How Do You Make a YouTube Short With AI in Six Steps?
Make a YouTube Short with AI in six steps: script, pick a route, generate clips, add captions and a hook, export 9:16, and understand monetisation.
You can make a YouTube Short with AI in six steps: pick a topic, write a short script, choose a production route, generate the clips, add captions and a hook, then export 9:16 and publish. VdoBloom gives you three routes for step three. Clip Studio cuts a long recording into vertical clips, Creator Reel builds a talking reel from one photo, and Faceless Channel Maker turns a topic into a voice-over with cinematic B-roll.
Updated October 2026.
What a Short is allowed to be
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos up to three minutes long, and the whole Short plays in the Shorts feed. The opening seconds still carry most of the weight, so front-load the hook. 9:16 at 1080 by 1920 is the standard export. Captions are optional to YouTube but close to essential for viewers, because many watch with sound off.
A Short can be a clip from a longer video, a talking-head tip, a faceless narration over B-roll or a short sketch. The format is flexible; the constraint is attention. A three-minute Short that spends thirty seconds on an introduction has already lost the feed.
Step 1-2: topic and script with the AI script writer
Start with one idea, not a subject. “How to fix a squeaky hinge” is an idea. “Home maintenance” is a subject and will produce a vague script.
Write the script for the ear. Short sentences, one thought per line, and the most interesting sentence first. The AI script writer can draft a structure from your topic, but you still have to cut it down. For a 45-second Short, aim for roughly 100 to 120 spoken words. Read the draft aloud and delete anything you stumble over.
Decide the visual promise in the script. If the first line says “three things nobody tells you about…”, the viewer expects three things, delivered quickly. Write the payoff before you write the setup.
Step 3: pick the route
Three VdoBloom tools map to three common starting points.
| You have | Route | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| A long video (podcast, webinar, interview) | Clip Studio | Vertical 9:16 clips with word-timed captions |
| One photo of yourself and a topic | Creator Reel | A 9:16 talking-head reel with voice, captions and info cards |
| Only a topic | Faceless Channel Maker | An AI-written voice-over script plus cinematic B-roll |
Pick the route that matches the raw material you already have. Starting from a long recording is usually the cheapest Short you will ever make, because the content and the delivery already exist. Starting from a topic is the most flexible, but it puts more weight on the script.
Step 4: generate and review clips
Generate the footage in short pieces rather than one long take. A 40-second Short is usually four to eight shots, each two to six seconds. That gives you room to cut and replace a weak moment without re-rendering everything.
Write a shot plan before you generate anything. A 40-second Short usually needs an opening shot that shows the result or asks the question, three to five supporting shots that explain the steps, and a closing shot that lands the call to action. Give each shot one visual idea and a rough length. A list makes it obvious when a step is missing or repeated, and it lets you generate the shots in any order.
Use Seedance 2 Fast for B-roll drafts and low-cost iterations. For a hero shot that has to carry the opening, Veo 3.1 Fast is a step up in realism and includes native audio. Both support 9:16. The credit cost is shown on screen before each generation, so you can see what a full set of shots will cost before committing.
Review on a phone, not a desktop monitor. A shot that looks detailed on a large screen can turn to mush at phone size, and a face that reads clearly in the editor can be too small in the feed.
Step 5-6: captions, hook and export
Add captions to the finished cut. Clip Studio and Creator Reel include them. For a separately produced clip, AI Captions takes a talking clip up to three minutes and highlights each word as it is spoken.
Then rewrite the first three seconds. The hook is the line or image that stops the scroll, and it is worth more than the rest of the edit. Test it with sound off: if the opening frame and the first caption line do not explain why the viewer should stay, change them. Our YouTube Shorts views guide covers retention tactics and the Shorts aspect ratio guide covers framing and safe areas.
Export 9:16 at 1080 by 1920 with burned-in captions and clean audio. Check the title and description for the search terms a viewer would actually type, and keep the title short enough to read on a phone without truncating. A descriptive file name also makes the upload easier to find later. Upload as a Short, set the audience correctly, and disclose synthetic content where YouTube’s rules require it.
Publish one Short, then watch the retention curve before making the next one. The drop-off point tells you which second failed. A Short that loses viewers at two seconds has a hook problem; one that loses them at twenty has a pacing problem. Fixing that one moment usually does more for the next upload than changing the thumbnail.
Do AI Shorts get monetised?
YouTube monetisation depends on the channel meeting the programme’s current eligibility rules and on the content being original and compliant. AI-generated video is not automatically excluded, but low-effort, repetitive or misleading content can be. YouTube also asks creators to disclose realistic altered or synthetic content. The rules change, so check YouTube’s current monetisation and disclosure pages before you build a channel around one format. Our post on AI-generated videos and YouTube monetisation goes through the policy side in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
How long can a YouTube Short be?
Up to three minutes, and the whole Short plays in the Shorts feed. Front-load the hook and the payoff.
Do I need to be on camera?
No. Creator Reel uses one photo of you with a generated voice, and Faceless Channel Maker needs only a topic.
Can I make a Short from a long video?
Yes. Clip Studio takes a podcast, webinar or interview and exports vertical clips with word-timed captions.
Which model should I use for B-roll?
Seedance 2 Fast for drafts and low-cost shots, Veo 3.1 Fast for a hero shot that needs more realism and native audio.
Do I have to disclose AI content?
Where YouTube’s rules require it for realistic synthetic content, yes. Check the current policy before publishing.
Pick your route and make the first Short: Clip Studio for a long recording, Creator Reel for a photo, or Faceless Channel Maker for a topic. Credit costs appear before each generation and failed jobs are refunded. No subscription is required, and one-time credit packs never expire. New accounts start with 10 free credits and no card; pack prices are on pricing.
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