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How to Use AI for YouTube Videos: 11 Prompts to Save Time and Money
In the dynamic world of how to use AI in YouTube content creation…
Just kidding. This post was (mostly) written by a human.
In this blog post, we’re going to talk about how to use AI tools for YouTube. But this isn’t a list of specialized AI tools for YouTube. We’ll give you 11 AI prompts for YouTube to help you with everything from coming up with a killer video idea, writing a script, creating an optimized title, and even coming up with a great hook. Adapt these prompts for your own channel content and goals, paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or whatever your generative AI platform you like.
Now, there are tools and services that can do things like generate a script, come up with keywords, video ideas, and so on but we’ll let you in on a little secret.
![An AI generated image of an elephant in an otherwise empty room. Prompt used to generate image: [create a square image where the outside of the frame is the walls of a room giving a forced perspective 3D effect with an elephant in the room taking up most of the available space in a realistic graphic render style]](webp/elephant-in-the-room.webp "elephant-in-the-room")
All most of those tools and services are doing is creating good prompts and feeding them to a generative AI tool, usually ChatGPT. In other words, they’re just a layer between you and an actual generative AI tool.
So, let’s cut out the middleman and save both time and money by putting AI to work ourselves. Heck, we might even learn something about generative AI prompt engineering in the process!
- Generate Video Topic Ideas
- Craft Attention-Grabbing Titles
- Design Eye-Catching Thumbnails
- Create Comprehensive Video Outlines
- Write Engaging Scripts
- Optimize Video Descriptions
- Generate YouTube Chapters
- Create Effective Closed Captions
- Write Engaging End Screens
- Generate Video Series Ideas
- Brainstorm Hook Ideas
Get an unfair advantage on YouTube
Give your YouTube channel the upper hand and easily optimize for more views, more subs, and more of every metric that matters.
Bonus Tip: Let’s Get Meta
We’re about to give you 11 specialized AI prompts for YouTube creators but before we get to that, here’s a bonus prompt.
Prompt generative AI with this generative AI prompt and it will promptly generate a generative AI prompt you can use to prompt generative AI.
Or to put it more simply, we’ll use AI to create a perfect prompt for YouTube creators.
| Prompt Generating Prompt |
|---|
| You are an expert prompt engineer. Your task is to help users create effective prompts for AI systems. Follow these steps: Begin by asking the user what they want to achieve with their prompt. Based on their response, ask follow-up questions to gather more details. Focus on: – The specific task or output they desire – Their target audience – Preferred tone and style – Any constraints or special requirements – Level of detail needed – Any examples or references they can provide Continue asking relevant questions until you’re at least 90% confident you can create an effective prompt for their needs. If you’re unsure about any aspect, ask for clarification. Once you have sufficient information, inform the user that you’re ready to create their prompt. Generate a well-structured, clear, and specific prompt based on the information gathered. The prompt should: – Clearly state the desired task or output – Include any necessary context or background information – Specify the tone, style, and level of detail – Mention any constraints or special requirements – Use clear and concise language – Present the generated prompt to the user, formatting it for easy copying and use. – Offer to explain any part of the prompt or make revisions if the user requests. – Suggest that the user test the prompt and return for refinements if needed. Begin by greeting the user and asking about their prompt creation goals. |
Let’s get into it.
1. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Generate Video Topic Ideas
There are AI tools for YouTube creators that are designed to help you come up with video topics but with this prompt, you won’t need them.
Input what type of channel you run, what niche you operate in, and give a little detail on your target audience and this prompt will help generative AI spit out 10 possible video topics, complete with working titles and a quick brief. It’ll even make the AI tell you why it thinks these are good topics for your channel.
| YouTube Video Ideas AI Prompt: |
|---|
| I run a [type of channel, e.g., cooking, gaming, educational] YouTube channel focused on [specific niche/topic]. My target audience is [demographic details]. Generate 10 video topic ideas that would be engaging and valuable for my viewers. For each idea, include: 1. A catchy working title 2. A brief 2-3 sentence description 3. Why this topic would resonate with my audience |
2. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Create Killer Titles
A great YouTube title is one that catches the viewer’s attention so they have to click through. It also needs to be SEO optimized so the YouTube algorithm and search engines know what to make of it. This AI prompt for YouTube creators is designed to do both.
| YouTube Title AI Prompt: |
|---|
| I’m creating a YouTube video about . The main keywords I want to target are [keyword 1, keyword 2]. My video style is [informative/entertaining/educational]. Generate 10 potential titles that: 1. Include at least one target keyword naturally 2. Are between 40-60 characters long 3. Create curiosity or promise value 4. Match my video style Also, explain why each title would be effective. |
Not sure which keywords to target? TubeBuddy’s YouTube Keyword Explorer and YouTube SEO Studio can help.
3. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Brainstorm Thumbnails
While some generative AI tools can create images from scratch, you don’t want to trust them with thumbnail design. That said, they can understand YouTube thumbnail best practices and are more than up to the task of helping you brainstorm possible thumbnail treatments.
| YouTube Thumbnail AI Prompt: |
|---|
| I need a YouTube thumbnail design for a video titled “.” My channel’s style is [professional/casual/vibrant]. Please provide: 1. A detailed description of 3 thumbnail concepts 2. Suggestions for text overlay (max 4 words) 3. Key visual elements to include 4. Color palette recommendations that align with my channel’s style For each concept, explain why it would be effective at attracting clicks while accurately representing the content. |
4. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Video Outlines
A video outline lets you think about how your video will flow and ensures you’re hitting all the key points.
Adapt this prompt with your target video length, your video topic, an audience description, and what you’re trying to accomplish with your video and sit back while gen AI does the work for you.
| YouTube Video Outline AI Prompt: |
|---|
| I’m creating a [length] minute YouTube video about [topic]. My target audience is [audience description], and my goal is to [teach/entertain/inform] them about [specific aspect of topic]. Please create a detailed outline including: 1. An attention-grabbing introduction (30 seconds) 2. 3-5 main segments with subtopics 3. Suggested timestamps for each section 4. A compelling call-to-action for the conclusion Also, suggest 2-3 potential stories or examples to illustrate key points. |
You’ve heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out?” If there’s anything in the outline you don’t love about the resulting outline, take the time to edit the AI prompt or the output because we’ll be using this outline in our next step in our AI for YouTube journey.
5. AI Prompt for YouTube: Script Generator
Now that we’ve got an amazing outline, we can use it to generate a full video script.
Paste your video outline into this prompt. Tell gen AI what tone you’re going for and a little about your delivery style and it’ll spit out a script for you to edit.
| YouTube Script Generator AI Prompt: |
|---|
| Review this video outline carefully: [paste your video outline] Based on this outline, write a conversational script for a YouTube video that: 1. Uses a [formal/casual/educational] tone 2. Includes natural transitions between sections 3. Incorporates [humor/data/personal anecdotes] to enhance engagement 4. Addresses potential questions or objections from viewers 5. Keeps sentences concise and easy to deliver on camera 6. Naturally includes a call to action in the video content asking viewers to like and subscribe to my channel. Format the script with spacing for easy reading and include [pause], [emphasize], or [show example] directions where appropriate. |
6. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Optimize Video Descriptions
Creating YouTube video descriptions that both the algorithm and viewers love is an art… one that AI tools can help you refine.
Finding the right keywords is key. Use Keyword Explorer and YouTube SEO Studio to hone in on the low-difficulty, high-volume keywords that’ll make your video blow up. Then, let AI write a description around those keywords.
| YouTube Description AI Prompt: |
|---|
| I need a YouTube video description for a video about [topic]. The target keywords are [keyword 1, keyword 2]. Please create a description that includes: 1. An attention-grabbing first 2-3 lines (visible before ‘Show More’) that naturally incorporates the target keywords 2. A comprehensive yet concise summary of the video content 3. Timestamped chapters for key sections 4. 3-5 relevant hashtags 5. Links to resources mentioned in the video The description should be between 150-200 words and should naturally incorporate the target keywords throughout. |
7. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Generate YouTube Chapters
YouTube can create chapters for you automatically but we can do a lot better than that. We can include keywords in our chapter titles, and get descriptive about what our video covers in each chapter.
