ImageSmith / thumbnail generator
AI thumbnail generator
Describe your video and get a bold 16:9 thumbnail built to read at phone size: one clear subject, strong contrast and room for a short headline.
Your image appears here.
Sizes you'll need
| Placement | Size | Note |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube thumbnail | 1280 × 720 px, 16:9 | Under 2 MB, JPG or PNG |
| Minimum width | 640 px | YouTube rejects smaller |
| Displayed size on phones | ~168–360 px wide | Test at this size before uploading |
| Safe area | Avoid the bottom-right corner | The video length badge covers it |
From each platform's published guidelines; they change occasionally. The image resizer crops to any of them.
What works
- One subject, big, with a clear outline: thumbnails are seen at the size of a stamp.
- Faces with a clear emotion get attention; keep them on one side and text on the other.
- Use 3 words or fewer. Leave the bottom-right corner clear of the time stamp.
- After generating, resize to exactly 1280 × 720 with the image resizer.
Questions people ask
What size does the AI thumbnail generator produce?
It generates 1536 × 1024 (3:2), which you can crop to 1280 × 720 (16:9) in one click with the image resizer, the size YouTube recommends.
Can I put my own face in the thumbnail?
The generator makes new images from text. To use your own face, take a photo, cut it out with the background remover, and place it over a generated background in any editor.
Do AI thumbnails break YouTube rules?
No, as long as the thumbnail is not misleading about the content and follows YouTube's thumbnail policies (no graphic or sexual content). Accurate thumbnails also keep viewers watching longer.