Which tool to choose
Two tools, two different jobs: one generates the ideas, the other judges them.
To generate the variants: ChatGPT. It's free and gives you ten different angles in a single response. The free version is available to everyone and for titles it's more than enough: you need neither the subscription nor the advanced reasoning modes. Gemini or Claude work too if you already use them, the instructions below are identical, only the window where you paste changes.
To choose the winning title: CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer. While the AI churns out ideas, here you get a numeric grade. It tests word balance, sentiment, character count and clarity. It's what removes the doubt "but which of these three is really the best?".
If you're in a hurry and you'll settle for a decent title, stop at the first tool. If the title has to perform (an article you're betting on, a video to push), use both.
How to do it
From computer or phone the path doesn't change: you work inside the same chat window.
- Go to chatgpt.com (or open the app) and log in. To generate titles the free plan is sufficient.
- Open a new chat and paste the prompt below, replacing only the top lines with your real data.
- Read the ten proposals. The first is almost never the best: look for the one that makes you think "I'd click this".
- If none convinces you, reply in the same chat: "Numbers 3 and 7 are going in the right direction. Give me 8 more in the same style, more direct". The AI keeps the context in memory and refines.
- Take the best 2-3 and paste them one at a time into CoSchedule for the score.
The prompt to paste into ChatGPT:
You are an expert headline copywriter. I need to publish an article/video on this topic:
Topic: [e.g. how to save on your electricity bill]
Audience: [e.g. Italian families new to energy matters]
Current title (to improve): [your title]
Generate 10 variants of the title, each with a different angle, and next to each write in parentheses which lever it uses. Use these angles:
1. number/list
2. curiosity (opens a question)
3. concrete benefit
4. mistake to avoid
5. urgency/time
6. "how to do X without Y"
7. direct question
8. specific result with a figure
9. contrarian (challenges common sense)
10. simple and direct
Constraint: 60 characters max per title. No deceptive clickbait, no shouting capitals. Natural English.
Check: after sending you should have ten lines, each with the lever in parentheses. If the AI gives them to you longer than 60 characters, reply "Shorten them all under 60 characters" and it rewrites them for you.
The 60-character limit isn't a whim. A YouTube title allows up to 100 characters, but in a list it's truncated after about 60-70 characters on desktop and 50-60 on mobile. The same goes for the SEO titles of articles, where the display threshold in Google results hovers around 60 characters. Anything beyond that, the reader doesn't see.
Concrete example
Real case: a tutorial video titled "Complete tutorial on how to configure a Wi-Fi router". It's within the character limit (52), but it's flat and full of empty words.
I paste the prompt replacing topic ("configure your home Wi-Fi router"), audience ("non-technical people with slow Wi-Fi") and current title. ChatGPT returns ten variants. The three that stand out:
- "Slow Wi-Fi? Fix the router in 5 minutes" (curiosity + time)
- "5 router settings no one tells you about" (number + curiosity)
- "Set up the router like a technician (without being one)" (how to do X without Y)
I pass them to CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer. The second gets the highest score: it has a number at the opening, a hook word (no one) and stays at 45 characters, within the mobile safety margin. It becomes the final title. Total time: less than five minutes.
Why it worked: the hook is in the first 50 characters, where the eye falls first. The rest of the title supports it.
When it does NOT work (and how to fix it)
If the titles all come out the same and boring
You gave little context. The AI fills the gaps with the web average, and the average is grey. Go back into the prompt and add a concrete detail: the surprising figure in your content, the typical mistake of the audience, the precise result ("from 30 to 100 Mbps"). The more substance you give, the more the titles differentiate.
If the title is exaggerated clickbait
The AI loves to inflate ("INCREDIBLE", "you won't believe"). Reply: "Rewrite without exaggerations, it must deliver what it promises". A title that promises more than the content makes people click but then they bail, and on YouTube this sinks the video, because what counts is watch time, not the click.
If the titles blow past 60 characters
This happens even with the constraint in the prompt. Don't rewrite them by hand: paste the list and ask "Shorten them all under 55 characters keeping the keywords at the start". Keep an eye on the first half staying meaningful: if the title gets truncated, it's the beginning that survives.
If you've used up your free messages
On free ChatGPT the advanced reasoning modes aren't available, and during request peaks free users have lower priority, with slower responses. To generate titles that reasoning isn't needed, so it's not a real obstacle. If even the basic mode blocks you, open Gemini or Claude (they too have free plans) and paste the exact same prompt: the result is equivalent.
A tip from someone who actually uses it
Don't ask for "the perfect title". Ask for ten variants with different angles, because the value isn't in the single title the AI proposes, but in comparing different levers side by side. Often the final title is none of the ten: it's the opening of number 7 pasted onto the promise of number 2. The AI gives you the bricks, the best assembly stays yours. And if you publish on YouTube, remember the title works as a pair with the thumbnail: test them together, never apart.
Frequently asked questions
How many variants does it make sense to generate?
Ten in one shot is the right number: enough to cover different angles without drowning in choice. If you ask for fifty titles you end up with twenty almost identical variants. Better ten good ones and then a second targeted round on the two or three that convince you most.
Do I have to use a paid tool for titles that perform?
No. You do the generation with ChatGPT's free plan and the scoring with the free Headline Analyzer. CoSchedule provides free title generators for YouTube videos, Instagram posts, TikTok, blog articles, emails and podcasts: you write topic, audience and tone and get usable options. The paid plan is needed only if you manage dozens of pieces of content per month.
Does the title's length matter more or the words I use?
The words, but the length decides whether the audience reads them. Even the most brilliant title is useless if the lever disappears into the ellipsis. Keep the hook in the first 45-50 characters and you're safe on every screen.
But doesn't a title written by AI penalize SEO or the algorithm?
It's the most widespread myth and it needs debunking: neither Google nor YouTube penalize a title because it was generated by AI. They evaluate whether the title is relevant to the content and whether people click and stay. An AI title revised by you, honest and with the keyword at the start, performs like a hand-written one, often better, because you compared ten angles instead of settling for the first one that came to mind.