Chapters are a key opportunity to optimize your video for discoverability both on YouTube and via search engines. Gen AI can help us capitalize on that opportunity.
| Optimized YouTube Chapters AI Prompt: |
|---|
| Based on this video [transcript / script]: [paste transcript / script] And considering my target keywords [keyword 1, keyword 2], generate 5-10 chapters for my video that: 1. Start with a four digit timestamp (00:00). 2. Use keywords naturally in chapter titles 3. Are concise yet descriptive (3-7 words each) 4. Cover all major segments of the video Format chapters as follows: four digit timestamp – Chapter Title. Output in plan text. |
8. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Create Effective Closed Captions
While ChatGPT et. al. can’t directly transcribe audio to text (you’ll need a paid account to install plugins and modules like speech_recognition in ChatGPT) you can create captions from your script.
| Generate Closed Captions AI Prompt |
|---|
| Create closed captions for my YouTube video. Here’s my script:[paste video script] Format this script into proper closed captions by: 1. Breaking it into 1-2 line segments 2. Adding appropriate timing markers [00:00:00] 3. Indicating speaker changes if applicable: [Speaker 1], [Speaker 2] 4. Noting important sound effects in brackets [laughter], [music], etc. 5. Ensuring each caption is no longer than 32 characters per line Output as a .srt file. |
9. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Write Engaging End Screens
Viewers who watch to the end of your video are open to suggestions on what to do next. A great ending can be the difference between viewers engaging more of your content or clicking off to someone else’s video. AI can help here too.
| YouTube End Screen AI Prompt: |
|---|
| I need to create end screen content for my [topic] video. My channel focuses on [niche], and I want viewers to [subscribe/watch more videos/visit my website]. Please provide: 1. 3 different 10-15 second script options for my end screen 2. Suggestions for 2 relevant videos to feature 3. A compelling subscribe message that aligns with my content 4. A natural way to transition from my main content to the end screen Each option should include a clear call-to-action while maintaining a [tone e.g., friendly, professional, energetic] tone. |
10. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Generate Video Series Ideas
What’s better than one video idea? A whole bunch of video ideas. What’s better than a whole bunch of video ideas? A whole bunch of video ideas that tie together into a narrative that’ll turn viewers into subscribers.
This prompt will put gen AI to work, brainstorming ideas that you can turn into a YouTube series.
| YouTube Series Ideas AI Prompt: |
|---|
| I want to create a video series for my [niche] YouTube channel. My target audience is [demographic details], and my channel’s goal is to [educate/entertain/inspire]. Please suggest: 1. 3 potential series concepts, each with 5-7 episode ideas 2. A catchy series title for each concept 3. The target length for each episode [e.g., 5-10 minutes, 15-20 minutes] 4. How each series could grow or evolve over time5. Potential collaborators or experts to feature in each series For each concept, explain how it builds viewer engagement and supports my channel’s overall goals. |
11. AI Prompt for YouTube Creators: Brainstorm Hook Ideas
Hooks are important. You could (and should) steal any one of our killer YouTube hooks and/or, use gen AI to come up with some hook ideas that are all your own. Here’s how.
| YouTube Hook AI Prompt: |
|---|
| I’m creating a [length] minute video about [topic]. My style is [descriptive adjectives], and I want to hook viewers in the first 15 seconds. Please provide: 1. 5 different hook ideas, each taking a unique approach: – Curiosity-based hook – Problem-solution hook – Story-based hook – Shocking statistic or fact hook – Question-based hook 2. A brief script (2-3 sentences) for each hook 3. Suggestions for visual elements to accompany each hook 4. How to smoothly transition from each hook to the main content |
How to use AI for YouTube Videos Without Sacrificing Creativity
AI can do a lot. The key is to find ways to incorporate AI into your process to enhance your own creativity, not replace it. These prompts and techniques can help you streamline your YouTube content creation process, saving time and money while maintaining your unique voice and style.
The best content plan is a combination of efficiency and creativity. Use these tools to handle the technical aspects, so you can focus on what truly matters: creating valuable, engaging content for your audience.
Get an unfair advantage on YouTube
Give your YouTube channel the upper hand and easily optimize for more views, more subs, and more of every metric that matters.
