Blackmagic Design’s latest update to DaVinci Resolve introduces AI-driven natural-language commands, enabling editors to automate routine tasks and accelerate post-production workflows, signalling a disruptive shift towards intelligent automation in professional editing software.
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a substantial update that places AI assistants directly into the post-production workflow. According to AV Technology’s report on the release, the new version lets users use natural-language commands to organise media, create highlight edits, remove unwanted clips and send batch renders without moving through the usual sequence of menus.
The company says the feature works with assistants including Claude, Claude Code and ChatGPT Codex, which can analyse projects and carry out routine production tasks. In practical terms, that means editors can offload repetitive operations while keeping more attention on timing, structure and creative decisions. Blackmagic Design chief executive Grant Petty said the aim is to reduce time spent on mechanical work and let users focus on the edit itself.
The update also widens camera-format support on the Photo page and adds improved multi-camera workflows. Other reports, including coverage from CG Channel, Newsshooter, Creative COW and Phoronix, say Resolve 21.1 also brings more than 100 new tools and controls across editing and colour grading, alongside over 25 new Krokodove tools in Fusion. That makes this a broader workflow release, rather than a single-feature AI addition.
Blackmagic Design says DaVinci Resolve 21.1 is available now as a free download from its website. The release continues the software’s strategy of folding automation into existing professional tools, rather than separating AI functions into a stand-alone product. For studios and independent editors alike, the significance lies in speed: fewer repetitive steps, faster turnaround and more room for hands-on creative work.
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