Best AI Tools to Use in Creating YouTube Shorts (2025 Guide)

If you're serious about growing on YouTube in 2025, then YouTube Shorts should be your playground. These short, vertical videos have exploded in popularity — and thanks to AI tools, creating high-performing Shorts is now faster, easier, and more powerful than ever.

In this post, we’ll explore the best AI tools to create YouTube Shorts, covering everything from script writing and voiceovers to editing, thumbnails, and even performance optimization.

Let’s dive in.

🎬 Why Use AI for YouTube Shorts?

Creating viral YouTube Shorts used to require a full team: writers, editors, designers, and marketers. Now, AI can do most of the heavy lifting, letting solo creators compete with big channels.

Whether you're a beginner or a content machine, these AI tools will help you:

• Save time

• Boost creativity

• Improve quality

• Increase engagement

• Grow subscribers faster

✍️ 1. ChatGPT (OpenAI) – Best for Script Writing

👉 Visit ChatGPT

Need a killer hook, a punchy call-to-action, or a story in under 60 seconds? ChatGPT is your go-to AI writing assistant.

Use it to:

• Generate high-retention YouTube Shorts scripts

• Create engaging video titles and descriptions

• Write captions and hashtags

• Brainstorm viral Shorts ideas

Pro Tip: Ask it to mimic viral formats like “What if I told you…” or “The dark truth behind…”

🎙️ 2. ElevenLabs – Best for Realistic AI Voiceovers

👉 Try ElevenLabs

Voiceovers give your Shorts personality — but not everyone wants to record their own voice. ElevenLabs uses advanced AI to generate human-like speech in different tones, emotions, and languages.

Features:

• Ultra-realistic AI voices

• Clone your own voice or pick from presets

• Supports multiple languages for international Shorts

Perfect for faceless channels, explainer Shorts, or narrative content.

🎞️ 3. Runway ML – Best for Smart Video Editing

👉 Check Runway

Runway is an AI video editor that feels like magic. It can remove backgrounds, objects, or people with a click, and even generate new video clips with AI.

Why it’s great for Shorts:

• Fast, browser-based video editing

• AI tools like background remover, motion tracking, and green screen

• Text-to-video tools for auto content generation

Combine Runway with stock clips, memes, or b-roll to boost quality.

✂️ 4. CapCut Desktop – Best All-In-One Free Editor with AI Features

👉 Download CapCut

CapCut has become the default editor for TikTok and YouTube Shorts creators, and for good reason. It’s free, fast, and packed with AI features.

Highlights:

• Auto caption generator

• AI beat sync for music

• Face tracking & visual effects

• Background music library

• Templates for viral video formats

Bonus: It integrates with TikTok and YouTube directly.

🧠 5. Pictory AI – Best for Turning Scripts into Videos

👉 Try Pictory

Pictory is the perfect tool if you want to turn blog posts, scripts, or long content into short-form videos automatically.

How it helps:

• Converts text into engaging videos with visuals and subtitles

• Built-in stock footage and background music

• Great for faceless, educational, or motivational Shorts

Just paste your script, and Pictory handles the rest.

🧑‍💻 6. Descript – Best for Editing by Text

👉 Explore Descript

Descript allows you to edit videos like a Word document. Delete a word in the transcript, and it’s gone from the video. Super efficient.

Key tools for Shorts:

• Overdub: AI voice cloning

• Remove filler words automatically

• Screen recording for tutorials

• Audiograms for podcast-style Shorts

Perfect for creators who want speed and clarity.

🎨 7. Canva Pro – Best for AI Thumbnails & Visual Assets

👉 Use Canva

Every viral Short needs a clickable thumbnail. Canva Pro makes this easy with AI tools like Magic Design and Background Remover.

Use Canva to:

• Create YouTube Shorts thumbnails

• Design channel branding

• Animate intros and outros

• Resize visuals for Reels and TikToks too

Bonus: Canva now supports text-to-image AI to generate custom graphics.

📊 8. TubeBuddy – Best for AI-Powered SEO & Performance

👉 Get TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is your AI YouTube assistant, built specifically to help you optimize titles, tags, and thumbnails for higher reach.

Features:

• AI title generator for Shorts

• SEO score on each video idea

• Tag suggestions and trend alerts

• Competitor tracking and A/B testing

If you want more clicks and views, TubeBuddy is essential.

📱 9. Opus Clip – Best for Turning Long Videos into Shorts

👉 Try Opus Clip

Already have long videos or podcasts? Opus Clip uses AI to automatically extract the most viral moments and turn them into ready-to-publish Shorts.

What it does:

• Auto-detects hook moments

• Adds captions, zooms, and emojis

• Instantly exports in vertical format

This is a dream for repurposing long content fast.

📈 10. VidIQ – Best for Trend Discovery & AI Coaching

👉 Use VidIQ

VidIQ uses AI to help you find what's trending, what to post, and how to grow.

Best features:

• AI Title Generator

• Daily video ideas based on your niche

• Real-time trending Shorts alerts

• Competitor tracking

VidIQ is like having a YouTube growth coach in your pocket.

🚀 Bonus Tool: Kaiber – Best for AI-Generated Visuals and Music Videos

👉 Try Kaiber

If your Shorts are more creative, artistic, or music-based — Kaiber lets you turn images and prompts into moving visuals. Think animated intros, AI-generated music loops, or surreal cinematic b-roll.

🏁 Final Thoughts: What’s the Best AI Tool for YouTube Shorts?

If you're just getting started:

• Use ChatGPT + CapCut + ElevenLabs for a full workflow.

If you’re repurposing content:

• Opus Clip + Descript is your combo.

For serious branding and SEO:

• Canva + TubeBuddy + VidIQ will take you far.

🔖 Tags

Best AI tools for YouTube Shorts AI video editing tools 2025 Create YouTube Shorts with AI AI script writer for YouTube Free AI video tools How to make YouTube Shorts fast CapCut AI editing ChatGPT YouTube Scripts

Let me know if you’d like a downloadable cheat sheet or visual infographic to pair with this article.