Video answer to a customer question: record one in Chrome
Record a short video answer to a customer question in Chrome: show the screen, say the answer, add a transcript, and send one MP4 saved on your own computer.
A video answer to a customer question often beats a long email. The customer sees the exact screen, hears the steps in your voice and can replay them. With Cheap Recorder you make one in Google Chrome in a few minutes, and you get an MP4 and a transcript saved on your own computer.
When a video answer to a customer question beats a written reply
Some questions are really "where do I click?" questions. "How do I export my report?" is one. "Why does this screen look different from yours?" is another. A paragraph of steps is easy to misread. A short recording shows the click and the result together.
Keep the written reply for questions with a one-line answer, such as a price or a date. If you would need more than a few sentences or a screenshot, record the answer instead.
Before you record: read the question once
Spend a minute on the question before you press anything. Work out what the customer is really stuck on. Open the page or app where the answer lives, and close tabs and windows you do not want near the recording.
Always tell people when they are being recorded. Here it is easy: your recording shows only your screen and, if you switch it on, your own face. If the screen shows another customer's name or data, share something else.
Set up the recorder in five minutes
Open the recorder at cheaprecorder.com/app. The Free plan has recording, the live transcript and captions, with 12 hours of recording a month and no card.
- Choose where to save. Press Choose folder... and allow Chrome to edit files in it. Start recording stays greyed out until a folder is chosen.
- Name the recording. Use the customer and the question, for example
Acme export report. The folder is named after it, plus the date and time. - Tick your microphone. Allow it when Chrome asks. A level bar moves while you talk, so you can see it hears you.
- Check Live transcript. It is ticked by default under Options. If it was off, a transcript cannot be added to that recording afterwards.
Show only what the answer needs
Under What to capture you choose Whole screen, A window or A browser tab. Chrome opens its own sharing box, and you pick one and press Share. For a customer answer, pick the window or the tab that holds the answer. Sharing one window or one tab keeps your other tabs, apps and private things out of the recording.
Sound has one rule you should know. If you record a browser tab and want that tab's own sound, for example a product video, tick the tab-audio option in Chrome's sharing window. A shared window gives no sound, and a whole-screen share on a Mac has none either. Your voice comes from the microphone either way.
The screen and webcam guide covers the sharing box and the preview in more detail.
Put your face in a corner, or leave it out
A face helps when the customer is upset or confused. A voice and a screen are enough when the answer is a click path. The Record my webcam switch decides.
With the camera on, the Layout menu in the Preview heading offers Picture in picture (bottom right by default), Side by side, Screen only and Camera only. In picture in picture you can drag the camera anywhere, and the Size slider sets it from 12% to 50% of the picture's width. Your position and size are remembered for next time. Set the background before you start: None and Blur are on every plan.
Check the preview before you begin, because the preview is what gets recorded.
Record the answer in one take
Press Start recording, and speak in this order.
- Say the question back. "You asked how to export the monthly report." It proves you read it, and anyone who opens the file later knows what it is about.
- Do the steps slowly. Click where the customer will click and say what you see. Pause for a second after each click so the screen settles.
- Finish with the result. Show the exported file or the finished screen, then say what to do if it still fails.
Press Stop and finish when you are done. Chrome's own Stop sharing bar also finishes the recording, but use Stop and finish so the card appears the usual way. A Recording saved. message shows, and the file is already in your folder.
A worked example, made up for this post
A customer called Dana writes: "I can't find where to export last month's report." You open the report page in a Chrome window and share only that window. You name the recording Dana export report and keep the camera in the bottom right corner.
You say, "Dana, you asked where to export last month's report." You click the Reports menu, choose last month, press Export and open the file. It runs about 50 seconds. You stop, find the MP4 in the folder and attach it to your reply with two lines of text.
Send the MP4 with a transcript
The recording is an MP4 with H.264 video and AAC sound, which plays almost anywhere, so most customers can open it without installing anything. If the file is too large for your email, upload it where you share files, then send a link.
The transcript is a second way to answer. With Live transcript on, the card offers Transcript and Captions .srt. The transcript is plain text with the time of each line, so you can paste the steps into the reply for customers who prefer to read. The .srt is made in the page and is not written to the folder, so download it from the card before you leave the page.
Read the transcript once before you paste it. Speech recognition can misspell product names and numbers. The language menu beside Live transcript goes back to its default each time the recorder page opens, so check it first when your customer writes in another language.
A note on privacy: while the live transcript is on, Chrome sends your microphone audio to Google to turn it into text. The AI button sends the transcript with speaker names to Anthropic, but only when you press it. The privacy page has the full list.
For a longer reply, such as a walkthrough or a follow-up after a sales call, see our post on a follow-up video for a prospect after a sales call.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a video answer to a customer question be?
As short as the answer allows. One question usually fits in under two minutes. If it needs more, split it into two recordings.
Do I need my face in the video?
No. Switch Record my webcam off and the recording is just your screen and voice. Turn the camera on when a human touch helps.
Where is the recording saved?
In the folder you chose on your own computer, in a folder named after the recording plus the date and time. See the where recordings are saved guide.
Can I get the words as text?
Yes, if Live transcript was ticked before you started. The card then offers a Transcript download and Captions .srt.
Get started
Open the recorder on the Free plan, pick a folder and answer your next customer question on video. Start recording at cheaprecorder.com.