--- title: "AI YouTube Shorts Maker from a Prompt or Link | Potto AI" description: "Make YouTube Shorts with AI from a prompt, link or screenshots. Potto writes the script, animates 9:16 scenes with narration and captions, and exports an MP4." canonical: "https://potto.ai/youtube-shorts-maker" language: "en" dateModified: "2026-10-10" --- # YouTube Shorts Maker Make YouTube Shorts with AI from one sentence, a page link or screenshots. This AI YouTube Shorts maker writes the script, builds vertical motion graphics scenes with voiceover and captions, and lets you edit every scene before you export an MP4 to upload yourself. It makes new Shorts; it does not cut clips from a long video. ## Shorts made with Potto's AI YouTube Shorts maker Each vertical sample came out of the AI shorts generator from one sentence, a pasted outline, a page link, screenshots or a PDF, with Short picked under Video type. Select a poster to play it. ### Science Short from one sentence *9:16 · 29s* Why the sky is blue, explained one idea per screen and made from one sentence of direction. ### How-to Short from screenshots *9:16 · 29s* Three uploaded screenshots of the Potto AI image generator become a three-step how-to: open the generator, type your prompt, pick a model. ### Short that points to a full video *9:16 · 31s* The outline of a long cold brew test video, pasted as text, becomes a Short that previews three findings in a sample channel's brand colors and sends viewers to the full video. ### Explainer Short from one link *9:16 · 31s* A link to the Potto image upscaler page becomes an explainer on what upscaling changes in a photo, when to use it and what to check in the result. ### Number Short with one chart *9:16 · 29s* Weekly bike-share ride counts typed into the prompt as example numbers become one animated bar chart and a single takeaway, framed for phones. ### Lesson Short narrated in Spanish *9:16 · 30s* A biology handout PDF becomes a vertical lesson, voiced and captioned in Spanish: the steps of photosynthesis in order. *Potto wrote the prompts, outline and sample files behind these YouTube Shorts; the channel, people and figures in them are fictional, and two samples show Potto's own pages. Each one is a Potto project export, not a recording of a customer channel.* ## One storyboard row, one opening frame The first scene of the sky science sample as Potto's AI shorts generator wrote it in the storyboard, next to the frame it became. Viewers decide on a phone whether to keep watching YouTube Shorts, so the opening scene carries the hook. *Storyboard row · Short* Scene 1 of 6 · 3s. On-screen text - Why is the sky blue? *Video frame · 0:01 · 9:16* ### What the AI YouTube Shorts maker put on screen The hook line from the storyboard appears as large text in a vertical frame, short enough to read on a phone at a glance. Details that would crowd a small screen move into the voiceover instead. ### What became narration The storyboard row also holds a spoken line. Narration explains what the on-screen text only names, and captions highlight each word as it is spoken for viewers who watch Shorts with the sound off. ### What to check before exporting Read the hook out loud against the first frame and ask whether it says what the Short is about. Then check every name, number and claim against your source: the AI shorts generator writes only from what you give it, and you are the one who publishes it. ## What to make with an AI YouTube Shorts maker YouTube Shorts are watched on phones, often by viewers who do not know your channel yet. Whatever short video maker you use, give each video a single job, and let that job decide the input, the opening line and the ending. ### How-to and tutorial Shorts *9:16 · 29s* One task per video. Start from screenshots for steps on a screen, or from a sentence for a single technique, and keep the steps in order. Exact button names and settings belong on screen, not only in narration, because viewers may pause and follow along. ### Shorts that point to your long videos *9:16 · 31s* Write the outline or main findings of a long video into your brief and ask for YouTube Shorts that preview them. Potto builds new scenes from that text. End on where to watch the full video, and keep every claim to what the long video shows. ### Explainers and numbers from links or files *9:16 · 29s* Paste a public page link, upload a PDF, PowerPoint or Word file, or type your numbers into the prompt. Turn one idea or one number into a short video, with a single chart per screen so it stays readable in a vertical frame. ## How to make YouTube Shorts with AI Use this AI YouTube Shorts maker in three steps with the creator above. Previews are free, and the credit price appears before you export. ### 1. Describe your Short and add sources Write a sentence on what the video should teach or