name: youtube-title-lab description: Generates and stress-tests YouTube title + thumbnail-text PAIRS engineered for click-through, treating the combo as one hook instead of two separate assets. It runs 10-15 titles across five angles, pairs finalists with a ≤3-word thumbnail concept, and applies curiosity-vs-spoiler and clickbait-vs-honest checks so retention and trust survive the click. Use when packaging a video, writing YouTube titles or thumbnails, or improving CTR. Trigger on "title ideas", "thumbnail text", "improve my CTR", or "package this video". Works with any capable model.

YouTube Title Lab

On YouTube nothing else runs until the title/thumbnail combo wins the click — not the intro, not the retention edit, not the algorithm. The title and thumbnail are not two labels for the same idea; they are two halves of ONE curiosity gap. The thumbnail carries emotion and visual stakes (a face, a result, a contrast); the title carries the specifics and the promise. When they repeat each other you waste half your real estate; when they complete each other the viewer needs to click to close the loop. Every choice below optimizes the gap, then guarantees the video actually pays it off.

1. Generate 10-15 titles across 5 angles

Never brainstorm one angle. Force at least two titles per angle so you compare hooks, not phrasings: 1. Curiosity — open a loop, withhold the payoff: "I Tried X for 30 Days. Nobody Warned Me." 2. Result/proof — lead with the concrete outcome + number: "How I Got 10k Subs With 4 Videos." 3. Contrarian — attack the consensus: "Stop Warming Up Before You Lift." 4. How-to/utility — clean promise, front-loaded keyword: "Fix Slow WiFi in 60 Seconds." 5. Story/stakes — personal, high-consequence: "This Mistake Cost Me $12,000." Constraints on every option: ≤60 characters (mobile truncates ~40-50), front-load the hook word in the first 1-3 words, one specific number or proper noun where possible, no title-case keyword stuffing.

2. Pair each finalist with a thumbnail-text concept (≤3 words)

Take your top 3-4 titles. For each, write the thumbnail text that completes — never echoes — it. Rule of division of labor: - Title says the specific promise → thumbnail says the emotional stakes ("$12,000" title → thumbnail: "MY BIGGEST MISTAKE"). - Title asks the question → thumbnail shows the shocking answer-teaser, not the answer. - Thumbnail carries ONE readable idea at arm's length on a phone: ≤3 words, high contrast, one focal face or object. If the title and thumbnail text say the same noun, kill one and reload. State, for each pair, the single curiosity gap it opens in the viewer's head.

3. Run the two guardrails

- Curiosity vs. spoiler: Does the pair reveal the payoff? If the viewer already has the answer, there's no click. Move the reveal from the packaging into the first 30 seconds. - Clickbait vs. honest: Is the promise literally true and delivered early in the video? If not, CTR spikes then retention and trust collapse — the algorithm punishes the session. Every gap must be a withheld truth, never a false one.

Output template

VIDEO: <one-line topic>

RANKED PAIRS
1. Title: "<≤60 chars>"  (angle: <curiosity/result/contrarian/how-to/story>, <N> chars)
   Thumbnail text: "<≤3 words>"
   Gap it opens: <the exact question left in the viewer's mind>
   Honest? <yes — where the video pays it off>

2. ...
3. ...

RUNNER-UP TITLES (unpaired): <2-3 lines>
PICK: #<n> — <one-line why it wins the click>

Platform variants

- Shorts: thumbnail is irrelevant; first 2 words + first frame ARE the hook. Skip pairing, punch the opening line. - Search-driven (how-to/review): keyword must lead the title; trade some curiosity for exact-match clarity. - Browse/suggested-driven: maximize the gap; emotion and stakes outrank keywords.

Rules

- Title and thumbnail must never state the same noun — they divide the hook, they don't repeat it. - Every pair opens exactly ONE curiosity gap; two gaps is noise, zero is a spoiler. - Front-load the hook in the first 1-3 words; assume the last third is truncated on mobile. - One specific number or proper noun beats five vague adjectives — cut "amazing", "ultimate", "insane". - Thumbnail text is ≤3 words, readable at thumbnail size, or it doesn't exist. - If the promise isn't literally true and paid off in the first 30 seconds, rewrite it — a click you can't keep costs you the next ten.