8 Best YouTube Video Summarizers with GPT

Everyone's hanging out with ChatGPT (and now, the recently released GPT-4), asking for everything from creating articles to generating summaries of the given text. The results are mind-blowing, but ChatGPT comes with certain limitations: it does not allow you to generate direct summaries of YouTube videos. 

Thankfully, this is exactly where YouTube video summarizers can help: instead of watching the entire YouTube video and writing the summary manually, you can let AI summarizers do it for you. I've spent a lot of time experimenting with different video summarizers recently. 

For this article, I've considered over 30 video summarizers, and based on my research and testing, here's a list of the best out of the best 8 tools. 

Best YouTube video summarizers: At a glance 

What makes a good YouTube video summarizer? 

I've been writing about AI tools for more than a decade, so I was already familiar with most of the video summary generators I had to test. While testing the top YouTube summarizers over the course of the week, I focused on evaluating the general usability and (artificially) intelligent aspects of each tool. 

Here's what I kept my eye out for as I tested each video summary generator: 

• Great User Interface: If you'll be using the summary generator (very) often, it needs to have an easy user interface with a neat design. 

• Easy to Use: The AI tool had to be fast and powerful, with a learning curve that matched its feature set. For example, some YouTube summarizers are not very easy to use, but they come with advanced features that save more of your time once you understand what they do. 

• High-quality Output: A few AI summarizers I tested were generating inaccurate summaries or were unable to correctly figure out the main points of the topic. For this specific reason, I shortlisted the best YouTube summarizers with the ability to understand the main topic and then generate the summary. 

• Extras: I also looked for AI tools that can go beyond summarizing YouTube content. For example, it could help generate a transcript of the video and even share the content on different channels. 

List of the best YouTube video summarizers 

As AI becomes the new normal, most YouTube video summarizers use ChatGPT or Claude to analyze the content and produce a shorter — but more meaningful —  version in the form of text. 

Based on my in-depth research and testing, here are my picks for the eight best YouTube video summarizers. 

#1 Notta: Best for recording, transcribing, and summarizing YouTube videos

Notta has been the industry standard AI note-taking app for many years now, and it's a cutting-edge tool that records, transcribes, and summarizes media files (like YouTube videos). The Notta AI Summary Generator feature automatically detects the main idea of the video and generates an appropriate summary with all the key points. 

Notta also has a real-time transcription feature that can automatically generate transcripts of Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, or Microsoft Teams meetings. It works great and transcribes audio to text with 98.86% accuracy, which is much higher than other speech-to-text apps I tested. 

Key Features 

• Transcribe via YouTube URLs: With the Notta Web App, you can transcribe YouTube videos by copy-pasting their URLs. 

• Generate AI Summary: The Notta AI Summary Generator feature provides chapters, action items, and an overview of the YouTube video for better clarity. 

• Various Share Options: Once the transcript and summary are generated, they can be easily shared via a shareable link or directly on Notion and Salesforce. 

• New AI Templates: Simply select the template that best fits your needs, and watch as Notta transforms your raw notes into polished, concise summaries.

Pros 

• Notta has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface where you record, transcribe, and summarize audio and video files. 

• It has a handy Chrome extension to transcribe audio from any web page and a free YouTube Video Summarizer tool for users to try the summarization feature. 

• Notta supports 58 transcription languages like English, Spanish, and French, making YouTube content accessible to a wider audience. 

Cons 

• The Notta AI Summary Generator feature is available in a paid plan — though it is relatively affordable compared to other apps. 

• You'll need a stable Internet connection to use the Notta Web App. 

Pricing 

• Free Forever Plan 

• Pro Plan: $14.99 per user billed monthly 

• Business Plan: $27.99 per user billed monthly 

• Enterprise Plan: Custom Pricing 

System Compatibility 

• Windows 

• macOS 

• Android 

• iOS 

• Chrome Extension 

Summarization made easy with Notta

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#2 YouTube Summary with ChatGPT & Claude: Best for summarizing short videos for free

This is another absolutely free browser extension — for Chrome, Safari, Edge, Brave, and Opera — that can effortlessly summarize YouTube videos. Creating a summary is easy: you just open the YouTube video, click the extension, and then the tool will automatically generate a summary. While the summary generator gets the job done for you, it is limited in certain ways: you can only summarize short videos that are less than 20 minutes. 

