YouTube Clip Generator

Turn YouTube Videos into Viral Shorts

Short answer: copy the YouTube watch URL, paste it into ClipSpeedAI, and in a few minutes you get a set of vertical clips cut on sentence boundaries, reframed to 9:16 with the speaker's face tracked, captioned word-by-word, and each one scored 0-100 so you know the posting order. You never download the source file and you never open an editor.

It is free to try on any YouTube video under 30 minutes — you see the real clips the AI picked before you pay. Demo clips carry a small watermark. A $1 three-day trial removes it and raises the upload cap to two hours; Pro is $29/month after that. Live YouTube streams can be clipped while they are still running.

Try it on your own video

Paste a link. Get the clips.

🎬 Free demo: use a video under 30 minutes · paid plans up to 2 hours

Paste any YouTube URL and the AI finds the moments worth cutting. You get 9:16 clips with word-by-word captions, face tracking, and a 0-100 viral score on every one. Free demo on videos under 30 minutes.

Clip a YouTube video free →

How ClipSpeedAI Works for YouTube

ClipSpeedAI is built specifically for YouTube creators, clipping agencies, and faceless channel operators who need to repurpose long-form content into short-form clips at scale. Whether you are turning a 1-hour podcast into 15 viral Shorts or clipping highlights from a gaming stream, the entire workflow is a pasted URL and a few minutes of waiting, not an afternoon on a timeline.

Step 1: Paste Your YouTube URL

Copy any YouTube video link and drop it into ClipSpeedAI. The platform supports standard videos, live streams, premieres, and Shorts. There is no need to download the video first. Batch processing lets you queue up to 10 YouTube URLs at once. If you would rather work from a file you already have, upload it directly instead — the rest of the pipeline is identical.

Step 2: AI Finds the Moments Worth Cutting

The AI reads the full transcript and audio to find the self-contained, emotionally charged moments — the ones that still make sense with no context in front of them. Each clip gets a viral score from 0 to 100, so you can prioritise what to post first instead of guessing. If you want to sanity-check a moment before you commit, the free viral score checker runs the same idea on a single clip.

Step 3: Auto-Reframe, Captions, and Export

Every clip is automatically reframed to 9:16 vertical format using AI face tracking, which follows the active speaker across the frame so they stay centred instead of drifting off the edge of the crop. Choose from 11 animated caption styles, burned in word-by-word. Seven layouts cover full-frame, split-screen and picture-in-picture, and you can also export 1:1 or keep the original 16:9. Export and post to YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram Reels, or X — or schedule them from inside the app.

Step 4: Cuts That Land on Sentences, Not Syllables

The single most common tell of an AI-made clip is an ending that stops mid-word. ClipSpeedAI cuts along sentence boundaries, so a clip finishes on a completed thought. Filler words and dead silence are stripped automatically, which is usually worth several seconds of runtime on a rambling podcast segment.

YouTube Shorts Specs in 2026

Before you post, it helps to know what YouTube will actually accept. These are the current numbers ClipSpeedAI exports against by default.

SettingYouTube ShortsWhy it matters
Max length3 minutesRaised from 60 seconds in October 2024. Longer is allowed, but most clips still peak between 20 and 60 seconds.
Aspect ratio9:16 (vertical) or squareAnything wider gets letterboxed in the Shorts feed and loses screen area to black bars.
Resolution1080 x 1920Upscaling from a 720p source adds artefacts. Clip from the highest-quality source you have.
Frame rate30 or 60 fpsMatch the source. Converting 60 to 30 on gameplay footage visibly stutters.
CaptionsBurned inAuto-captions can be toggled off by the viewer. Burned-in captions cannot, which is why they hold silent-feed viewers.
Source video cap30 min free / 2 hr paidThe free demo takes videos under 30 minutes. Paid plans take uploads up to two hours.

If you are unsure how long a given clip should run, the Shorts length calculator works backwards from your retention curve rather than a rule of thumb.

Features Built for YouTube Creators

🎯

AI Moment Detection

The AI reads every second of your YouTube video to find the moments that stand on their own. Each clip gets a score so you know exactly which ones to post first.

👤

Face-Tracked Reframing

Face detection keeps the active speaker centered in 9:16 vertical format. Works with interviews, podcasts, presentations, and multi-speaker content.

💬

11 Caption Styles

Word-by-word animated captions in styles like MrBeast, Hormozi, Gaming, and Minimal. Burned in, so they still read in a muted feed.

📊

Viral Scoring Engine

Every clip gets a viral score, hook rating, and engagement prediction. Stop guessing which clips to post. Let the AI tell you which ones will perform.

Batch Processing

Queue up to 10 YouTube URLs at once. Process an entire week of content in one sitting. Perfect for agencies and multi-channel operators.

📅

Auto-Schedule to Shorts

Schedule clips directly to YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and X. Set your posting calendar and let ClipSpeedAI handle distribution.

🔴

Live Streams, Clipped Live

Paste a live YouTube, Twitch or Kick URL and clips arrive while the stream is still running — no waiting for the VOD to finish processing.

🎨

Brand Kit & API

Lock your fonts and colours across every clip with a Brand Kit, or drive the whole pipeline from a developer API and an MCP connector for Claude.

