How to Add Sound to an AI Video on TikTok and Reels

Videos from most of our templates come back without music. That surprises people the first time, so this guide explains why, and shows how to add sound to an AI video on TikTok and Instagram Reels so it lands on the trend properly.

Why the video has no music

Each trend runs on a sound that belongs to an artist, label or creator. TikTok and Instagram license those sounds inside their apps, so adding the sound there is how the trend is meant to work. It also helps your post: a video posted with the trend's sound appears on that sound's page, which is where a lot of people browse a trend. A video with music baked into the file often does not get linked to the sound page at all.

Every template page tells you next to the Generate button whether the video has sound.

Add the sound on TikTok

1. Download the video from My Videos to your phone.
2. Open TikTok, tap +, then Upload, and choose the video.
3. Tap Add sound at the top of the editor.
4. Search for the trend. The fastest way is to find a popular post of the trend, tap its sound, then Add to Favourites; it then appears under Favourites in the sound picker.
5. Select the sound. Use Volume to make sure the original sound of the clip is at zero (it is silent anyway).
6. Tap the scissors/trim icon to choose which part of the sound plays. Line up the strongest moment of the sound with the strongest moment of the video: the first kick, the door knock, the first line.
7. Add your caption, tag friends who are in it, and post.

Add the sound on Instagram Reels

1. Open Instagram, tap +, then Reel, and pick the video from your gallery.
2. Tap the music icon and search for the trend's audio, or open a reel of the trend first, tap the audio name and choose Use audio, then add your clip.
3. Drag the audio slider to choose the start point and check the timing in the preview.
4. Post with friends tagged.

Getting the timing right

Dance trends forgive small offsets; lip-sync trends do not. For Hotel Lobby AI, Raindance AI and the other lip-sync templates, play the preview twice and watch the mouth. If the lips move before the words, start the sound slightly earlier; if after, slightly later. Moves of a fraction of a second make the difference. The lip-sync tips cover the photo side of getting this right.

If the sound is not available

Sometimes a sound is muted or missing in your region, or on business accounts, which only get a commercial-safe music library. In that case:

• pick another popular version of the same trend sound (trends often have several uploads);
• or use any track from the app's library that fits the tempo;
• or post with a voice-over or text and no music.

Posting checklist

• Sound added from the app library and lined up.
• Friends tagged in the caption.
• A caption that names the trend, so people searching for it find you.
• Optional: say it is an AI video. Many people like to know, and it keeps comments friendly.

Other places

YouTube Shorts works the same way: upload, then Add sound from the Shorts library. For chat apps and stories, send the file as is.

Haven't made the video yet? Start with how to make AI trend videos, or pick a trend on all templates.