How to Get the Transcript of a YouTube Video (Best Options)

Getting the transcript of a YouTube video can be incredibly beneficial for various reasons.

Whether you're a content creator looking to repurpose your videos, a student needing to take notes, or someone seeking to enhance accessibility, transcripts are essential.

This guide will show you different methods to obtain a YouTube video transcript, including how AI software like SummarAIze can streamline this process and help you repurpose content effectively.

Methods to Get a YouTube Video Transcript

Several methods are available to obtain transcripts from YouTube videos, ranging from using YouTube's built-in features to leveraging third-party tools and professional services. Each method has its pros and cons, and choosing the right one depends on your specific needs and resources.

Using YouTube’s Built-In Features to Get Transcripts

YouTube provides built-in features that make obtaining transcripts straightforward and convenient. These methods are particularly useful for quick access and basic transcription needs.

Desktop Method

1. Go to YouTube and select the video.
2. Click on the three-dot menu below the video and select "Show transcript."
3. Highlight the text, copy, and paste it into a document.

Mobile Method

1. Open the YouTube app and select the video.
2. Tap on the three-dot menu and select "Show transcript."
3. Note that copying is not directly available on mobile devices.

Alternate Ways to Generate a YouTube Transcription

For more advanced or specialized needs, several alternate methods can generate YouTube transcriptions.

These include manual transcription, free third-party tools, professional services, and AI software like SummarAIze.

Manual Transcription

Manual transcription involves listening to the YouTube video and typing out the spoken content word-for-word. While this method can be time-consuming, it allows for a high level of accuracy and control over the transcript.

• Pros: High accuracy, full control over the content.
• Cons: Time-consuming, labor-intensive.

Free Third-Party Tools

There are several free third-party tools available that can help generate transcripts from YouTube videos. These tools often use speech recognition technology to automatically transcribe the spoken content.

One popular tool is Google Docs, which has a built-in voice typing feature that can transcribe audio in real-time. To use this feature, simply open a Google Doc, go to "Tools," and select "Voice typing." Then, play the YouTube video and let Google Docs transcribe the audio.

• YouTubeTranscript.com
  
  • A free and simple transcription tool for obtaining YouTube transcripts.
  • Pros: Free, quick and simple interface, no cost.
  • Cons: May require manual corrections, limited features.
• Google Docs Voice Typing
  
  • Pros: Free, integrated with Google Docs, supports real-time transcription.
  • Cons: Requires manual setup, accuracy can vary depending on audio quality.
• Deepgram
  • Free and fast way to generate a transcript from a YouTube video in over 30 languages.

Professional Services

If you require a high level of accuracy and quality in your YouTube video transcript, professional transcription services may be the best option. These services typically involve experienced transcribers who listen to the video and create a detailed, error-free transcript.

• Rev
  
  • Pros: Very accurate, quick turnaround.
  • Cons: Costs vary based on length.
• Scribie
  
  • Pros: Multiple service tiers, reasonable pricing.
  • Cons: Longer turnaround time for lower-cost options.

Using AI Software

AI software like SummarAIze offers an advanced and efficient way to create auto-generated transcripts from YouTube videos. These tools use artificial intelligence algorithms to automatically transcribe spoken content with high accuracy and speed.

• SummarAIze
  
  • Pros: Automated, accurate, comes with content repurposing tools, and includes SRT, VTT, and TXT captions.
  • Cons: Subscription-based.

Advantages of Using Transcripts

Using transcripts offers multiple advantages that can significantly enhance your content strategy. From improving SEO to making your content more accessible and easy to repurpose, transcripts are a powerful tool.

SEO Benefits

Transcripts improve your video’s SEO by making content searchable and accessible. By having a transcript, search engines can better understand and index your content, leading to improved visibility and discoverability. This process is crucial for better search engine optimization (SEO).

Transcripts are great to include on your website too if you decide to host your content there.

