How to Create YouTube Shorts with an AI Prompt

Stop staring at a blank screen wondering what your next YouTube Short should be about. What if a simple AI prompt could generate dozens of video ideas, write a compelling script, and even help you source your visuals - all in a matter of minutes? This guide breaks down exactly how you can use AI prompts to create engaging YouTube Shorts from start to finish, helping you speed up your workflow and post more consistently without sacrificing quality.

Why AI Is a Game-Changer for YouTube Shorts

Creating short-form video content is a relentless game of consistency and speed. Trends come and go in a flash, and audience attention is finite. This is where AI moves from a tech curiosity to an indispensable creative assistant. For content creators and marketers, using AI is not about automating creativity away, it’s about amplifying it and removing the most thankless parts of the process.

Here’s how an AI prompt can level up your Shorts game:

• It demolishes creative block. The most difficult part of content creation is often just starting. Instead of struggling for that first idea, you can ask an AI to brainstorm 20 possible video topics based on your niche in seconds.
• It dramatically speeds up your workflow. Going from an idea to a finished script can take hours. With a well-crafted prompt, you can get a solid first draft in under a minute, freeing up your time to focus on filming and editing.
• It helps you capitalize on trends. See a trend taking over your niche? You can use AI to quickly script a video that puts your own unique spin on that trending topic before it fades away.
• It boosts consistency. The YouTube algorithm rewards consistency. When you can batch-create scripts and ideas for a week’s worth of Shorts in a single afternoon, staying on top of your content schedule becomes infinitely easier.

The Anatomy of a Perfect AI Prompt for YouTube Shorts

The foundation of any great AI-generated output is a great prompt. Throwing a vague request at a large language model like ChatGPT or Claude will give you vague, generic results. To get a script that feels tailored and ready to use, your prompt needs to be specific and provide clear direction. Think of yourself as an art director guiding a very talented, very fast, but very literal assistant.

Core Components of a Great Prompt

An effective prompt for a YouTube Shorts script should include most, if not all, of these components:

• Role: Command the AI to take on a specific persona. This helps frame the kind of response you want. Examples include, “Act as a viral YouTube Shorts scriptwriter,” or “Act as a social media marketing expert who specializes in creating bite-sized educational content.”
• Goal: Clearly state what you want the finished video to accomplish. Do you want to "entertain a DIY audience," "educate new investors," or "build curiosity for my long-form video"?
• Topic: Be specific about the subject matter. Don’t just say "cooking", say "a quick hack for peeling garlic" or "the biggest mistake people make when searing a steak."
• Format: Describe the structure of the video. Do you want “a 3-step tutorial,” “a myth-busting format where you present a common misconception and then reveal the truth,” or “a storytelling script with a surprising twist at the end”?
• Tone of Voice: How should the script sound? Is your brand "witty and sarcastic," "inspirational and supportive," or "authoritative and direct"? Provide adjectives that guide the language.
• Audience: Who is this video for? Specifying your target audience - like "busy parents," "college students on a budget," or "beginner photographers" - helps the AI choose the right language and relatable examples.
• Constraints: Add any specific rules or guardrails. This includes word count or time limits (e.g., "make the script under 140 words" or "write a script that can be read in under 45 seconds"). This is also where you can add requirements for a hook or call-to-action (CTA).

Bringing It All Together: A Sample Prompt

Here’s how you can combine these elements into one powerful prompt:

Act as a viral YouTube Shorts script writer.

My goal is to create an educational and empowering 50-second Short for my personal finance channel.

The topic is "The one simple trick to sticking to a budget."

The target audience is young professionals in their 20s who are new to budgeting and find it overwhelming.

The format should be a POV (point of view) story where the narrator describes their old spending habits and then reveals the "one trick."

The tone should be relatable, friendly, and non-judgmental.

Constraints: Start with a strong, scroll-stopping hook within the first 3 seconds. The script must be under 130 words and end with a call-to-action that says, "Follow for more daily money tips that actually work."

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your First AI-Powered Short

Getting started is simple. Let's walk through the entire process, from a blank page to a finished video concept.

Step 1: Brainstorm Ideas with a Broad Prompt

If you aren’t sure what to create, use AI as your brainstorming partner. Start with a broad prompt to get the ideas flowing. Don't worry about being perfect here, the goal is just to generate a list to choose from.