Key Features 

• Adjust Summary Length: YouTube Summary with ChatGPT is great at adjusting the length of the summary so the output meets your needs. 

• Versatile: It's simple to use and lets you generate transcripts and summaries of YouTube lectures, tutorials, how-to guides, and more. 

• Direct Sharing: The transcripts and summaries generated by the extension can be easily shared via link — with friends, colleagues, and even directly on social media platforms. 

Pros 

• YouTube Summary with ChatGPT is free to use — and requires no signup process. 

• You can copy, edit, and even share the transcripts and summaries with team members. 

• With the free extension, you can adjust the length of the summary before hitting the generate button. 

Cons 

• YouTube Summary with ChatGPT is solely designed to transcribe and summarize YouTube videos. 

• It's not fast and seamless — and even redirects you to the ChatGPT website before summarizing. 

• It only works for YouTube videos that are under 20 minutes. 

Pricing 

• Free

System Compatibility 

• Chrome Extension 

• Safari Extension 

• Supports other web browsers (Edge, Brave, and Opera) 

#3 NoteGPT: Best for summarizing & taking notes on YouTube videos

NoteGPT's #1 objective is to summarize any YouTube video by identifying the highlights from the content and putting them together. It has a lot of summarizing options like AI summary, transcript summary, and even regenerate summary. It does a decent job of generating summaries, so you'll never have to listen to the entire YouTube video. 

Key Features 

• Ease of Use: The AI tool is relatively easy to use, reliable, and requires no technical knowledge: open the NoteGPT YouTube video summarizer, paste the link, and click the generate button. 

• Accurate Transcription: You can copy-paste the YouTube video URLs, and NoteGPT will generate a quick transcript of the video content. 

• Multiple Regeneration: NoteGPT allows you to regenerate summaries until you're satisfied with the output. 

Pros 

• All the summaries can be saved to the 'My Notes' section, which can be accessed at any time. 

• You can directly copy the summary to the clipboard and paste it anywhere you like. 

• NoteGPT's free plan packs a bunch of features like transcript summary, AI summary, regenerate summary, AI explains, AI Q&A, and more. 

Cons 

• While NoteGPT helps you get the job done, the generated summaries don't provide much information about the video content. 

• You can generate only 15 summaries per month for free. 

• The tool does not come with any advanced features, which makes it less ideal for power users. 

Pricing 

• Starter: Free Forever Plan 

• Basic Plan: $2.99 per month 

• Pro Plan: $9.99 per month 

System Compatibility 

• Windows 

• macOS 

• Android 

• iOS 

• Chrome Extension 

#4 ChatGPT for YouTube: Best for summarizing without any OpenAI account

ChatGPT for YouTube hasn't been around for a really long, long time — but it's one of the popular free YouTube video summarizers of OpenAI. It has a package of AI features that transcribes spoken words into text and even generates a short, sweet summary. The drawback, however, is that you only get 5 free summaries — after which you'll need a paid subscription. 

Key Features 

• Key Highlights: With ChatGPT for YouTube, you can even generate the highlights from the video — and that too, without any effort. 

• Get Transcripts: The free Chrome extension also provides the transcripts of the entire YouTube video — which can be copied with a click. 

• Shareable Summaries: All the generated summaries can be copied and even shared with team members — with just a click. 

Pros 

• ChatGPT for YouTube supports various languages like English, Portugal, and Turkish. 

• The handy Chrome Extension is versatile — meaning you can summarize YouTube videos, courses, tutorials, news, product feature introductions, academic seminars, or interviews. 

• There's no need to create a ChatGPT or OpenAI account to use this Chrome extension. 

Cons 

• With ChatGPT for YouTube's free plan, you can generate only 5 summaries for free — once in a lifetime. 

• It may not work well with complex or extremely lengthy videos. 

