AI prompts for YouTube Shorts and vertical video

A single Short built for the swipe test

Write a [15/30/45]-second YouTube Shorts script about [TOPIC].

Hard rules:
- The first line must be under 8 words and land inside 2 seconds.
- No greeting, no channel name, no context-setting.
- One idea only. If a second idea appears, cut it.
- The last line must connect back to the first so the video loops seamlessly.
- Format as: [TIME] | [SPOKEN LINE] | [ON-SCREEN TEXT] | [VISUAL]

In practice: Write a 30-second YouTube Shorts script about why hotel hallways are always carpeted.

Hook testing before you commit production time

Give me 10 opening lines for a Short about [TOPIC]. Each must be under 8 words.

Use a different mechanism for each: a contradiction, a number, a warning, a confession, a question the viewer cannot answer, a visual instruction ("look at this"), a callout to a specific group, a false assumption, a countdown, and a mid-action open.

Then rank them by how likely a stranger is to stop scrolling, and explain the top three.

In practice: Run this every time. The best hook is rarely the first one a model produces.

Mining a finished long video for vertical clips

Here is a transcript with timestamps: [PASTE TRANSCRIPT]

Find the 8 strongest standalone moments for YouTube Shorts. For each: the exact start and end timestamps, why it works alone (it must make sense with zero context), a rewritten 8-word hook to overlay on the first frame, and a suggested on-screen caption style.

Reject any clip that needs setup from earlier in the video.

In practice: Feed in a 20-minute podcast transcript and get a two-week Shorts calendar.

Text that carries the video with sound off

Convert this Shorts script into on-screen captions. Rules: maximum 4 words per card, one card per beat, all caps for the 3 highest-emphasis words in the whole video, and no card may repeat the spoken line verbatim where a punchier paraphrase works.

Output as a numbered list with the matching spoken line beside each card.

Script: [PASTE SCRIPT]

In practice: Most Shorts are watched muted — the caption pass matters more than the voiceover.

Turning one format into 30 posts

I want a repeatable Shorts series about [TOPIC AREA] for [AUDIENCE].

Define: the fixed format (what is identical in every episode), the variable (what changes), the cold-open line pattern, and the sign-off. Then give me 30 episode titles that fit the format, ordered so the strongest five run first.

The format must be producible in under 20 minutes per episode.

In practice: Series beat one-offs — the algorithm and the viewer both reward a recognisable pattern.