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How to Write Subtitles with ChatGPT

Subtitles play a crucial role in structuring your written content. Whether for blog posts, web pages, or professional documents, well-crafted subtitles improve readability, SEO, and user experience. ChatGPT can help you generate catchy, hierarchical, and SEO-optimized subtitles in minutes. In this tutorial, you will learn how to use ChatGPT to create subtitles that capture attention, logically structure your content, and naturally integrate your target keywords. Whether you are a web writer, blogger, or marketing manager, this method will save you valuable time while improving the quality of your written productions.

Prerequisites

  • 1.Have a ChatGPT account (free or Plus)
  • 2.Have the topic or main text for which you want to create subtitles
  • 3.Know your target audience and desired tone
  • 4.Have identified your main keywords if the goal is SEO

Steps

1

Define the context and objective of your subtitles

Before asking ChatGPT, clarify the content type (blog post, sales page, report, etc.), the target audience, and the purpose of the subtitles (structure, persuade, inform). Provide this information to ChatGPT for relevant results on the first try. The more precise your briefing, the more adapted the generated subtitles will be to your needs.

I am writing a [CONTENT_TYPE] on the topic "[YOUR_TOPIC]" aimed at [YOUR_AUDIENCE]. The tone should be [PROFESSIONAL/CONVERSATIONAL/EXPERT]. Generate 6 to 8 H2 subtitles that logically structure the content, capture the reader's attention, and cover the essential aspects of the topic.

Tip: Always specify the desired heading format (H2, H3) so that ChatGPT respects your content hierarchy.
2

Optimize subtitles for SEO

Once your basic subtitles are generated, ask ChatGPT to optimize them for SEO by naturally integrating your target keywords. The tool can rephrase each subtitle to include terms searched by your audience while maintaining a fluid and engaging style. This step is essential for improving your content's ranking in search engines.

Here are my current subtitles:
[PASTE_YOUR_SUBTITLES]

Optimize them for SEO by naturally integrating the following keywords: [KEYWORD_1], [KEYWORD_2], [KEYWORD_3]. The subtitles should remain natural, engaging, and not appear over-optimized. Propose two variants for each subtitle.

Tip: Avoid keyword stuffing: one keyword per subtitle is generally sufficient for good SEO.
3

Adapt the style and tone of subtitles

Depending on the publication context, your subtitles may need to adopt a different tone. Ask ChatGPT to create variations of your subtitles in several styles: informative, persuasive, interrogative, or creative. This approach allows you to test different formulations and choose those that resonate best with your target audience.

Take these subtitles and propose 3 versions for each:

  1. An informative and direct version
  2. A version as an engaging question
  3. A version with an emotional angle or clear benefit

Subtitles to adapt:
[PASTE_YOUR_SUBTITLES]

Tip: Subtitles in the form of questions work particularly well for blog posts because they match user queries and can appear in Google's featured snippets.
4

Create a consistent hierarchy with sub-levels

Well-structured content often requires multiple levels of subtitles (H2, H3, even H4). Ask ChatGPT to expand your structure by adding relevant sub-sections under each main heading. This hierarchy helps readers navigate your content and signals to search engines the logical structure of your page.

Here is the H2 structure of my article:
[PASTE_YOUR_H2S]

For each H2, generate 2 to 3 H3 subtitles that develop the topic in a logical and progressive manner. Ensure that the H3s add value and do not simply repeat the parent H2. Maintain consistency of style throughout the structure.

Tip: Limit yourself to a maximum of 3 hierarchy levels (H2, H3, H4) to avoid unnecessarily complicating reading.
5

Check and refine the generated subtitles

The last step is to have ChatGPT evaluate your subtitles itself. Ask it to analyze overall consistency, logical progression, absence of redundancies, and attractiveness of your subtitles. This critical eye allows you to identify weaknesses and obtain a polished, professional final version before publication.

Analyze this list of subtitles for an article on "[YOUR_TOPIC]":
[PASTE_ALL_YOUR_SUBTITLES]

Evaluate them according to these criteria:

  • Consistency and logical progression
  • Absence of redundancies
  • Appeal to the reader
  • SEO optimization
  • Clarity and conciseness

Propose concrete improvements and a final optimized version of the complete structure.

Tip: Always read your subtitles aloud: if they sound good orally, they will be effective in writing.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • ✗Giving a too vague prompt without specifying the topic, audience, or tone, which produces generic and unusable subtitles
  • ✗Accepting the first generated subtitles without iterating or adapting them to your own editorial style
  • ✗Overloading subtitles with SEO keywords at the expense of readability and natural phrasing
  • ✗Neglecting the hierarchy of headings (H2, H3, H4) and using all subtitles at the same level
  • ✗Not checking the overall coherence of the structure: individually good subtitles may lack overall logic

FAQ

Can ChatGPT generate subtitles for YouTube videos?
Yes, ChatGPT can create subtitles to structure your YouTube video descriptions or to plan sections of your video content. However, for transcription subtitles (captions), it is better to use specialized tools like YouTube's automatic transcription, then ask ChatGPT to correct and improve them.
How many subtitles should I plan for a blog post?
As a general rule, plan for one H2 subtitle every 200 to 300 words. For a 1500-word article, 5 to 7 H2 subtitles provide a good structure. You can ask ChatGPT to adjust the number based on the length and complexity of your topic.
Are ChatGPT-generated subtitles SEO-optimized by default?
No, not automatically. ChatGPT generates readable and coherent subtitles, but you must explicitly ask it to integrate your target keywords and follow SEO best practices. That is why step 2 of this tutorial is dedicated to SEO optimization.

Related tutorials

How to write a blog post with ChatGPTHow to optimize SEO text with ChatGPTHow to create a content plan with ChatGPT

How to use this prompt

  1. Copy the prompt with the button above.
  2. Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or your favorite AI assistant.
  3. Replace the bracketed variables with your details, then refine the result.

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