How to build a faceless whiteboard channel with Claude Code and Golpo

Faceless whiteboard channels are quietly pulling in thousands of dollars a month, especially in high-paying niches like finance and education. Thanks to tools like Claude Code and Golpo, you can now create polished, animated explainer videos in minutes instead of hiring expensive animators or learning complex software.

Why whiteboard explainer channels are so profitable

Not all faceless channels are created equal. The channels making serious money aren’t focused on random entertainment; they’re built around educational content in high-CPM niches. Advertisers pay more to appear on videos that attract serious, solution-seeking viewers.

Some of the best topics for this style of channel include:

• Wealth and personal finance
• Technology and AI
• Psychology and self-help
• Relationships and dating
• Travel and lifestyle education

A whiteboard finance channel that teaches people how to manage money, invest, or understand YouTube income can earn far more per 1,000 views than generic entertainment. That’s why building an educational faceless channel is one of the most effective ways to turn AI-generated content into a real business. For a deeper dive into this strategy, you can also check out this guide on building a high-RPM faceless finance channel.

The core tools: Claude Code and Golpo

This workflow relies on two main tools working together:

Claude Code is a desktop app that lets you use Claude as an AI coding and automation assistant. It can read documentation, follow installation guides, manage plugins, and run commands on your machine.

Golpo (sometimes spelled slightly differently in the transcript) is an AI video generation tool that specializes in animated explainers and whiteboard-style videos. It can:

• Generate coherent animated videos up to around 15 minutes (depending on plan)
• Use your own script or generate one from a prompt
• Use built-in AI voices or your own cloned voice
• Add custom characters as the “face” of your channel
• Embed specific images, B-roll, and background music

By connecting Golpo’s API to Claude Code, you can automate the entire pipeline from script and audio to finished video with minimal manual work.

Setting up Claude Code on your computer

To get started, you first need Claude Code installed locally.

1. Go to claude.com/download.
2. Download the version for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
3. Install and open Claude Code. You’ll see a coding-focused interface where you can chat with Claude and let it run tools and scripts.

Golpo provides a step-by-step installation guide for its Claude Code plugin and dependencies like Python. Instead of manually following every step, you can let Claude handle most of the setup for you.

Installing the Golpo plugin with Claude Code

Once Claude Code is running, you can use it to install the Golpo plugin and required assets:

1. Copy the URL of Golpo’s installation guide page.
2. In Claude Code, paste a message like: “Install Golpo and the required assets by following this guide,” and then paste the URL below it.
3. Hit Enter and allow Claude to fetch the URL when prompted.
4. Approve any follow-up permission requests so Claude can download and install Python, the plugin, and other dependencies.

Claude will follow the documentation for you, handle the manual steps, and set up the environment. This is where AI really shines: you offload the technical setup instead of wrestling with command lines and configuration errors.

Connecting your Golpo API key

With the plugin installed, the next step is to connect your Golpo account via API:

1. Sign up or log in to Golpo.
2. You’ll see several plans, including business and scale plans, but you can also choose an API-only tier if you just want to pay per minute of video.
3. On the API page, click the green button to Create API key.
4. Copy the generated key.

Back in Claude Code, send a message like: “Here is my API key from Golpo:” and paste the key. Hit Enter. Claude will store and use this key to call Golpo’s API and generate videos on your behalf.

Understanding Golpo pricing and video costs

Golpo’s pricing is based on credits and minutes of generated video:

• On the API-only tier, 1 credit = $1 and videos cost 2 credits per minute.
• That means a 1-minute video is about $2, and a 10-minute video is around $20.
• Higher-tier plans (scale or business) significantly reduce the per-minute cost and unlock extra features like custom characters and voice cloning.

For example, a scale plan might give you around 800 minutes of video for just under $1,000. That works out to roughly $10 for an 8-minute video—far cheaper than hiring an animator, who might charge $100 or more per 5–10 minute video and take days to deliver.

If you’re just testing the waters, the API-only plan is enough. If you’re serious about running multiple channels or publishing frequently, the higher plans quickly become more economical.

Creating your first whiteboard video with Claude + Golpo

Once everything is connected, you can generate a video in a few simple steps. There are two main workflows: using your own voiceover or letting Golpo handle the narration.

Option 1: Use your own voiceover

Many creators prefer to control the voice and pacing of their videos. You can record your own audio or use a tool like ElevenLabs to generate a high-quality AI voiceover.