Content Repurposing

Transcripts assist in writing social media posts, blogs, and emails from your video content.

With SummarAIze, you can efficiently repurpose your video or podcast content into various formats. SummarAIze also can generate your video descriptions, chapters, and titles with AI!

This transcription software also aids in creating text-based transcripts that enhance your content creation workflow.

Finding Key Moments

Easily access important quotes and sections of your video. Transcripts are helpful for generating video clips for social media or promotional content.

This is especially useful in podcasting and video editing to highlight significant parts of your content. Using transcripts, you can also enhance audience engagement by finding and sharing key moments.

How AI Software Enhances Transcription and Content Repurposing

AI software like SummarAIze not only simplifies the transcription process but also enhances how you can use and repurpose your content.

By leveraging AI, you can generate more accurate captions, improve your SEO, and create engaging content with minimal effort.

Creating Better Captions for YouTube SEO

AI-generated closed captions with SummarAIze are more accurate than YouTube's auto-generated ones, leading to better YouTube SEO and enhanced viewer engagement. Accurate captions improve the viewer experience and make your content accessible to non-native speakers and people with hearing impairments.

Steps to Use SummarAIze

1. Import YouTube video URL or upload your video/audio files.
2. Edit and repurpose content as needed.
3. Get automated social media posts, blogs, emails, and more including video descriptions, titles, and keywords for your video.

Final Thoughts on How to Get YouTube Transcripts

Video transcripts are essential for enhancing SEO, repurposing content, and accessing key moments in your videos.

Try out SummarAIze for seamless transcription and content repurposing. Sign up for a free trial or demo to see how it can benefit your content strategy.

YouTube Transcript FAQs

Can I download the YouTube transcript directly?

Yes, using the built-in YouTube feature, you can copy and paste the transcript into a document.

How do I transcribe a YouTube video for which no subtitles are available?

If a YouTube video does not have available subtitles, you can use third-party transcription tools. Services like SummarAIze allow you to paste the video URL and generate a transcript. You simply need to upload the video or provide the URL, and the tool will generate the transcript, which you can download or copy for further use​.

How to download YouTube CC as text?

To download YouTube closed captions (CC) as text, follow these steps:

1. Open the YouTube video and click on the three-dot menu below the video.
2. Select "Open transcript."
3. Copy the transcript text and paste it into a document for saving. Alternatively, you can use tools like DownSub or SaveSubs by entering the video URL on their websites to download the subtitles directly as SRT or VTT files. SummarAIze can do this as well!

How to get a transcript of a video for free?

You can obtain a transcript of a video for free using several methods:

1. YouTube’s Built-In Transcript Feature: Click on the three-dot menu and select "Show transcript."
2. Google Docs Voice Typing: Open Google Docs in Chrome, go to Tools > Voice typing, and play the video while Google Docs types out the transcript.
3. Free Online Tools: Websites like YouTubeTranscript.com provide free transcription services. You simply need to enter the video URL, and they will generate a transcript for you​.

Can ChatGPT summarize a YouTube video?

Yes, ChatGPT can summarize the content of a YouTube video if provided with a transcript of the video. You can use transcription tools to convert the video to text and then input that text into ChatGPT to generate a summary.

If you're going to create a summary from ChatGPT, we instead recommend using SummarAIze. SummarAIze will not only generate the summary but will also generate multiple content assets for you including video descriptions, titles, keywords, subtitles, and more.

Can I search YouTube videos by closed caption or transcripts?

Yes, you can search YouTube videos by closed captions or transcripts. On YouTube, the transcript feature allows you to search within the video transcript by pressing "Ctrl + F" and typing your keyword. Additionally, some third-party tools and browser extensions like NoteGPT and Maestra enable you to search through transcripts, enhancing your ability to find specific content within a video​.

How accurate are AI-generated transcripts?

AI-generated transcripts from tools like SummarAIze are highly accurate and can be edited for perfection.