Solving Auth at Scale: Descript's Migration from Auth0 to Stytch

Descript is a text-based video editing platform that makes editing video as easy as editing a doc. As the AI-first platform matured into a go-to video editor for creators and enterprise teams alike, its authentication needs began to strain under the weight of growth.

When ‘Good’ Wasn't Enough

Descript had already moved from a custom built auth system to Auth0, and that upgrade worked well—for a while. But over time, gaps started to show:

• Account linking was brittle: Because Descript didn’t require email verification, users who tried to log in with different methods needed some custom, but confusing, flows that involved unexpected password prompts.
• Login UI was inflexible: The team couldn’t easily brand, test, or evolve the experience.
• Custom logic was needed to support enterprise growth: While the core user model worked, adding support for things like account linking, session sharing, and enterprise onboarding required growing amounts of bespoke code.
• No real insight into the auth funnel: Growth teams couldn’t see where users were dropping off.

Discovering the Right Model

When the Descript team began exploring alternatives, they weren’t looking for a B2B auth solution. But in early conversations with vendors like Stytch, the lightbulb went off: Descript’s "Drive" model was a B2B-style model, just by another name.

That insight reframed everything. Stytch stood out not just for its features, but for how quickly the team understood what Descript was really trying to do.

Why Descript Chose Stytch

Descript didn’t want to become auth experts. They wanted to work with people who already were. Stytch offered the right mix of flexibility, partnership, and technical alignment:

• A login UI that didn't require a full rewrite: Stytch’s prebuilt experience shipped quickly and is still in use today thanks to its configurability.
• An Organizations API that matched drives: No need for complex mapping or weird workarounds.
• A clear path to enterprise features: SCIM and JIT provisioning weren’t live yet, but Stytch gave the team confidence they could get there efficiently.
• Support that felt like partnership: During the riskiest parts of the migration, real-time help from Stytch's team kept things calm and on track.
  

What They Shipped

The migration rolled out seamlessly, allowing Descript to switch auth providers without disrupting other teams' workflows — keeping infrastructure progress in motion while maintaining overall product velocity:

• Implemented the Organizations API to represent drives and scoped user sessions accordingly.
• Rebuilt existing custom logic for seamless session sharing across web and desktop.
• Switched to a required email verification process, resolving longstanding account linking support issues.
• Began hosting their login page internally, gaining more control and delivering a seamless, on‑brand experience as they scale.

Early Results

• Enabled an 8% lift in conversions: After the migration, Descript's growth team was able to implement Google OneTap. That experiment drove an 8% lift in marketing site conversions.
• More observability, even if early: Tracking logins and signups through Segment is helping Descript better understand auth funnel performance, with more experimentation to come.

What's Next

• Enable domain-based just-in-time (JIT) provisioning — internally known as domain discovery — to streamline onboarding for business users and simplify access management.
• Partner with Stytch to expand Descript’s organization model to support enterprise customers who need multiple drives to fit their internal structures and workflows.
• Explore how deeper customization of the prebuilt login UI could support enterprise customer self-service or help differentiate Descript's brand experience at scale.
• Full SCIM support for enterprise customers.
• Enable self-serve SSO setup for enterprise customers.