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YouTube video summarizer: get the main points before you watch
An hour-long lecture or podcast can carry five ideas worth keeping. ChatGPT Summary reads a video's transcript and turns it into a short list, so you can decide whether it's worth your time.
How to summarize a YouTube video
- Install the extension. ChatGPT Summary for Chrome is free. Connect it once with your ChatGPT login or an OpenAI API key.
- Open the video, or stay on a list of videos. While you browse YouTube, the extension adds summary buttons to video thumbnails, so you can check a video before you open it.
- Get the summary. Click the summary button or the extension icon. It takes the transcript of the video and sends it to ChatGPT with your prompt.
- Copy what you need. The copy button puts the summary on your clipboard for notes, a study doc or a message.
The summary is only as good as the transcript. Videos with captions, including YouTube's automatic ones, work well. If a video has no transcript at all, there's nothing to summarize.
What a video summary is good for
A summary is most useful before you commit an hour to a video. A few cases where that matters most:
- Lectures and conference talks. Get the outline first, then jump to the parts you care about.
- Podcasts on YouTube. Two-hour interviews often have one segment you actually wanted. The summary tells you if it's there.
- Tutorials. Ask for the steps as a numbered list and follow along without scrubbing back and forth.
- News and explainers. Check the claims and the numbers before you share the video with anyone.
Write a prompt that fits the video
The default prompt asks for the main points as a list. You can change it in the extension's settings, and every summary follows your version. A few prompts that work well for videos:
| Video type | Prompt to try |
|---|---|
| Lecture | List the main ideas in the order they come up, one line each |
| Tutorial | Turn this into numbered steps with the exact settings mentioned |
| Interview or podcast | Summarize each guest's main argument and any numbers they cite |
| Product review | List the pros, the cons and the final verdict |
| Another language | Summarize the following in Spanish (or any language you read) |
YouTube summaries and web pages in one extension
The same extension also summarizes articles, blog posts and documentation. Open any page and press Ctrl+Shift+E (⌘+Shift+E on a Mac), and the summary opens next to the text. See how it works to summarize any web page.
Common questions
Can ChatGPT summarize a YouTube video?
Not by itself from a link, because ChatGPT can't watch the video. A YouTube video summarizer like ChatGPT Summary takes the video's transcript and gives it to ChatGPT, which is what makes the summary possible.
Is the YouTube summarizer free?
The extension is free. With the ChatGPT login there's nothing else to pay for; with your own OpenAI API key, OpenAI bills the key for usage.
Does it work on long videos?
Yes, as long as the video has a transcript. ChatGPT does best with a focused request, so for a three-hour stream, ask for a short outline rather than every detail.
Do I need to open the video?
No. While you browse YouTube, the summary buttons on video thumbnails let you get a summary without opening the video page.
Is my viewing history shared?
No. The extension sends the transcript to ChatGPT or the OpenAI API only when you ask for a summary, and doesn't store it. See the privacy policy.
Know what's in the video before you press play.