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Visual Brief

Visual Brief records your screen while you explain a problem, change, or idea out loud, then turns that into a ready-to-paste prompt for any AI you use — Claude, ChatGPT, or anything else. Instead of typing a long description of what's on your screen, you show it and say it, and Lipo writes the structured version. When it helps, Lipo also attaches a relevant screenshot to the prompt.

Recording a Visual Brief

  1. Click into the chat or prompt where you want the result — the AI tool you're going to send this to. Lipo pastes the finished prompt there.
  2. Start a Visual Brief from the Lipo icon in the menu bar. Pick one of two capture styles:
    • Full screen — records your entire display. Best when you're jumping between apps or showing a full workflow.
    • Single window — records one app window. Best when the whole story is inside one tool.
  3. Walk through what you want out loud while looking at the screen. Use the highlighter if you want to mark something important.
  4. Stop when you're done — recordings can run up to 5 minutes. Lipo analyzes the recording, writes the prompt, and pastes it into the app you're in. Screenshots aren't always added; Lipo decides whether a relevant one should go with the prompt.

For better accuracy, put your mouse cursor on or near the part of the screen you're talking about. If you mean a heading, button, or other UI detail, point at it while you speak so Lipo can tell exactly what you mean.

The first time you record, macOS asks for the Screen Recording permission — approve it in System Settings and start the recording again.

The Visual Brief tab

Every recording is saved to Visual Brief History in the app, so you don't lose a prompt after pasting it. For each item you can:

  • Copy the prompt again, or copy it together with the screenshots Lipo included.
  • Rewrite the prompt — Lipo re-runs the analysis on the same recording and produces a fresh prompt.
  • Open the recording video to rewatch what you captured.
  • Delete the recording when you're done with it.

Recordings stay on your Mac for up to 7 days — the video, audio, transcript, screenshots, and generated prompt — then they're removed automatically.

Limits and plans

Visual Brief is included on every plan, with a per-billing-period limit: 5 Visual Briefs on Pro Starter and 20 on Pro Plus. Re-running the analysis on a recording (Rewrite prompt) also counts toward the limit. Check Settings → Subscription & usage for how many you have left; the count resets when your plan renews.

Visual Brief is labeled Beta. It works, and you can use it on every plan — Beta just means we're still improving it, so a few details may change.

Frequently asked questions

What's a Visual Brief actually good for?

Anything where describing your screen in writing is slower than showing it: a bug you can reproduce ("watch — I click here and this breaks"), a design change you want, feedback on a draft, or a feature idea walkthrough. The output is a structured prompt an AI can act on immediately.

Where does the prompt go when the recording ends?

Lipo pastes it into the app you were in when you started — that's why the first step is clicking into your AI chat box. If you clicked elsewhere meanwhile, the prompt is still in the Visual Brief tab; copy it from there.

Are my recordings uploaded or kept?

Recordings are stored on your Mac and removed automatically after 7 days. Only what's needed for the analysis is sent for processing — see the privacy policy for details.

Ready to try it? Start your free 7-day Pro Plus trial — full access, no card required.

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