AI thumbnail maker for YouTubeand Shorts
Describe the thumbnail, drop in a reference — or paste the link of a video whose look you want to reuse. Shorz generates up to six options in 16:9 and 9:16, with real text baked in.
How to use the youtube thumbnail maker in three steps
The thumbnail decides whether the video you just spent a day on gets watched. Most creators know that and still ship whatever frame the platform grabbed, because making a good one means opening a design tool. Shorz keeps it in the same app as the video — describe the idea, generate six, pick the one that would make you click.
Describe the thumbnail
Say what should be in frame and what feeling it needs to land. Add a text overlay and Shorz bakes the headline in rather than leaving you to add it somewhere else.
Idea + optional headline
Give it something to work from
Add reference images — your face, your product, a style you like — or paste a YouTube link and reuse that thumbnail's look for your own topic.
References or a YouTube link
Generate and pick
Nano Banana 2 or GPT Image 2.5, one to six variations, in 16:9 for YouTube or 9:16 for Shorts. Generated thumbnails are saved to your assets so you can come back to them.
Up to six options
Find it in the app under Thumbnail Creator.
Why YouTube Thumbnail Maker in Shorz
Reuse the look of a thumbnail that worked
Paste the link of a YouTube video, or drop in your own best performer, and Shorz uses that thumbnail's look as the reference for the next one: same layout, same type, new topic. Works in 16:9 with either model — the fastest way to keep a channel's covers visually consistent.
YouTube-link reference
Text that's actually readable
GPT Image 2.5 renders type reliably, which is exactly what a thumbnail needs — three big words that survive being shrunk to a phone-sized card in a crowded feed.
Real text overlay
Who uses it, and for what
YouTube covers
16:9 thumbnails that earn the click.
Shorts covers
9:16 cards for the vertical feed.
Channel consistency
Reuse a proven look across uploads.
A/B testing
Six options, pick the strongest.
Shorz speaks MCP
Shorz isn't a locked web app. Connect it to Claude, Cursor, Codex or Gemini and your assistant can drive it directly — one message instead of a panel full of clicks. You review before anything is published.
See how MCP automation works
You say
“Generate 4 YouTube thumbnails for this video with the headline "I tried it for 30 days" and pick the boldest.”
Shorz does
- 1Read the project's topic
- 2Generate 4 variations with the overlay
- 3Save them to the library
- 4Return the strongest option
Every tool ships with the same promises
They're not separate products with separate bills. One app, one credit balance, one export that belongs to you.
- No subscription — prepaid credits that never expire
- No watermark on anything you export, ever
- Full commercial rights on what you create
- A desktop app for Windows and Mac — your files stay on your machine
- Auto Edit and Clipping: 4 free videos a week, no card
- Drivable from Claude, Cursor, Codex or Gemini over MCP
YouTube Thumbnail Maker questions
16:9 for standard YouTube thumbnails and 9:16 for Shorts, with resolution options up to 4K on Nano Banana 2.
Yes, there's a text-overlay option. GPT Image 2.5 is the better choice when the headline has to be crisp and legible.
Yes. Paste a YouTube video link, or add one of your own thumbnails as a reference image, and Shorz keeps that look for a new topic. The YouTube link applies to 16:9 thumbnails with either Nano Banana 2 or GPT Image 2.5.
Yes — thumbnail generation is a paid feature and is locked on free Auto Edit and Clipping runs. It runs on prepaid credits like everything else: 1 credit = €0.01, packs from €19.90, credits never expire.
In your asset library under generated thumbnails, so you can reuse or re-download them later without regenerating.
Still have questions? Ask founder
More Shorz tools
AI Image Generator
Nano Banana 2 and GPT Image 2.
Explore
Social Media Scheduler
Finish the video and post it — or queue it up to 30 days ahead on a calendar.
Explore
Add Text to Video
Type the hook yourself, or let Shorz read your transcript and headline each segment.
Explore
Motion Graphics Generator
Describe the animation — a title sequence, a stat that counts up, a diagram that builds — and watch it compile live in Animation Studio.
Explore
Create click-worthy thumbnails for YouTube and Shorts
Six options from one idea, in 16:9 and 9:16 — or paste the link of a thumbnail that already worked and reuse its look.
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