Get a YouTube Video’s Transcript

In this guide, we’re teaching you how to:

• Show the transcript of a YouTube video for free
• On any device: PC, Laptop, Phone, Tablet etc

This guide works for both long videos and YouTube Shorts.

Quickest Method

You can get any YouTube video’s transcript for free by expanding its description and clicking “Show transcript” — it will open next to the video.

This is the short answer though (it works for both mobile + desktop).

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[Desktop] How to Get the Transcript of a YouTue Video

Answer: To get a YouTube video’s transcript, open the description and click “Show transcript”. You can then copy all the text.

1. Open any YouTube video
2. Expand description
3. Click “Show transcript” at the bottom
4. Transcript will open on the right
5. Copy all the text

Feel free to paste the text anywhere else (e.g. in a Google Docs or Microsoft Word document).

You can use this transcript as inspo (inspiration) for your own videos or for any other project.

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[Mobile] How to Open a YouTube Video’s Transcript

Answer: You can open any YouTube video’s transcript on mobile by clicking “Show transcript” after you’ve opened the video’s description.

Transcript should now be visible under the video.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Launch the YouTube mobile app
2. Tap any video
3. Open its description (under playback settings)
4. Scroll to the bottom
5. Tap “Show transcript“

You’ll now see a pop-up with the full video’s transcript.

Useful Links: YouTube app for iOS & YouTube app for Android. Though you probably have the app installed already.

Note that the same process is followed when opening a YouTube video in web browsers using a mobile device (e.g. phone or tablet).

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YouTube Shorts: How To Get Video Transcript

Answer: Copy the Shorts video’s ID from the URL(youtube.com/shorts/videoID) and paste it in a regular YouTube video’s URL: “youtube.com/watch/?v=videoID“.

Hit enter, open the video’s description, and click “Show transcript”.

This is the step-by-step process:

1. Copy the Shorts video’s ID (the part after “?v=”).
2. Replace the ID with any other regular video’s ID
3. Press enter.
4. Open the video’s description.
5. Click “Show transcript”.

Here’s what we’re essentially doing:

• We’re turning a Short into a regular video
• So we can reveal the “Show transcript” button in the description…
• Because YouTube won’t show it in the YouTube Shorts video format

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FAQs

1. Can you turn a YouTube video into a transcript?

Yes, you can turn a YouTube video into a transcript by using its transcript feature: open the video’s description and click “Show transcript” to reveal it.

2. Can ChatGPT transcribe a YouTube video?

• No, ChatGPT can’t directly transcribe a YouTube video.
• You need to provide the video’s audio or text, which you can find under every video’s description.

Unfortunately, neither the paid version of ChatGPT is capable enough to do this.

3. Is there an app that will transcribe a YouTube video?

Yes, there are apps like Otter.ai, Sonix, and Temi that can transcribe YouTube videos. These services allow you to upload the video or provide a URL for transcription.

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Thanks a lot for reading this,
David Ch
Head of the Editing Team at SendShort