid app, then type `/video` with a topic, some notes or a link in the `topic:` box, and choose 1 or 2 minutes. KolaVid posts a narrated whiteboard video in the same channel or DM, usually within 2-3 minutes. The person who runs the command pays with their own KolaVid account's credits, so a server owner is never billed for everyone's videos.
Below: how to add the bot, the four commands, six example commands for study servers and communities, what it costs, and what to do when something goes wrong.
What the KolaVid Discord bot makes
KolaVid makes whiteboard explainers: a narrator talks through a subject and each drawing appears on the board as it is mentioned, one idea a board. In Discord that is useful wherever people ask "can someone explain this?": a study server before an exam, a coding community, a class server run by a teacher, or a project's help channel.
The bot only works through slash commands. You type `/video`, it answers privately while it works, and the finished MP4 is posted where you asked for it, with your request in bold, the line "Your whiteboard video is ready.", and an Edit or download button that opens KolaVid.
How to add the bot
- Open the install link: Add KolaVid to Discord. The same button is on the KolaVid integrations page.
- Choose where it goes. You can add it to a server you manage, or to your own Discord account.
- If you add it to a server, Discord asks you to approve what it can do there: view channels, send messages, attach files and embed links. It needs these to post the finished video.
Which to choose:
- Add to a server when several people in that server will make videos, or when you want videos posted in a channel.
- Add to your account when you want to use `/video` in DMs with the bot, or in other places as yourself, without adding it to a server.
Connect your KolaVid account (once)
The first time you use `/video`, the bot replies privately: "Connect your KolaVid account and I'll make it here (sign-up is free and includes a 2-minute video). Or make it on the website." Under it are two buttons: Connect KolaVid (free) and Make it on kolavid.com, which opens the website with your topic filled in.
The connect button opens a page titled "Connect KolaVid to Discord". Sign up or sign in. When it works, the page says "Discord is connected" and has a Back to Discord button.
In Discord, the bot then offers to finish what you started, privately: "Connected as jo…@example.com. Make a video of ...? Pick a length:" with 1 minute and 2 minutes buttons. Only the start of your email is shown.
Good to know:
- The connect link works once and lasts 30 minutes. Use `/connect` for a fresh one.
- Connections belong to your Discord user. Everyone in a server who wants to make videos connects their own KolaVid account, and pays with its credits.
The four commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `/video topic: ... length: ...` | Makes a video. `topic` is required; `length` (1 or 2 minutes) is optional |
| `/connect` | Sends a connect link, or lets you connect a different account |
| `/disconnect` | Disconnects your Discord user from your KolaVid account |
| `/help` | Shows how to make a video |
If you leave out `length`, the bot asks "How long should the video be?" with two buttons. If you include it, the video starts straight away and the bot tells you, privately: "Making your 2-minute video now. I'll send it here when it's ready, usually in 2-3 minutes." It also links to kolavid.com, where you can watch the video being drawn.
What to put in topic
- A topic and an audience: "photosynthesis for 10-year-olds".
- Pasted notes: up to 4,000 characters.
- A link to a web page: one link with a short instruction (up to about 40 words) is read as the page to explain. A link alone becomes "Explain this page." A longer text with a link inside is all treated as the brief.
Six commands you can copy
1. Exam revision in a study server
``` /video topic: How the heart pumps blood, step by step, for students revising for a biology exam. End with a one-line summary. length: 2 ```
2. A concept someone keeps asking about
``` /video topic: What recursion is in programming, with one simple example, for beginners length: 1 ```
3. Explain a page for the channel
``` /video topic: https://example.com/docs/getting-started Explain how to set this up, for new members ```
The page must be open to anyone; KolaVid cannot read pages behind a sign-in.
4. Community rules, explained kindly
``` /video topic: Our server's three rules in plain words: be kind, no spoilers outside the spoiler channel, ask for help in the help channel. Friendly tone. length: 1 ```
5. A teacher's class server
``` /video topic: Why the seasons change, for 12-year-olds. Use one everyday example and finish with the key idea. length: 2 ```
6. The same lesson in another language
``` /video topic: How volcanoes erupt, for 11-year-olds, in Portuguese length: 1 ```
Narration follows the language your Discord app is set to, when KolaVid narrates it. To ask for another one, say so in the topic, as above.
For science topics in particular, science concepts as whiteboard videos has ideas on what to put in one short video. Students can see more examples on the KolaVid for students page.
Limits and what it costs
- Length: 1 or 2 minutes. On kolavid.com, paid plans go up to 5 minutes.
- Frame and voice: videos from Discord are wide 16:9. For vertical 9:16, square 1:1 or another voice, make the video on the website.
- Credits: 1 credit a second: 60 for a 1-minute video, 120 for 2 minutes. A free account has 120 credits, one 2-minute video, no card needed. Plans are on the pricing page.
- One at a time: an account makes one video at a time.
- File size: Discord takes files up to 10 MB from the bot. A bigger video is posted as a link to watch or download on KolaVid instead.
- Failed videos: the bot posts "Sorry, that video couldn't be finished, and no credits were taken."
Every video is also saved in your KolaVid library, where you can download it, share a link or download captions.
Privacy in plain words
KolaVid uses slash commands only. It receives what you type into `/video` and the buttons you press, not the other messages in your server. What you type is sent to KolaVid to make the video, the same as typing it on the website.
Connect links, length buttons and status messages are private to you. The finished video is posted for the whole channel, with the start of your topic in bold above it, so do not paste anything into `topic` that the channel should not see. To stop, use `/disconnect`. The support page answers other questions.
Troubleshooting
`/video` does not appear. The app is not added to this server or to your account. Open the install link again.
"This link has expired." Connect links last 30 minutes and work once. Use `/connect` in Discord for a new one.
"A 2-minute video needs 120 credits and you have ..." Pick 1 minute, or top up or upgrade from the link the bot sends.
"You already have a video in progress." Wait for your current video, then run the command again.
The video came as a link, not a file. It was bigger than Discord's 10 MB limit for the bot. The link opens it on KolaVid.
The video never arrived. Look in your library on kolavid.com; every video is there. If you added KolaVid only to your own account, adding it to the server lets it post there too.
FAQ
Does the server owner pay for everyone's videos?
No. Whoever runs `/video` pays with their own connected KolaVid account. A server owner who adds the bot pays nothing unless they make videos themselves.
Can I use the bot in DMs?
Yes. You can use `/video` in a DM with the bot, and the video comes back there.
Can I make a video longer than 2 minutes in Discord?
No, the bot offers 1 or 2 minutes. Paid plans make videos up to 5 minutes on kolavid.com.
Does the bot read our chat?
No. It works only through slash commands and receives only what you type into them.
Make your first one
Pick the question your server answers most often and run `/video` on it. KolaVid also works in Slack, Telegram, Google Docs and more: see all the ways to use KolaVid.