Free YouTube Summarizer & Transcript Tool

Summarize YouTube videos and copy the full timestamped transcript

Summarize YouTube videos without opening a new app

Paste a public YouTube, Shorts, embed, or live replay URL. Pagivo fetches the available captions, turns them into a readable transcript with timestamps, and generates a concise AI video summary with the main ideas, useful quotes, and action items.

Free to try
No sign-up required
Works from captions
Copy summary or transcript

YouTube URL

URL fetching works when public captions are reachable. If YouTube blocks automated transcript access, paste the transcript below and summarize it directly.

Paste transcript instead of fetching from YouTube

When this box has text, Pagivo summarizes the pasted transcript and skips server-side YouTube caption fetching.

How to copy a transcript from YouTube

Open the video on YouTube in a browser.
Open the video description, then select Show transcript. If you do not see it, the video may not have captions.
Select the transcript text in the transcript panel and copy it.
Paste it into this box, then click Summarize.

YouTube can show transcripts only for videos that have captions. For your own videos, YouTube Studio also lets you download subtitle files from the Subtitles editor.

Ask a specific question instead of a full summary (optional)

Leave blank for a full structured summary. Or ask anything about the video.

What this YouTube summarizer gives you

AI video summary

Get a short, structured explanation of the video's topic, key points, conclusions, and next steps.

Timestamped transcript

Copy the full YouTube transcript with timecodes so you can quote, review, or jump back to the exact moment.

Custom questions

Ask for product names, tools mentioned, study notes, meeting decisions, or a summary in another language.

How to get a YouTube transcript manually

If automatic transcript fetching is blocked or captions do not load, use YouTube's own transcript panel and paste the text here.

Open the transcript

On the YouTube video page, expand the description and choose Show transcript.

Copy the text

Select the transcript lines in the side panel. Copy only the spoken text if YouTube includes extra interface text.

Paste and summarize

Open the paste-transcript box above, paste the text, add an optional question, and run the summary.

How YouTube Summarizer works

Paste the YouTube URL

Copy the URL from any YouTube video and paste it into the input field.

Fetch the transcript

Click Summarize and the tool retrieves the video's captions directly from YouTube.

Read the AI summary

An AI model structures the transcript into an overview, key points, insights, and conclusions.

AI video summaries without watching a thing

YouTube Summarizer fetches the video's caption track directly from YouTube and gives you both artifacts at once: the full timestamped transcript and an AI summary structured into an overview, key points, insights, and conclusions. The transcript preserves every caption line with its start time, so you can jump back to the exact moment in the video. Students use it to review lectures, journalists to pull quotes from interviews, and non-native speakers to read along at their own pace. Works with any public YouTube video that has captions enabled, including auto-generated subtitles, YouTube Shorts, and live-stream replays. No account needed, nothing to install.

The tool does not download the video itself. It works from available captions, so it is best for lectures, tutorials, interviews, webinars, podcasts, conference talks, and public videos where YouTube provides subtitles.

Frequently asked questions

Which videos are supported?

Any public YouTube video that has captions - either manually uploaded subtitles or YouTube's auto-generated captions - will work.

Does it work without captions?

No. The tool relies on the video's existing caption track. If captions are disabled or unavailable, the tool will let you know.

How accurate is the summary?

The AI reads the full transcript and structures its response around what was actually said in the video, so accuracy depends on the quality of the captions.

Is the summary in the original video language?

The summary is generated from whatever captions YouTube provides. If the video has English captions, the summary will be in English.

Are my requests stored?

No. Transcripts are processed in memory and discarded immediately after the summary is returned.

Can I get the transcript with timestamps?

Yes. Alongside the AI summary you can copy the full transcript, and every caption line includes its start time so you can jump straight back to that moment in the video.

Does it work with YouTube Shorts?

Yes. Paste a Shorts link and the tool extracts the video ID and fetches the captions the same way it does for regular videos.

Can I get the summary in a different language?

The summary follows the language of the captions by default, but you can enter a custom question such as 'Summarize this in Spanish' and the AI will reply accordingly.

Who uses YouTube Summarizer?

Students & researchers

Turn hour-long lectures into a one-page overview with key points, and use the timestamped transcript to cite the exact minute.

Journalists & writers

Pull accurate quotes from interviews and press briefings without scrubbing through the recording - the transcript keeps every line with its timecode.

Non-native speakers

Read along with any video at your own pace instead of pausing and rewinding. Captions and summary give you the content twice.

Busy professionals

Screen recordings, webinars, conference talks - get the conclusions in seconds and only watch the parts that matter.

Useful next steps after summarizing a video

Count words in the transcript Ask questions about a PDF Format structured notes