Can text or images update automatically while a video plays?
Yes - with a caveat on how automatic it is. Text and images can update at specific moments during a video, triggered by a visitor clicking an Action Button inside the Flow. That click fires an actionButton:click event through the Player API, and custom JavaScript listening for it can swap text, change an image, or reveal new content the instant it happens. It isn't a continuous, frame-by-frame read of the video - the update points are tied to wherever Action Buttons are placed in the Flow.
What triggers the update?
An Action Button click, not the video's timeline. Each Step in a Flow can include buttons the visitor interacts with, and clicking one fires the event your page listens for.
So it's not reading the video frame-by-frame?
No. There's no continuous monitoring of playback position - the moments where content can update are wherever a Step's Action Buttons sit in the Flow, which a Flow builder places to line up with specific points in the script.
How do you set this up?
- Listen for the Player being ready, then get the Flow instance.
- Attach a listener to
actionButton:click. - Check which button fired using
action.labeloraction.id. - Update the text or image in your callback - anything you can reach with standard JavaScript DOM methods.
What kinds of updates work well this way?
- Swapping a headline or subheading to match the path a visitor chose.
- Changing a hero image to reflect the selected audience or topic.
- Revealing a hidden stat, quote, or callout at the relevant moment.
FAQ
Does this need a developer?
Yes - it's a Player API pattern, so it needs a small amount of custom JavaScript rather than a no-code setting.
Can this work with several images or blocks of text at once?
Yes, all within the same click handler if needed.
Is there a limit to how many trigger points a Flow can have?
Each Step can carry its own Action Buttons, so the number of trigger points follows however many Steps and buttons the Flow is built with.
Does this work the same for Inline Flows?
Yes - Inline and Overlay Flows both fire the same actionButton:click event.
Related questions
Yes. ReelFlow's own documentation showcases this exact pattern - the video Player and the surrounding page reacting to each other in real time. The mechanism runs through the Player API: as a visitor clicks an Action Button inside a Flow, an actionButton:click event fires that your page's JavaScript can listen for, and that event can trigger any content change - swapping text, revealing a stat, changing an image, or more. It's driven by the visitor's interaction with buttons timed to specific moments in the video, not automatic real-time speech detection.
Syncing content to a video comes down to one event: actionButton:click. Using the Player API, you get a Flow instance, listen for that event, and write custom JavaScript that runs whenever a specific button is clicked, updating text, images, or any other element on the page at that moment. The sync happens at each click, in step with wherever the visitor is in the Flow.
The interaction runs in both directions. A button, link, or image on the page can open, close, or switch the video using ReelFlow's reserved link values or the Player API. Going the other way, clicking an Action Button inside the video can fire a JavaScript event your page listens for, letting it update text, images, or other content in response. Together, these two directions let the page and the video genuinely react to each other.
Yes - with an important detail on how it works. The trigger isn't ReelFlow listening to the audio itself; it's an Action Button placed at the moment something specific is being said, which the visitor clicks. That click fires an actionButton:click event through the Player API, and custom JavaScript listening for it can reveal a stat, quote, or callout anywhere on the page the instant it happens.
The more interesting uses go beyond a single video playing once. Branching Flows let a visitor choose their own path through short reels rather than watch one long video. The page and video can react to each other in real time, revealing stats or swapping content as a visitor clicks through. Several Flows can run as a spotlight across different sections of one page, video interactions can launch a chat tool directly, and engagement data can flow into a CRM via UTM attribution. Together, these turn video from a passive asset into a working part of the page.
Make your page respond as visitors watch
Swap text or images the moment a visitor clicks through a Flow, using the ReelFlow Player API.