# An AI thumbnail maker inside your video editor

Canonical URL: https://getvidiyo.app/features/ai-thumbnails
Last updated: 2026-10-08

> TL;DR: Vidiyo's thumbnail studio makes covers from the video you just edited. Describe the thumbnail, attach a frame of yourself or a style reference, and it generates a version. Refine it in plain words or by pinning comments on the image, compare versions side by side, then set one as the cover. It needs your own OpenAI or Gemini API key.

Image: Vidiyo thumbnail studio with version 3 of a "Client Hell" cover selected and the request thread listing each refinement.

The thumbnail studio is a mode of the editor, not a separate app. It knows the video you just cut: the hook, the words on screen, the frames with your face in them. You describe the cover you want and refine it in conversation, and every version stays on one strip so you can go back to any of them.

## How do I make a thumbnail with AI in Vidiyo?

Switch the editor from **Video** to **Thumbnail**. Pick the empty slot at the end of the strip, choose a shape (16:9, 9:16 or 1:1) and describe what you want in the Thumbnail tab of the AI panel. A loading card appears straight away and shows each stage: reading the video, planning, painting, checking. It turns into your first version when it's done.

Things you can type:

- "Big bold headline from the hook: 160 GB?!"
- "Me mid-sentence on the right, \"Client hell\" on the left, pink fade."
- "Warmer, headline bigger, put HELL on a yellow marker."
- "Add a 160 GB sticker in the top corner."
- "Same layout, but square for Instagram."

You can attach a subject frame from your video, your own images or notes, or a stock photo, and pick a style reference from the picker. Up to three requests run at once.

## How do I refine a thumbnail?

Select a version and say what should change. The studio sends that version as the reference, adds a new version and keeps the earlier ones. For changes that are easier to point at than describe, press **C** and pin comments on the image, as points or areas. **Refine with comments** sends all of them as one request, with numbered marks drawn on a copy of the image.

| Action | How |
| --- | --- |
| Compare with the version it came from | Hold Space (or the eye button) |
| Move between versions | ← and → |
| Branch from an older version | Refine from here |
| Choose what exports and posts use | Set as cover |
| Remove a dead end | Delete version |

A new refinement of the cover becomes the selected version, so the cover follows your newest refinement until you set another.

## How does the thumbnail generator work?

The studio calls an image model with your own key: OpenAI's image model first, with Google's Gemini image model as the alternative. Before painting, it reads the video for context and plans the layout, text and subject. After painting, it checks the result. The assistant in the main chat can generate and refine thumbnails too, and its requests show as loading cards on the same strip.

Covers travel with your exports. Each export snapshots the project's thumbnails, and an Instagram post scheduled through Buffer can use one as the Reel cover. Buffer's API takes no thumbnail image, so Vidiyo appends the cover as a short still at the end of the uploaded copy and points the cover at that frame. Viewers see it for the last 0.2 seconds of the Reel.

## What makes a good thumbnail request?

Name the three things a viewer reads in a second: the subject, the words and the feeling. "Me looking surprised on the right, '160 GB?!' huge on the left, warm orange background" gives the model a layout to follow. Keep the headline to a few words, because long text is hard to read at feed size and harder for image models to spell. Attach a frame of yourself from the video rather than describing your face, and pick a style reference when you want a series to look consistent. Then refine in small steps ("headline bigger", "less busy background") instead of rewriting the whole request, so each version changes one thing you can judge.

## What doesn't the thumbnail studio do?

It doesn't run on your Claude or ChatGPT plan. It needs an OpenAI or Gemini API key, and those calls are billed to you. It can't set a custom thumbnail on YouTube, X or LinkedIn through Buffer, because Buffer has no input for it there. Download the cover from Exports and add it on the platform. And image models still slip on text sometimes, so read the headline before you ship it.

## Who is it for?

YouTubers and creators who test covers, founders who want a launch video to look finished, and agencies juggling versions for a client. Keeping the video and its cover in one project means the thumbnail matches the edit, and comments work the same way they do on the video.

## Honest limits

- Thumbnails need your own OpenAI or Gemini API key, and each generation is billed to that account.
- Buffer can't set a custom thumbnail on YouTube, X or LinkedIn. Download the cover and add it on the platform.
- Generated text in images can still come out misspelled. Check it before you set a cover.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can Vidiyo make YouTube thumbnails with AI?

Yes. The thumbnail studio generates 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1 thumbnails from a description, using frames from your video, your own images or a style reference. It needs your own OpenAI or Gemini API key.

### Do I need an API key for thumbnails?

Yes. Thumbnails are the one feature that doesn't run on your Claude or ChatGPT plan. Add an OpenAI or Gemini API key in Settings, and each generation is billed to that account.

### Can I refine a thumbnail instead of starting over?

Yes. Select a version and describe the change, such as "headline bigger, warmer background". A new version is added and earlier ones stay. You can also pin comments on the image and send them all as one refinement.

### Does the thumbnail become the video's cover when I publish?

Set as cover marks which version exports and publishing use. On Instagram, Vidiyo can use it as the Reel cover through Buffer. For YouTube, X and LinkedIn, Buffer can't set a custom thumbnail, so you upload it on the platform.

### Can I put my face in the thumbnail?

Yes. When starting a new thumbnail you can attach a subject frame from your video, so the generated cover uses you as you appear in the footage.

## Related

- [A content calendar that schedules your videos](https://getvidiyo.app/features/content-calendar-and-scheduling)
- [Comment on the frame, then Fix with AI](https://getvidiyo.app/features/comments-fix-with-ai)
- [Thumbnail CTR](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/thumbnail-ctr)
- [YouTube thumbnail tips that hold up at small sizes](https://getvidiyo.app/blog/youtube-thumbnail-tips)
- [Schedule videos to Buffer from your video editor](https://getvidiyo.app/buffer-video-scheduling)

Download Vidiyo for Mac (free during the beta): https://getvidiyo.app/download