show, and who it is for. Add a public link, screenshots, or PDF, PowerPoint and Word files of 20 MB or less. Choose Short as the video type for a 9:16, 30-second video with voiceover and captions. ### 2. Review the hook, scenes and narration Read the script and storyboard the AI shorts generator drafted. Edit the words on screen and the voiceover for any scene, swap a screenshot, choose a focus point, or regenerate or replace an illustration. Make sure the first scene says what it is about. ### 3. Preview, then export a vertical MP4 Watch a preview in your browser for free. Export a 1080p MP4 at 30 fps in 1080×1920, then upload it to YouTube Shorts yourself. Credits are charged only when you export, based on length, narration and illustrations. ## What this AI YouTube Shorts maker does Potto is a short video maker that starts from your idea and sources, and builds YouTube Shorts from new scenes: an AI-written script, [motion graphics](https://potto.ai/ai-motion-graphics.md), narration, captions and music, exported as a vertical MP4. ### A hook and script written by AI Describe your video in one sentence and say what its first scene should land on. Claude Opus 5.5 drafts the outline, storyboard and voiceover script around that hook; scenes are rendered with Remotion, with AI-generated illustrations and voiceover. If the hook falls flat, rewrite it before exporting. - Outline, storyboard and script drafted by AI - Opening hook you can rewrite *Opening scene of the sky science sample* Opening scene of a YouTube Short sample about why the sky is blue, made from one sentence ### Start from links, screenshots or documents Paste a public http or https link, and Potto reads that page plus up to 2 more pages on the same site and captures a 1440×900 screenshot of the first view. You can also add screenshots and PDF, PowerPoint or Word files of 20 MB or less each. Pages behind a login cannot be read, so upload screenshots of them instead. - Public links and 8 attachments per project - Text read from up to 100 pages *A step from the image generator how-to sample* Vertical how-to scene from a YouTube Short sample built from three uploaded screenshots of an AI image generator: step 1, open the generator ### Built for a phone held upright With Short as the video type, a project starts as a 9:16 video of 30 seconds with narration and captions on. As a short video maker for phones, it uses the full height of the frame, with large text and one idea at a time. When you also need a video for a website or a feed, the same creator exports 16:9 and 1:1 too, and the price stays the same for every aspect ratio. - Vertical MP4 at 1080×1920 - Price not affected by aspect ratio *Three YouTube Shorts samples, all vertical* Three vertical frames from YouTube Short samples made with Potto ### Narration in 32 languages, with captions Choose any of 32 narration languages or let Potto detect the language. Captions highlight each word as it is spoken, so your Shorts still make sense with the sound off. Background music comes from Potto's own library of original tracks, picked to fit the style and length, and you can change it. - 32 narration languages or auto-detect - Original background music you can change *A scene from the Spanish lesson sample* Lesson scene with a Spanish caption from a YouTube Short sample ### Your channel colors, font and logo Select a brand kit, or turn on the default brand, and its four brand colors are applied to the visuals. Choose a font from Inter, Space Grotesk and Bricolage; your logo appears in opening and closing scenes, so a series of YouTube Shorts looks like it comes from one channel. - Four brand colors in the visuals - Logo in opening and closing scenes *The cold brew sample with a channel brand kit* Opening frame of the cold brew YouTube Short sample made with a sample channel's brand kit, showing its logo and colors ## Keep exploring Potto AI A short video maker for YouTube is one way to use Potto. These pages cover other formats and starting points. - [Reels Maker](https://potto.ai/reels-maker.md): Make vertical Reels for brands, products or lifestyle accounts. - [Explainer Video](https://potto.ai/explainer-video.md): Make a longer explainer from a topic or notes. - [Article to Video](https://potto.ai/article-to-video.md): Turn a blog post or article into a video. - [AI Video Generator](https://potto.ai/ai-video-generator.md): Start from a brief and let the video type follow. - [Audio to Video](https://potto.ai/audio-to-video.md): Turn a podcast clip into a waveform video with captions. - [AI Motion Graphics](https://potto.ai/ai-motion-graphics.md): Every Potto video style, from kinetic text to data stories. ## YouTube Shorts Maker FAQs What a YouTube Shorts maker is, what Potto needs from you, and the limits, edits and prices to know before exporting. ### What is a YouTube