Why Creators Choose ClipSpeedAI Over Manual Editing

Manual editing a single YouTube video into Shorts takes 2-4 hours. You have to watch the full video, find interesting moments, cut them, add captions, reframe to vertical, and export. Multiply that by the 3-5 videos most creators publish per week and you are looking at 10-20 hours of editing every week.

ClipSpeedAI does the same work in a few minutes per video. The AI watches your entire video, identifies the best moments, applies professional captions, reframes to 9:16 with speaker tracking, and gives you export-ready clips. That 20-hour weekly editing workload drops to about 15 minutes.

Built for Every YouTube Format

One 45-minute YouTube videoEditing it yourselfClipSpeedAI
Finding the momentsWatch all 45 minutes, scrub back, take notesAutomatic, every moment scored 0-100
CuttingManual in/out points per clipCuts land on sentence boundaries
Vertical reframeKeyframe the crop by hand, shot by shotFace-tracked 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9
CaptionsTranscribe, time, style, fix errorsWord-by-word, burned in, 11 styles
Filler and silenceHunt for every "um" on the timelineRemoved automatically
Realistic time cost2-4 hoursPaste the URL and walk away

"I used to spend 3 hours editing each video into Shorts. Now I paste the URL and get 10 clips in a few minutes. My Shorts channel went from 500 to 45,000 subscribers in 3 months."

-- Alex R., YouTube creator with 120K+ subscribers

Turn Your Next YouTube Video into a Week of Shorts

Paste any YouTube URL. Get clips with word-by-word captions, face tracking and a 0-100 score on each. Free under 30 minutes · then $1 for 3 days · cancel anytime.

Try it free →

YouTube Shorts Strategy with AI Clipping

The YouTube algorithm rewards consistency more than it rewards any single upload — the ranking signals behind what makes a Short go viral are broken down here — and consistency is exactly what breaks when editing takes hours. One long-form video is usually enough raw material for a week of Shorts, so the practical strategy is to clip once and drip the output rather than sitting down to edit every day.

Monetize Your YouTube Shorts

Shorts are monetized inside the YouTube Partner Program: ad revenue from the Shorts feed is pooled each month, music licensing is paid out of that pool, and creators keep 45% of what is allocated to them. Shorts views do not count toward the 4,000 watch-hour threshold — Shorts channels qualify on a separate path of 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. Run your own numbers in the YouTube monetization calculator before you pick which path to chase.

Many creators use ClipSpeedAI to run faceless YouTube channels, repurposing podcast interviews, public domain footage and licensed content into Shorts without appearing on camera. If that is the model you want, start with the faceless YouTube channel guide, which covers niche selection and the sourcing rules that keep a channel out of trouble.

Clip Live Streams While They Are Still Live

Most clipping tools require a finished file. ClipSpeedAI can attach to a live YouTube, Twitch or Kick stream and produce clips in real time, which matters because the demand for a stream moment peaks in the hours around it, not the day after. You paste the live URL, clips appear as the stream runs, and you post the best one before the moment has cooled.

Pricing for YouTube Creators

Try it free on a video under 30 minutes, then $1 for three days, then $29/month if it earns its place. No contracts, cancel anytime.

Free demo

$0
  • Videos under 30 minutes
  • Real AI clip selection
  • Captions + 9:16 reframe
  • Clips carry a watermark

$1 3-Day Trial

$1
  • Uploads up to 2 hours
  • Clean, unwatermarked exports
  • Live stream clipping
  • Viral scoring

Pro

$29/mo
  • 300 minutes/month
  • All 11 caption styles
  • All 7 layouts
  • Priority processing
  • Auto-scheduling
  • Brand Kit + API

YouTube Clipping FAQ

How do I turn a YouTube video into Shorts?

Copy the watch URL and paste it into ClipSpeedAI. The AI transcribes the video, finds the self-contained moments, cuts each on a sentence boundary, reframes to 9:16 with face tracking, burns in word-by-word captions, and scores every clip 0-100. You download the ones you want and upload them to Shorts. No source download, no editing software.

Is there a free way to clip YouTube videos?

Yes — the free demo runs on any YouTube video under 30 minutes, so you see the actual clips the AI picked before paying anything. Demo clips carry a small watermark. The $1 three-day trial removes the watermark and raises the upload cap to two hours; Pro is $29/month after that.

How long can a YouTube Short be in 2026?

Up to 3 minutes. YouTube lifted the cap from 60 seconds in October 2024 and it still stands. In practice most clips perform best between 20 and 60 seconds, because a Short that ends before attention runs out gets replayed instead of skipped.

Can I clip a YouTube live stream while it is still live?

Yes. Paste the live URL and clips arrive while the stream is running, rather than after the VOD finishes processing. The same real-time path works for Twitch and Kick.

How long does processing take?

Minutes, not hours, scaling with the length of the source. A 20-minute talk finishes well ahead of a two-hour podcast. The honest comparison is manual editing, which runs two to four hours for the same handful of clips.

Do the clips work on TikTok and Reels too?

Yes. The 9:16 export is the same format TikTok, Reels and Shorts all use, so one run covers every vertical platform. See the TikTok clipping page for the platform-specific differences in length and caption placement.

Ready to Turn YouTube Videos into Viral Shorts?

Paste a URL and see the clips before you decide. Free on videos under 30 minutes, then $1 for three days.

Clip a YouTube video free →
New to clipping live streams? Start with the complete livestream clipping guide