diff --git a/DiscordChatExporter.Cli.Tests/Specs/HtmlEmbedSpecs.cs b/DiscordChatExporter.Cli.Tests/Specs/HtmlEmbedSpecs.cs
index 207e8041..a959d462 100644
--- a/DiscordChatExporter.Cli.Tests/Specs/HtmlEmbedSpecs.cs
+++ b/DiscordChatExporter.Cli.Tests/Specs/HtmlEmbedSpecs.cs
@@ -181,8 +181,14 @@ public class HtmlEmbedSpecs
         );
 
         // Assert
-        var iframeUrl = message.QuerySelector("iframe")?.GetAttribute("src");
-        iframeUrl.Should().StartWith("https://www.youtube.com/embed/qOWW4OlgbvE");
+        // Check that the YouTube video thumbnail image exists with the correct video ID
+        var youtubeThumbnailSrc = message
+            .QuerySelectorAll("img")
+            .Select(e => e.GetAttribute("src"))
+            .WhereNotNull()
+            .FirstOrDefault(s => s.Contains("qOWW4OlgbvE", StringComparison.Ordinal));
+
+        youtubeThumbnailSrc.Should().NotBeNull();
     }
 
     [Fact]
diff --git a/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Discord/Data/Embeds/YouTubeVideoEmbedProjection.cs b/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Discord/Data/Embeds/YouTubeVideoEmbedProjection.cs
index ce13bdfd..f6d095d2 100644
--- a/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Discord/Data/Embeds/YouTubeVideoEmbedProjection.cs
+++ b/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Discord/Data/Embeds/YouTubeVideoEmbedProjection.cs
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 
 public partial record YouTubeVideoEmbedProjection(string VideoId)
 {
-    public string Url { get; } = $"https://www.youtube.com/embed/{VideoId}";
+    public string Url { get; } = $"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={VideoId}";
+
+    // Using hqdefault.jpg which is guaranteed to exist for all YouTube videos
+    public string ThumbnailUrl { get; } = $"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/{VideoId}/hqdefault.jpg";
 }
 
 public partial record YouTubeVideoEmbedProjection
diff --git a/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Exporting/MessageGroupTemplate.cshtml b/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Exporting/MessageGroupTemplate.cshtml
index e27fad2b..641c2ada 100644
--- a/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Exporting/MessageGroupTemplate.cshtml
+++ b/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Exporting/MessageGroupTemplate.cshtml
@@ -424,9 +424,11 @@
                                                 </div>
                                             }
 
-                                            @* Video player *@
+                                            @* Video thumbnail *@
                                             <div class="chatlog__embed-youtube-container">
-                                                <iframe class="chatlog__embed-youtube" src="@youTubeVideoEmbed.Url" width="400" height="225"></iframe>
+                                                <a href="@youTubeVideoEmbed.Url">
+                                                    <img class="chatlog__embed-youtube-thumbnail" src="@await ResolveAssetUrlAsync(embed.Thumbnail?.ProxyUrl ?? embed.Thumbnail?.Url ?? youTubeVideoEmbed.ThumbnailUrl)" alt="YouTube video thumbnail" loading="lazy" onerror="this.style.visibility='hidden'" data-canonical-url="@(embed.Thumbnail?.Url ?? youTubeVideoEmbed.ThumbnailUrl)">
+                                                </a>
                                             </div>
                                         </div>
                                     </div>
diff --git a/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Exporting/PreambleTemplate.cshtml b/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Exporting/PreambleTemplate.cshtml
index 9e746e16..792612c7 100644
--- a/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Exporting/PreambleTemplate.cshtml
+++ b/DiscordChatExporter.Core/Exporting/PreambleTemplate.cshtml
@@ -711,9 +711,11 @@
             margin-top: 0.6rem;
         }
 
-        .chatlog__embed-youtube {
-            border: 0;
+        .chatlog__embed-youtube-thumbnail {
+            max-width: 400px;
+            max-height: 225px;
             border-radius: 3px;
+            cursor: pointer;
         }
 
         .chatlog__sticker {