Shorts maker? A YouTube Shorts maker is a short video maker for vertical videos made for YouTube Shorts, the short-form format that viewers watch and swipe through on their phones. Many Shorts makers are editors or clip tools that cut a long video into pieces. Potto is an AI YouTube Shorts maker that generates new Shorts from a sentence, a link, screenshots or a document: it writes the script, renders motion graphics scenes with narration, captions and music, and exports an MP4. It does not film footage or generate a digital presenter. ### What is an AI shorts generator, and is Potto one? An AI shorts generator is software that uses AI to produce short vertical videos from an input such as a prompt, a script, an article or an existing video. Potto is an AI shorts generator that works from prompts and sources: Claude Opus 5.5 writes the outline, storyboard and voiceover script, and Potto's Remotion scenes turn it into motion graphics, with AI-generated illustrations and voiceover. Potto currently cannot take an existing video as input, so it does not pick highlights from your footage. ### How do I make YouTube Shorts with AI? To make YouTube Shorts with AI here, describe the video in the creator at the top, add a page link or files if you have them, pick Short under Video type and start the project. Claude Opus 5.5 drafts the script, storyboard, voiceover and captions; you edit them scene by scene, preview for free in your browser, export an MP4 and upload it to YouTube Shorts yourself. ### What can I give the YouTube Shorts maker as input? The AI YouTube Shorts maker accepts a sentence of direction, a public link, screenshots and documents. Potto reads a public http or https page plus up to 2 more pages on the same site; pages behind a login cannot be read, so upload screenshots of them instead. PDF, PowerPoint and Word files can be 20 MB each, with text read from up to 100 pages, and one project holds 8 attachments in total. ### Can Potto turn my long YouTube video into Shorts? No. Potto currently cannot take an existing video to analyze or edit, so it cannot cut YouTube Shorts out of a long video. It can make new Shorts about the same topic: paste the outline, script or key findings of your long video into the brief, and this AI YouTube Shorts maker builds fresh scenes that send viewers to the full video. ### Can I edit the script and scenes before exporting? Yes. Before you export, you can edit what the AI shorts generator drafted: the words on screen and the voiceover script for each scene. For visuals, you can swap a screenshot, choose its focus point, regenerate an illustration or replace it with your own upload. Preview again after each change, and check that the first scene still says what it is about. ### Can I use my channel's colors, font and logo? Yes, when you select a brand kit or turn on the default brand. Its four brand colors are applied to the visuals, the font is your choice of Inter, Space Grotesk or Bricolage, and your logo appears in opening and closing scenes of your YouTube Shorts. ### Can I make YouTube Shorts with narration in other languages? Yes. The AI YouTube Shorts maker offers narration in 32 languages, or it can detect the language automatically. Captions highlight each word as it is spoken, which helps viewers who watch Shorts with the sound off. Listen to a preview once for names, numbers and abbreviations. ### What size and format does Potto export for YouTube Shorts? YouTube Shorts are exported as a 1080p MP4 at 30 fps in 9:16 (1080×1920). The Short video type starts from that vertical frame, 30 seconds and narration with captions. The same creator also exports 16:9 (1920×1080) and 1:1 (1080×1080) when you need a video for a website or a feed. A 4:5 frame and GIF export are not available. ### Does Potto post to my YouTube channel? No. Potto exports an MP4 file, and you upload it to YouTube yourself. It is not connected to your YouTube account and never publishes or schedules Shorts. As a short video maker, it gives you a file that any app accepting a vertical MP4 can take; for Instagram, see the [Reels maker](https://potto.ai/reels-maker.md) page. ### How many credits do YouTube Shorts cost in Potto? Generating and previewing YouTube Shorts in your browser is free; credits are charged only when you export. The price depends on video length, narration length and how many AI illustrations you use, and aspect ratio does not change it. For example, a 30-second Short with English narration and no illustrations costs 153 credits, and adding 2 illustrations brings it to 199 credits. Each account can start up to 30 video projects and generate 60 illustrations a day. ## Make YouTube Shorts with AI Use the short video maker above: describe your idea, add a link or screenshots, review every scene and see the credit price before you export a vertical MP4.