Viral Clip Finder for Podcasts & Videos
Drop a podcast or video file and AI finds the 15-60 second clips most likely to go viral on TikTok, Reels, and Shorts. Energy peaks, quote quality, engagement keywords — analyzed locally.
Upload a file · Boost, EQ, export · 100% in your browser
The short-form video revolution has created an insatiable demand for clips. Podcasters, YouTubers, and video creators know that a single 30-second clip from a longer piece of content can generate millions of views on TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts — often driving more traffic back to the full episode than any other marketing strategy. But finding those clips is painful. A 60-minute podcast contains approximately 200 potential 15-30 second segments, and manually scrubbing through to find the most engaging moments takes hours.
Hearably Studio's Viral Clip Finder uses AI-powered engagement detection to automatically identify the segments in your content most likely to perform as short-form clips. The system analyzes four dimensions of viral potential: audio energy peaks (moments of heightened vocal intensity, laughter, or excitement), engagement keywords (words and phrases that historically drive interaction — questions, contrarian statements, revelations, humor markers), quote quality (standalone statements that make sense without context — the hallmark of a shareable clip), and duration sweet spot (segments that naturally fit the 15-60 second range optimal for each platform).
The analysis pipeline starts with Whisper transcription, producing timestamped text for the entire audio track. Simultaneously, the audio is analyzed for energy contour — RMS levels, spectral centroid (brightness, which correlates with vocal excitement), and zero-crossing rate (which increases during laughter and emphatic speech). These audio features are aligned with the transcript to create a time-indexed engagement map. The system then identifies peaks in this map, extracts candidate segments around each peak, scores them on the four viral dimensions, and presents the top candidates ranked by overall viral potential.
Each candidate clip includes a preview player, the transcribed text, a viral score breakdown (energy, keywords, quote quality, duration), and one-click export at platform-specific aspect ratios and durations. For TikTok, the system recommends 15-30 second clips. For Instagram Reels, 15-60 seconds. For YouTube Shorts, 30-60 seconds. The segment boundaries are automatically snapped to sentence boundaries in the transcript, ensuring clips start and end at natural speech breaks rather than mid-sentence.
Like all Hearably Studio tools, the Viral Clip Finder runs entirely in your browser. Your podcast or video file is never uploaded to a server. The Whisper model runs in a Web Worker via ONNX Runtime, and the engagement analysis uses lightweight signal processing on the audio buffer. This means you can analyze unreleased episodes, sponsored content, and NDA-protected material with zero privacy risk. For podcast studios and content teams producing multiple episodes per week, this tool eliminates hours of manual clip hunting and ensures that the best moments are never missed.
How AI Engagement Detection Finds Viral Moments
The Viral Clip Finder combines speech-to-text and audio feature extraction into a multi-dimensional engagement scoring system.
Audio Feature Extraction: The audio track is analyzed in overlapping 100ms windows. For each window, three features are computed: RMS energy (overall loudness, correlated with vocal intensity), spectral centroid (the "brightness" of the spectrum — higher values indicate excitement, emphasis, or laughter), and zero-crossing rate (high values indicate fricative-heavy speech, laughter, or emphatic consonants). These features are normalized and combined into an energy contour that maps engagement potential over time.
Transcript Analysis: Whisper produces timestamped text segments. Each segment is analyzed for engagement markers: question patterns (rhetorical questions drive comments), contrarian indicators ("actually", "most people think", "the truth is"), revelation language ("I never told anyone", "here's the secret", "nobody talks about"), humor markers (setup/punchline cadence, laughter detection from the audio), and standalone quote quality (does the segment make sense without surrounding context?). Each marker contributes a weighted score.
The energy contour and transcript scores are aligned temporally and combined into a composite engagement score per second. Peaks in this score are identified, and candidate clips are extracted by expanding each peak to the nearest sentence boundaries within the platform-specific duration range (15-60 seconds). Candidates are ranked by composite score and presented to the user with per-dimension breakdowns. The entire analysis runs in a Web Worker: Whisper via ONNX Runtime for transcription, and vanilla JavaScript for audio feature extraction and scoring — no additional models or downloads required beyond the base Whisper model.
How to get the best audio on Viral Clip Finder for Podcasts & Videos
Process full episodes for best results
The engagement detection works best with complete episodes (30-90 minutes). The algorithm establishes a baseline energy level for the entire piece and identifies moments that significantly deviate above it. Short clips (under 5 minutes) may not have enough baseline to produce reliable engagement scoring.
Review the top 5-10 candidates, not just #1
Viral potential is subjective and context-dependent. The algorithm scores engagement markers objectively, but your audience knowledge matters. Review the top candidates and consider which topics, quotes, or moments align best with your specific audience and current trends.
Export at platform-specific aspect ratios
TikTok and Reels perform best at 9:16 (vertical). YouTube Shorts accept 9:16 or 1:1. The clip exporter lets you choose the target platform and automatically applies the correct aspect ratio, duration constraints, and safe zones for platform UI elements.
