Transcripts and languages

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Get a transcript in the web app

Get a transcript in the Chrome extension

For the words only, open a YouTube video, click the Claras icon, and use the two small icons beside Analyze with AI: Copy transcript and Download transcript. They skip the summary and don't count as one of your videos.

After a full analysis, the Transcript tab shows the whole text in one block. Its search box highlights every match instead of hiding lines. Transcript lines in the extension can't be clicked, so use a chapter in the Contents tab to jump. The extension has no .srt download: use the web app for subtitles.

Where the words come from

For YouTube, Claras reads the captions the video already has. The transcript is those captions, word for word, so names and jargon are only as good as the captions.

When a YouTube video has no captions, AI listens to the audio instead. That works for videos up to 30 minutes on the free plan, as long as Claras can check the length, and up to 3 hours on a paid plan. It takes longer than reading captions. Instagram, TikTok and uploaded files are always transcribed this way.

How languages work

There are two separate languages, and it helps to keep them apart.

• The language you read in. The summary, chapter titles and Ask AI replies are written in the language you choose, one of 15: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. In the web app, use the menu beside the link box, or Settings, then General, then Summary language. In the extension, open Settings and pick Output language. Each one remembers its own choice, so set both if you use both.
• The language of the transcript. The transcript is never translated. It stays in the language of the captions Claras found. The web app asks for English captions first, then the video's other tracks. In the extension, the language menu next to the link chooses which captions to ask for.

To read a summary in another language, pick it and run the video again. That can count as another video on the free and Pro plans. For a full translation of the transcript, use Send to AI and ask the assistant to translate it.

If something goes wrong

• "This video has no captions, so it needs AI transcription. On the free plan that works for videos up to 30 minutes. Upgrade to transcribe videos up to 3 hours." The video is too long for AI transcription on the free plan. Try a shorter video, or a paid plan.
• The same message, but saying Claras couldn't check the video's length. On the free plan, AI transcription needs a known length. Try again later, or use a paid plan.
• "This video has no captions and is over 3 hours, which is longer than AI transcription supports. Try a shorter video." No plan covers this one.
• "We're still transcribing this video with AI. It's a long one, so try again in a minute or two." The job is still running. Click Analyze with AI again in a minute or two. Claras picks up the same job instead of starting over.
• "We couldn't transcribe this video. Please try again in a moment." The AI transcription failed. Wait a moment and retry. A failed run doesn't use one of your videos.
• "We couldn't find any speech in this video to transcribe." The video is music, silence or on-screen text only. There is nothing for Claras to read.
• "We couldn't transcribe this video. It may not have captions or audio we can read. Try another video." Claras got an empty transcript back. Try again once, then try another video.
• The transcript is in English but the video isn't. The video also has English captions, and the web app asks for English first. Pick the spoken language in the extension's language menu next to the link.
• Names or numbers are wrong. They are wrong in the captions too. YouTube's automatic captions often mishear them, and Claras doesn't correct them. Check against the video before you quote a line.
• No speaker names. Captions rarely say who is talking, so the transcript doesn't either.

Still need help?

Questions, bug reports and billing all go to one inbox, and every message is read by a person. Write from the contact page and include your account email, the video link, and the exact message you saw. That makes it much faster to help.

AI transcription for long videos without captions comes with the paid plans. See what each plan includes.