Use AI to Script and Caption Short Listing Videos and eBay Live Promos
What it is
eBay lets you add one short video to a listing: .mp4 or .mov, up to 150MB and up to one minute long. It appears after the first photo on the item page. eBay Live, the livestream selling format, keeps growing: eBay reported another record quarter in Q2 2026, with Live GMV up roughly eightfold year on year across seven markets. AI tools can't hold the camera for you, but they're genuinely useful for the boring parts: writing a tight 45-second script, automatic captions, and cutting a long show recording into short clips.
Why it matters now
Video shows what photos can't: a toy's sounds working, a gadget powering on, the real colour of a jacket moving in daylight. For eBay Live sellers, short clips shared before a show are how you get people to turn up. As of September 2026, AI captioning and "find the best bits" editing are standard in many free and low-cost video apps, so there's no longer much of a skills barrier.
How to try it this week
- Pick 5 items where movement or sound proves something: that it works, how big it is, a feature.
- Ask a chat AI for a 40 to 50 second shot list using only facts you give it: "Here is the item, its condition and faults. Write a shot list: 3 seconds wide, 10 seconds power-on, 10 seconds close-up of the fault, 5 seconds with a ruler for scale."
- Film on your phone in daylight. Show the fault on camera. It builds trust and heads off returns.
- Use your editing app's auto-captions, then correct them by hand. Model numbers and brand names are often misheard.
- Upload through Seller Hub when you create or edit a listing. You can reuse one video across similar listings.
- eBay Live hosts: record your show, then use an AI clip tool to suggest three 30-second highlights (big reveals, bargains) to share ahead of your next show, keeping to the platform rules of wherever you post them.
Human-in-the-loop checkpoint
Watch every clip all the way through before it goes live. Check that the captions match what is said and shown, that no AI "enhancement" filter has changed the item's colour or hidden wear, and that nothing personal is in shot (addresses on parcels, screens, other people).
Cost and energy note
Listing video uploads are free. Phone editing apps with auto-captions are often free or cheap. Avoid AI tools that generate video, meaning they create footage that was never filmed, for listing content. They're expensive per clip, use a lot of computing power and can't show your actual item. Save generated visuals, if you use them at all, for clearly labelled promotional graphics, never as evidence of the item.
Pitfalls
- eBay's images, videos and text policy applies to video too: no links, no contact details, no misleading content. Read it before you upload.
- Keep it under one minute and under 150MB, or the upload will fail.
- Music: only use tracks you're licensed to use.
- AI scripts drift into hype. Cut words like "rare", "mint" and "perfect" unless they're true.
Sources: ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/listings/seller-uploaded-videos | ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-policies/images-text-polic… | ebay.co.uk/help/selling/ebay-live/livestream-selling-ebay-l… | investors.ebayinc.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2…
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