How to Make YouTube Shorts With AI (Step-by-Step)

Sign in to Klippers.ai and upload the long-form video you want to turn into Shorts. The platform accepts MP4 and MOV files and runs entirely in your browser, so there is nothing to install.

Almost any source works well: a YouTube video you already published, a webinar recording, a podcast video, or a livestream replay. Because the AI listens to your audio to find highlights, clear speech and minimal background noise produce the strongest results. Upload the highest resolution you have (1080p or above) so the cropped vertical clips stay sharp.

This is where the AI replaces hours of manual scrubbing. Klippers analyzes the full video - speech patterns, energy, and how the content is structured - and surfaces the segments most likely to hook a viewer. You simply choose how many Shorts to generate (1 to 10) and a target duration (15, 30, 45, or 60 seconds).

For YouTube Shorts, 30 to 60 seconds is the sweet spot: long enough to land a complete idea, short enough to keep retention high. If you are not sure which moments will resonate, generate 3 to 5 clips first and see what the AI selects before committing to more.

The YouTube Shorts feed is built for vertical video, so set the aspect ratio to 9:16. Klippers re-frames each horizontal clip into a tall, mobile-first format automatically - no manual keyframing.

Klippers also supports 1:1 (square), 16:9 (horizontal), and 4:3. If you cross-post the same moment to Instagram Reels or TikTok, 9:16 covers all three short-form feeds, so you usually only need to export once.

Most people watch Shorts with the sound off, and captioned video is widely reported to drive meaningfully higher engagement. Klippers transcribes your audio and generates synced, animated captions for you. Choose the language of your video first for accurate transcription - Klippers supports a wide range, including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean.

You get full control over how captions look. Pick a subtitle style (such as Regular, Rounded Box, or Message Box), a position (top, middle, or bottom), capitalization, and custom text and background colors to match your channel's branding. A bold, bottom-positioned style with high contrast is a reliable default for readability.

Processing typically takes about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the length of your source video and how many Shorts you requested. When they are ready, preview each clip to review the AI's selections, then download the ones you want in high quality - individually or all at once.

Upload each clip through the YouTube app or YouTube Studio. Vertical 9:16 videos under 60 seconds are automatically eligible for the Shorts feed. Add a punchy title, a few relevant hashtags, and you are done.