YouTube Shorts has exploded as one of the fastest ways to reach new audiences, and with AI tools entering the scene, creating viral short videos is more accessible than ever. Whether you’re launching a faceless channel, repurposing long content, or experimenting with trending formats, the right AI assistant can shave hours off your workflow. Below are six standout AI tools that creators are using in 2025 to boost reach and engagement on Shorts.
1. Invideo
Invideo is at the forefront of AI video creation technology, offering a powerful platform to effortlessly generate YouTube Shorts. With its ai youtube shorts feature, Invideo enables users to transform simple text prompts or ideas into fully edited videos optimized for Shorts format. This makes it especially valuable for creators focused on rapid content production without filming themselves, particularly for faceless channels or marketers. The AI engine seamlessly handles scriptwriting, video scene generation, voiceovers, subtitles, and matching background music. Leveraging a vast stock library of over 16 million royalty-free images and clips, Invideo ensures each short is visually engaging. By integrating “ai youtube shorts” automation, it significantly reduces editing complexity and time, allowing creators to maintain a high posting frequency that platforms like YouTube reward.
Beyond its online studio, Invideo also offers a free ai video generator app for mobile users, making Shorts creation even more accessible on the go. The app includes specialized templates tailored for the vertical, under-60-seconds format of YouTube Shorts. Users can select a template that fits their content style, customize text, add AI-generated voiceovers in multiple languages, and export ready-to-publish videos swiftly. This mobile functionality empowers creators to produce viral videos anywhere, anytime, breaking barriers of traditional video editing workflows. Invideo’s app continues to garner praise for balancing ease of use with deep customization, making it ideal for both beginners and experienced video marketers aiming to scale their Shorts content efficiently.
2. CapCut AI (ByteDance)
CapCut, best known as a mobile editing app tied to TikTok ecosystems, now includes an “AI video generator” mode that can turn your script or prompt into a full video with visuals, transitions, voiceovers, and subtitles — with minimal intervention. It’s particularly useful if you already use CapCut’s editing environment; you can then fine-tune or add stylistic tweaks.
CapCut’s AI text-to-video tool also supports Short-friendly aspect ratios and vertical formats, making it easy to produce Shorts-ready content straight off your phone or web app.
Because the app is free (with optional premium upgrades), many creators use CapCut AI as a low-barrier entry into AI-assisted short-form video production.
Watch out / caveats: CapCut’s terms of service changes have raised concerns about content rights and licensing, so always double-check how your video ownership is handled.
3. Lumen5
Lumen5 is a veteran in the AI video space, originally known for turning articles and blog posts into short videos. While it’s often used for listicles or narrated clips, you can adapt Lumen5 to output vertical-short formats or repurpose segments for Shorts. Its strength lies in script-to-video conversion, templated layouts, and auto-selection of visuals and transitions.
For YouTube Shorts, you could take a blog paragraph or list, feed it into Lumen5, then slice or reformat the result into 9:16 format. It lacks some of the more generative flair (e.g. AI avatars or deep prompt creativity) that newer tools offer, but Lumen5 is reliable and polished.
4. Shortsgenerator.ai
Shortsgenerator.ai is a more niche tool specifically focused on making vertical short videos (e.g. for YouTube Shorts) from prompts or simple input. It aims to automate the full pipeline of Shorts creation, including matching visual styles, pacing, and soundtracks. Because it’s designed for shorts, it can skip the overhead of full-length video tools, making it quicker to iterate on trending formats.
If your goal is volume — test multiple hooks, thumbnails, angles — a Shorts-dedicated tool like this gives you speed and simplicity.
5. Runway (Gen-AI & Video Tools)
Though not always exclusively marketed for Shorts, Runway’s suite of generative video tools (e.g. motion interpolation, video inpainting, generative fill) can be powerful when combined with short-form workflows. Many creators use Runway to punch up transitions, generate effects or visual magic, then re-export into Shorts editing tools. In other words: use Runway as your special-effects layer, not your end-to-end Shorts engine.
Because Runway’s models evolve rapidly, you can stay ahead by combining it with prompt-based editors like InVideo or CapCut — it’s especially useful to add unique visuals that make a short stand out in the feed.
6. HeyGen / Synthesia / Pika (Text-to-Video Tier Tools)
There are a host of newer generative text-to-video platforms like HeyGen, Synthesia, and Pika that allow you to convert written scripts into video with avatars, voiceovers, and scene layouts. Many of these tools now support vertical or square formats suitable for Shorts.
- HeyGen: Strong avatar-based narrators, which is great if your short needs a “spokesperson” feel.
- Synthesia: Reliable avatar + lip-sync, good when you want a talking head in a short video without filming.
- Pika: More experimental / design-forward, good for stylized effects.
Use these when your Shorts rely on a narrator or character presence rather than purely visual storytelling.
Tips for making AI-powered Shorts go viral
- Start with a strong hook (0–2s) — AI tools can suggest opening lines or split your prompt to emphasize a hook.
- Use trending sounds and effects — combine your AI video with native Shorts audio trends.
- Optimize for looping — make the ending tie back to the start.
- A/B thumbnail and title variants — many of these AI tools can help you generate multiple storyboarded versions quickly.
- Iterate fast — one advantage of AI is speed. Push multiple versions per idea.
Conclusion
In 2025, creators no longer need to be video editing experts to produce Shorts that can compete. Tools like Invideo (top of our list) let you go from a single prompt to a fully edited vertical clip; CapCut AI adds convenience if you’re already in its ecosystem; and others like Lumen5, Shortsgenerator.ai, Runway, and HeyGen/Synthesia fill in complementary use cases. Try mixing and matching tools depending on your style, script or visual needs — and use AI’s speed to experiment aggressively.
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