Combine with caption generation for maximum engagement
Short-form clips with captions consistently outperform those without — captions increase watch time by 15-40%. After the Viral Clip Finder identifies your best moments, use Hearably Studio's caption generator to add AI-generated subtitles to each clip before posting.
Use engagement keywords as post captions
The viral score breakdown highlights the specific words and phrases that triggered high engagement scores. Use these as the basis for your post caption, hook text, or thumbnail text to maximize click-through from the feed.
Boost clip audio before exporting
Short-form clips compete in noisy scroll environments (phone speakers in public, low volume). Apply a 200-300% volume boost with Voice Boost EQ to your exported clips so they sound punchy and clear on phone speakers. The audio pipeline is already built into Hearably Studio.
Batch process a season of episodes
Pro users can queue multiple episode files and the finder analyzes them sequentially. This is ideal for podcast studios that want to extract clip candidates from an entire season or back catalog in one session, building a library of short-form content.
Built for this exact use case
Multi-Dimensional Engagement Scoring
Combines audio energy peaks (RMS, spectral centroid), engagement keywords, quote quality assessment, and duration optimization into a single composite viral score. Finds moments humans would pick — automatically.
Platform-Specific Export
One-click export at the ideal duration and aspect ratio for TikTok (15-30s, 9:16), Instagram Reels (15-60s, 9:16), and YouTube Shorts (30-60s, 9:16). Clip boundaries snap to sentence breaks for natural start/end points.
Full Transcript + Highlights
Every clip includes Whisper-generated transcription with engagement keywords highlighted. Use the transcript text as post captions, quote graphics, or SEO-optimized descriptions.
Private Browser Processing
Your podcast or video never leaves your device. Whisper transcription and engagement analysis run entirely in Web Workers. Process unreleased episodes, sponsored content, and NDA-protected material with zero privacy risk.
Choose your method
Different situations call for different tools. Hearably gives you both.
Chrome Extension
Enhance audio live while you stream. The extension intercepts your tab's audio and processes it in real-time — volume boost, EQ, presets — without downloading anything.
- Streaming on Viral Clip Finder for Podcasts & Videos, Netflix, Spotify
- Video calls on Zoom, Meet, Teams
- Any website with audio
- When you want instant, always-on enhancement
Free Online Studio
Upload an audio or video file, apply volume boost + 10-band EQ, preview in real-time, then download the enhanced WAV. Your file never leaves your browser.
- Downloaded videos or music files
- Podcast episodes you want to boost before sharing
- Voice recordings, lectures, interviews
- When you need a permanently enhanced file
Pro tip: Use a YouTube-to-MP3 tool to download the audio, then enhance it in Hearably Studio with EQ + volume boost. Perfect for offline listening, DJ sets, or sharing on social media.
Three clicks to better audio
Install
Add Hearably from the Chrome Web Store. Under 300KB, installs in seconds.
Enhance
Click the Hearably icon and tap "Enhance." Boost kicks in instantly.
Enjoy
Adjust volume, EQ, and presets. Works on any website with audio.
Frequently asked questions
How does the AI know what makes a clip "viral"?
The system analyzes four dimensions: audio energy peaks (vocal intensity, laughter, excitement), engagement keywords (questions, revelations, contrarian statements), quote quality (does the segment stand alone without context?), and duration fit (15-60 seconds for short-form platforms). These markers correlate strongly with short-form content performance across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts.
Does my video get uploaded to a server?
No. The entire analysis — Whisper transcription, audio feature extraction, and engagement scoring — runs locally in your browser via Web Workers. Your file never leaves your device.
What file formats are supported?
MP4, MOV, WebM, MP3, WAV, M4A, and most common audio/video formats. The tool extracts the audio track from video files for analysis. Video quality is preserved in exported clips.
How long does analysis take?
Whisper transcription is the slowest stage — typically 2-5x faster than real time on modern hardware. A 60-minute podcast analyzes in 12-30 minutes. Audio feature extraction and engagement scoring add minimal overhead. Results are displayed progressively as segments are transcribed.
Can I adjust what the algorithm considers "engaging"?
The engagement scoring weights are pre-configured based on short-form content performance data, but Pro users can adjust the relative weight of energy peaks, keywords, quote quality, and duration preferences to match their audience and content style.
Does it work for music content or only speech?
The engagement detection is optimized for speech-based content (podcasts, interviews, vlogs, tutorials). For music, the energy analysis identifies high-energy drops and transitions, but the keyword and quote quality dimensions are not applicable. The tool works best with content that has spoken dialogue.
How many clips does it find per episode?
Typically 10-30 candidate clips per hour of content, ranked by engagement score. The number depends on the content's variability — a high-energy interview may produce 30+ candidates, while a calm meditation podcast may produce 5-10.
Can I edit clip boundaries before exporting?
Yes. The suggested clip boundaries are starting points. You can drag the start and end markers to refine the clip, and the transcript updates in real time to show exactly which speech is included. Boundaries snap to the nearest sentence break for clean cuts.