1. Prepare your script on a topic in your niche (e.g., how YouTube pays creators, beginner investing, or AI side hustles).
2. Record or generate the voiceover and save it as an audio file.
3. In Claude Code, attach the audio file and send a prompt like: “Please make a whiteboard video using the attached voiceover.”
4. Claude will send the audio to Golpo, which will analyze its length and estimate the cost. For example, a 4.7-minute audio might cost around $9–$10 on the API tier.
5. Golpo then returns a fully animated whiteboard video synced to your narration.

This gives you a professional, coherent video without touching a timeline or animation software.

Option 2: Let Golpo generate the voice

If you don’t want to record audio at all, Golpo can handle everything from script to narration:

1. In Claude Code, describe the topic and target audience, and ask it to “make an explainer on this.”
2. Claude can draft the script, then send it to Golpo with instructions to generate a whiteboard-style video using one of Golpo’s built-in voices.
3. Golpo returns a complete animated video with AI narration and visuals.

This is the fastest way to go from idea to finished video, and it’s ideal for faceless channels where you don’t want to use your own voice.

Adding a custom character as the face of your channel

One of the smartest long-term moves you can make is to introduce a recurring character that appears in all your videos. This builds IP (intellectual property) and makes your channel more memorable and defensible as AI content becomes more common.

Here’s how to set up a custom character in Golpo:

1. Go to Golpo’s web interface.
2. Either upload your own audio, use a cloned voice, or pick a built-in voice.
3. Scroll down and click Add character.
4. Upload an image of your character. You can generate this with an AI image model like GPT-Image 2, Midjourney, or similar.
5. Write or paste a short description of the character (appearance, style, personality). This helps Golpo keep the character consistent across scenes.

When you generate a video, Golpo will animate scenes that feature your character and keep their look consistent. This transforms your channel from a generic whiteboard feed into a recognizable brand with its own “host.”

Enhancing videos with images, B-roll, and music

Beyond basic whiteboard drawings, you can enrich your videos with more specific visuals:

• Ask Claude Code to “find a royalty-free image of [topic/person]” and embed it into the video via Golpo.
• Include short B-roll clips when you need to reference real-world examples, charts, or screenshots.
• Add background music, making sure it’s royalty-free or properly licensed.

Claude can search, download, and pass these assets to Golpo automatically, so you don’t have to manually collect and insert them.

The big mistake that kills 90% of AI channels

Most people who discover AI video tools rush to create entertainment-style content because that’s what they see going viral: skits, memes, or random stickman stories. The problem is that these channels are easy to copy and hard to monetize at a high level.

The fatal mistake is chasing views instead of building a business.

Views are a vanity metric. There are channels getting only a few thousand views per video but making six figures a year, while others get millions of views and barely scrape by. The difference is that the successful channels are built around a clear offer and a valuable niche.

How to turn your faceless channel into a real business

If you want your AI-generated channel to last, you need a monetization strategy that goes beyond ad revenue. The most effective approach is to sell or promote a high-value digital product that fits your niche.

Instead of pushing low-commission Amazon products, focus on:

• Software affiliate programs (SaaS tools, AI platforms, finance apps).
• Online courses or coaching with $500–$1,000+ price points.
• Your own digital products like templates, checklists, or mini-courses.

With just a few sales of a $500–$1,000 product per month, your channel can generate thousands of dollars—even if your view counts are modest. This is especially powerful when combined with high-CPM topics like finance, tech, or business.

A proven structure is to create one long “pillar” video that educates deeply on a problem and naturally pitches your product or affiliate offer at the end. Then you send traffic from all your shorter videos to that pillar video, turning your entire channel into a funnel.

If you’re interested in more tactics for building sustainable faceless channels, you may also like this breakdown of how to beat the new YouTube algorithm with faceless content.

Using AI whiteboard videos across multiple channels

These whiteboard-style animations aren’t limited to one type of channel. You can:

• Add them as educational segments on a personal brand channel.
• Run a dedicated faceless explainer channel in a specific niche (finance, AI, psychology, etc.).
• Launch additional faceless channels that promote the same core product from different angles.

Because Golpo and Claude Code drastically reduce production time and cost, you can scale horizontally into multiple channels or languages without hiring a big team.

Final thoughts

AI tools like Claude Code and Golpo have removed almost all the friction from creating high-quality, faceless whiteboard videos. You no longer need to animate by hand, manage complex timelines, or pay expensive freelancers. Instead, you can focus on what actually matters: choosing a profitable educational niche, building a recognizable character and brand, and promoting offers that turn views into real revenue.

Used wisely, this workflow isn’t just a way to pump out more content—it’s a way to build a durable, IP-backed YouTube business that benefits from the AI wave instead of being crushed by it.