Example Brainstorming Prompt:
"Act as a top content strategist for home cooks. Brainstorm 10 YouTube Short ideas about meal prepping that are perfect for beginners. The ideas should be highly visual and focus on popular pain points like saving time and reducing food waste."

The AI will spit out a list of clickable concepts like "The 3 veggies you can chop and freeze right now" or "How to turn Sunday’s roast chicken into 3 different weekday lunches."

Step 2: Generate a Script from Your Favorite Idea

Once you’ve found an idea you like, use the "Perfect Prompt" structure from the previous section to generate a full script for it.

Example Scripting Prompt:
"Okay, write me a 45-second script for the idea 'How to turn Sunday’s roast chicken into 3 different weekday lunches.' The tone should be upbeat and energetic, aimed at busy professionals. Start with a hook like, 'Don't throw out that leftover chicken!' Structure the video with quick cuts showing the three different meals (chicken tacos, chicken salad, and chicken pasta). End with a CTA to 'subscribe for more food hacks'."

The AI will deliver a draft script complete with dialogue and suggested visual cues, getting you 80-90% of the way there in seconds.

Step 3: Refine and Humanize the AI Script

An AI script should never be your final script. It's an incredible first draft, but it lacks your unique voice and personality. This is where you come in.

• Read it aloud. Does it sound natural? Does it sound like you? Edit the wording to match your speaking style.
• Inject your personality. Add a joke, a personal anecdote, or a specific turn of phrase that’s unique to you.
• Punch it up. Strengthen the hook to make it even more compelling. Trim any sentences that drag. AI writing can sometimes be a bit wordy, so tightening it up makes it better for short-form video.
• Fact-check everything. AI can, on occasion, make things up (this is often called "hallucinating"). If your Short presents factual information, double-check that it’s accurate.

Step 4: Create Visuals and Assemble the Video

With an edited script ready, it's time to create the visual component. Your script can serve as a storyboard or shot list.

You have a few options for visuals:

• Film yourself: The most common method. Use your script for a voiceover or as talking points delivered to the camera.
• Use stock footage: Websites like Pexels, Envato Elements, or Artlist offer high-quality video clips that can be edited together.
• Use AI-generated images or video: For more abstract concepts, you can use AI tools like Midjourney to generate images or RunwayML to create short video clips based on a text prompt.

Finally, assemble your clips, add your voiceover or audio, drop in some text overlays, and find a trending sound using a mobile video editor like CapCut, InShot, or the YouTube app itself.

Advanced Prompting Techniques and Tips

Once you've got the basics down, you can use more advanced methods to get even more value out of AI.

• Chain-Prompting for Better Fleshed-Out Concepts: Don't try to get everything in one prompt. Have a conversation with the AI. Start with your main script prompt. Then, follow up with requests like: “Give me 5 punchier hooks for this script,” “Now, write 3 potential titles for this Short that are SEO-friendly,” or “Expand on the second point and add a funny, relatable example.”
• Repurpose Long-Form Content: AI is fantastic at summarizing and extracting key points. You can feed it a full blog post or a transcript of a long-form YouTube video and ask it to pull out the most important ideas and turn them into Shorts.

Example Repurposing Prompt: "Here is a transcript from my 20-minute video about improving sleep quality: [paste transcript]. Pull out the three most actionable tips from this transcript and turn each one into a standalone 45-second script for a YouTube Short."

• Don't Be Afraid to Get Specific: The more detail you give the AI, the better the output. Mention specific editing styles (“write a script that would work well with fast, jump-cut editing”) or visual elements (“the script should list an on-screen text overlay for each step”).

Final Thoughts

Using AI prompts isn't about replacing your creative spark, it’s about scaling it. This method lets you generate better ideas faster, battle writer's block, stay completely on top of content trends, and maintain a consistent posting schedule that the algorithm loves. It leaves you with more time to focus on what you do best: filming high-quality videos and connecting with your community.

Once you’ve perfected your content creation process, you also need a smart way to plan and distribute everything you create. At Postbase, we know how frustrating it is when social media calendars are built on outdated design that makes modern formats, like a YouTube Short, feel like an afterthought. We built a clean, simple, visual calendar so you can drag and drop your content, schedule it across platforms seamlessly, and confidently know it will go live without a hitch. If you’re tired of tools that feel like they're fighting you, take a look at Postbase.