--- title: "YouTube Video Summarizer" description: "Paste a YouTube link and get a written summary with key points, plus chapters with timestamps, from the video's transcript. Free: 500 one-time credits." url: https://exemplary.ai/youtube-video-summarizer facts_as_of: 2026-10-09 publisher: "Exemplary AI (https://exemplary.ai)" --- # YouTube Video Summarizer Paste a YouTube link and get a written summary of the video, with its key points and a list of chapters with start times. Exemplary AI's YouTube video summarizer turns a video into a short read: paste the YouTube link, and it transcribes the video and writes a summary with the key points. Select Chapters as well for the video's sections with their start times, and Key takeaways for a bullet list of what to remember. Free plan: 500 one-time credits. ## How to summarize a YouTube video 1. Copy the video's link from YouTube and paste it into Exemplary AI, or upload a video or audio file instead. 2. Pick the language spoken in the video. When the transcript is ready, select Summary, and Chapters and Key takeaways if you want them. 3. Choose a tone (professional, casual, technical or conversational) and generate. Each result opens as its own document. 4. Read the summary and use the chapter start times to find a section in the video. Copy a document as Markdown, or download it as Text (.txt), Markdown (.md) or Word (.docx); you can also save it as a PDF from your browser's print dialog. ## What the YouTube video summary generator gives you | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Summary | A written summary of the video, with its key points | | Chapters | The video's sections, each with a start time and a short title | | Key takeaways | A bullet list of the points worth remembering | | From the same transcript | Key quotes, Q&A, title ideas, keywords, a blog post, social posts and a newsletter | | Input | A YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo or X link, or an audio or video file (MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG, MP4, MOV or WEBM) | | Languages | Transcripts in 99 languages | | Copy and export | Copy it as Markdown, or download it as Text (.txt), Markdown (.md) or Word (.docx); you can also save it as a PDF from your browser's print dialog | | Free plan | The Free plan includes 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark. Credits are used by the tasks you run, rather than a fixed number of generations. | Facts checked October 2026. ## Summaries of podcasts, lectures and meetings The [AI summarizer](https://exemplary.ai/summarizer) works on any recording, not only YouTube. Upload a podcast episode for a podcast summary, or a lecture for study notes. For meetings, the [meeting minutes generator](https://exemplary.ai/meeting-minutes-generator) covers notes and a follow-up email, and for a podcast you publish, the [show notes generator](https://exemplary.ai/podcast-show-notes-generator) writes the episode description. To do it by hand instead, [summarizing a YouTube video with ChatGPT](https://exemplary.ai/blog/summary-of-a-youtube-video-using-chatgpt) walks through the prompts, and [getting the transcript of a YouTube video](https://exemplary.ai/blog/get-youtube-video-transcript) shows where YouTube keeps its own. ## Read the video before you watch it The YouTube summary is written by AI from what is said in the video, so you can see what it covers, and where, before you spend the time on it. ### Summary with key points A few paragraphs on what the video covers, followed by its key points, written from the transcript rather than the title or thumbnail. ### Chapters with timestamps The video's sections with their start times, so you can skip to the part you need on YouTube. ### Key takeaways Short takeaways in a bullet list, for notes, a study guide or a message to a colleague. ### Turn it into something new Write a [blog post](https://exemplary.ai/blog-post-generator), social posts or a newsletter from the same transcript, without pasting the link again. ## Make more from the ideas in your video Move between a concise summary, useful notes, and a post written for your audience. ### [YouTube to Notes Generator](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-to-notes) Keep the key takeaways from a video in readable notes. [Make notes](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-to-notes) ### [YouTube to LinkedIn Post Generator](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-to-linkedin-post) Build a LinkedIn post around ideas from your video. [Draft a post](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-to-linkedin-post) ### [Chat with YouTube Video Generator](https://exemplary.ai/chat-with-youtube-video) Ask questions about the content of a YouTube video. [Ask a question](https://exemplary.ai/chat-with-youtube-video) ## Common questions ### How do I summarize a YouTube video? Paste the video's link into Exemplary AI, choose the spoken language and select Summary once the transcript is ready. The summary comes back as a document you can edit, copy or download. ### Is the YouTube video summarizer free? On the Free plan, yes: 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark. Transcribing the video and writing the summary both use credits from that allowance. ### Can I summarize a YouTube video with timestamps? Yes, with Chapters. The summary itself is prose without timestamps; select Chapters as well and you get the video's sections with their start times, to jump to each part on YouTube. ### Does it work on videos that don't have captions? Yes. It transcribes the video's audio itself, so it does not depend on YouTube's captions being turned on. ### How long a YouTube video can it summarize? The Free plan's limits are 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long. Paid plans take longer videos, and a longer video takes longer to transcribe. ### Can I summarize a podcast or a video that is not on YouTube? Yes. Paste a YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo or X link, or upload an audio or video file (MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG, MP4, MOV or WEBM). A podcast episode gets the same summary, chapters and takeaways. ### What is the difference between the summary and key takeaways? The summary is prose: a few paragraphs on what the video covers, with its key points. Key takeaways is a bullet list of the points worth remembering, one sentence each, for notes you can scan. ## Discover more AI Content - [Summary Generator](https://exemplary.ai/summarizer) - [Video Chapter Generator](https://exemplary.ai/video-chapter-generator) - [Podcast Show Notes Generator](https://exemplary.ai/podcast-show-notes-generator) - [Lecture to Notes Generator](https://exemplary.ai/lecture-to-notes) - [YouTube to Notes Generator](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-to-notes) - [YouTube Tags Generator](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-tags-generator) - [YouTube to LinkedIn Post Generator](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-to-linkedin-post) - [TikTok Caption Generator](https://exemplary.ai/tiktok-caption-generator) - [Chat with YouTube Video Generator](https://exemplary.ai/chat-with-youtube-video) - [Video Hook Generator](https://exemplary.ai/video-hook-generator) - [Emmy Generator](https://exemplary.ai/emmy) - [YouTube Description Generator](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-description-generator) - [YouTube Timestamp Generator](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-timestamp-generator) - [YouTube Video Title Generator](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-video-title-generator) - [Hashtag Generator](https://exemplary.ai/hashtag-generator) - [Social Media Post Generator](https://exemplary.ai/social-media-post-generator) - [Blog Post Generator](https://exemplary.ai/blog-post-generator) - [Meeting Minutes Generator](https://exemplary.ai/meeting-minutes-generator) ## Turn a recording into your next draft Start with your source, generate a draft, and review it before you share. > Exemplary AI is a browser-based AI tool that turns long videos and recordings into short captioned clips, transcripts in 99 languages, subtitles, translations into 116 languages, and written posts such as summaries, blog posts and YouTube chapters. It is built for YouTubers, podcasters and marketing teams; the Free plan includes 500 one-time credits with watermarked video exports. Pricing: https://exemplary.ai/pricing