Blog · Last updated 6 Oct 2026 · BakeVideos team

How to write a YouTube Shorts script with AI

A YouTube Shorts script is 70 to 110 spoken words for a 30 to 45 second video: a hook that stops the scroll within two seconds, one idea per scene of 4 to 10 seconds, specifics the viewer did not know, and a literal ending that does what the brief asked (a tip, a question, "save this"). Narration runs about 2.4 words a second, so count words, not lines. AI writes a usable first draft in seconds if you give it the topic, the audience, the tone and the ending; the part you still own is choosing an angle the viewer has not heard.

The template

HOOK (0–2 s)      one surprising specific, a direct question, or a bold claim about the viewer's problem
SCENE 1 (4–8 s)   the first point, one sentence or two, plain words
SCENE 2 (4–8 s)   the second point; a contrast or a "but"
SCENE 3 (4–8 s)   the third point, the one nobody mentions
PAYOFF (3–5 s)    the literal ending the brief asked for

Five scenes, about 90 words, 35 seconds. A 60-second Short is 130 to 145 words, never more.

What to tell the AI

Topic and audience: "three money habits, for people in their twenties".
Tone: confident, calm, playful, documentary.
Length: in seconds; the writer turns it into a word budget.
The ending: "end with save this", "end with a question", "end with one tip". Say it or you get a summary.
What not to do: no openers like "Here's the thing", no "Let's dive in", no "game changer", no "In today's fast-paced world", no sentences joined with dashes. These are the tells reviewers and viewers recognise as machine writing.

Example

Brief: Three money habits that quietly separate the wealthy from everyone else. Confident. End with "save this".

Most people don't have a money problem. They have a habits problem. First: the wealthy pay themselves before anyone else. Ten percent moves the day the salary lands, before rent, before anything. Second: they buy time, not things. A cleaner, a course, a faster commute. Each hour bought back earns more than it cost. Third: they track net worth, not income. Income is what passes through. Net worth is what stays. Save this, and check your own number tonight.

Ninety-one words, five scenes, about 38 seconds spoken.

How BakeVideos writes it

The studio's writer is given these rules as its prompt: hook first, one idea per scene, specifics over summaries, the ending the brief names, and a banned list of machine phrases. It gets a word budget from the length you pick (a short up to a minute, a long video up to five), and a deterministic clean-up removes dashes and stock phrases from whatever comes back. You can then rewrite any line in the editor and only that scene is re-recorded. Paste the example brief and watch it become a video.

FAQ

How long should a YouTube Shorts script be? 70 to 110 words for 30 to 45 seconds; up to about 145 words for a full 60-second Short. Narration runs about 2.4 words a second.

How do you write a hook for a Short? Lead with the most surprising specific, a direct question, or a bold claim about the viewer's problem, in the first sentence. Never open with the topic's name, a definition, or a summary.

Can ChatGPT write a YouTube Shorts script? Yes. Give it topic, audience, tone, a length in seconds and the exact ending, and ban the stock phrases. Then cut anything that does not add a new specific.

How many scenes should a Short have? Three to seven, each one idea of one or two sentences, 4 to 10 seconds long. More scenes than that means scenes too short for the footage to register.

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