October 31, 2026 · 5 min read
How to transcribe a YouTube video to text
Turning a YouTube video into text is useful for studying, quoting, subtitling or reworking it into an article. There are two main routes, each better in different situations.
Option 1: YouTube's own transcript
Many videos include a transcript you can open from the description («Show transcript»). It is fast and free, but it isn't always available, it often comes without punctuation and it makes mistakes with names and technical terms. If the video is yours, you can also download the captions from YouTube Studio.
Option 2: transcribe the audio with AI
When you need better quality, AI transcription of the audio gives better-punctuated text, with timestamps and a summary. If the video is yours, use the original file (mp4 or m4a) and upload it to SwiftBOL in Work mode: in minutes you get the transcript, chapters by topic and the key points.
If the video belongs to someone else, ask them for the file or for permission: downloading other people's content may go against YouTube's terms.
Copyright, in short
Transcribing your own video, or one with the author's permission, is not a problem. Publishing or reproducing the transcript of someone else's video can infringe copyright, and what is allowed for personal study depends on the country. SwiftBOL is not a legal advisor: if in doubt, ask permission or quote short extracts with the source.
What to do with the text
With the transcript you can prepare study notes, create subtitles, write an article from a talk or find the exact minute where a topic comes up. In SwiftBOL you can also ask the built-in chat instead of watching the whole video again.
Check before you publish
No automatic transcript is perfect: check names, numbers and technical terms before you publish or quote. The Free plan includes 2 hours of audio a month, no card, to try it on your own videos.
Try it with your own audio
SwiftBOL turns your meetings and calls into minutes with decisions and action items in minutes. The Free plan includes 120 minutes of audio a month, no credit card required.