• Sometimes, it may miss important information from the video. 

Pricing 

• Free Forever Plan 

• Pro Plan: $9.90 for 300 quotes per month 

• Subscription Plan: $29.90 per month or $199 per year 

System Compatibility 

• Chrome Extension 

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#5 YoutubeDigest: Best for exporting summaries in PDF or DOCX formats 

YoutubeDigest is a great online YouTube video summarizer that helps you create summaries, translate them into various languages, and share the files with anyone in PDF, DOCX, or TXT formats. 

It looks good, works even better, and has the right balance between a user-friendly interface and multiple features. If you're looking for a free browser extension that works well for YouTube videos, YoutubeDigest might be a great option. 

Key Features 

• Various Export Formats: With YoutubeDigest, you can export summaries as PDFs, DOCX, or TXT files. 

• Translate Summary: What I really liked about YoutubeDigest is its ability to translate the summary into multiple languages. What's even more exciting is that YoutubeDigest lets you add a language of your choice. 

• Share Options: Once the summary is generated, you can create a shareable link and then share the file with anyone. 

Pros 

• You can choose the summary output option — article, bullet point, and more — to get the summary that matches your needs. 

• It is absolutely free to use on Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. 

• Unlike most other tools in this list, YoutubeDigest translates the transcripts into multiple other languages. 

Cons 

• Unlike ChatGPT for YouTube, you'll need to have a ChatGPT account to use YoutubeDigest.

• Currently, YoutubeDigest works only for YouTube video summarization — but the company is planning to extend that. 

• Sometimes, the generated summaries are of low quality. 

Pricing 

• Free 

System Compatibility 

• Chrome Extension 

• Firefox Extension 

• Opera Extension 

#6 YouTube Summarizer: Best for summarizing videos in executive & long summary 

YouTube Summarizer is probably best known for its simplicity and summary length slider. That part of it works exactly as described: it lets you increase or decrease the output length, though I'm not sure if it strictly follows a certain format. Still, the basic features of YouTube Summarizer are more than enough to get it on this list as the best YouTube video summarizer. 

Key Features 

• Modify Summary Length: Adjusting the length of the summary is important — and YouTube Summarizer is a great tool for this. With a simple slider, you can increase or decrease the output length from 0-100%.

• Different Summary Types: Unlike other tools you find in this list, YouTube Summarizer generates summaries in two types: Executive and Long. 

• Sharing Options: You can share the summaries via WhatsApp or Email. 

Pros 

• With YouTube Summarizer, you can generate executive as well as long summaries. 

• The AI tool uses advanced artificial intelligence and natural language processing to summarize important information while maintaining the original context. 

• The AI video summarizer is completely free to use. 

Cons 

• The interface is pretty basic and might not be a great choice for professionals. 

• The summaries might not be tailored to users' specific needs and interests. 

• Currently, there are no other advanced features available, like automatic transcription. 

Pricing 

• Free 

System Compatibility 

• Windows 

• macOS 

• Android 

• iOS 

#7 HARPA: Best for extracting key takeaways from hours-long videos

There are a handful of freemium YouTube video summarizer apps out there that all have broadly similar features. Based on my testing, HARPA has some of the best offerings — and it's an easy-to-use and reliable summary generator worth checking out. One of my favorite things about HARPA is its best-in-class AI assistant, which lets you summarize, rephrase, correct and expand text, and even scan web pages for data extraction. 

Key Features 

• AI Commands: It's very easy to use HARPA for summarizing YouTube videos: all you need to do is click Alt + A together, and the AI tool will automatically generate a summary. 

• Extract Key Takeaways: The advanced AI tool can extract important takeaways from hour-long YouTube videos with just a click of a button. 

• AI Assistant: With HARPA, you can not only AI summarize YouTube videos but also reply to emails — helping you focus on the tasks that matter. 

Pros 

• HARPA can summarize YouTube videos and even web pages for free. 

• It can extract key points from the videos so you can save them for later reference. 

• It also generates other types of text like Twitter tweets, Amazon descriptions, and even YouTube video scripts. 

Cons 

• You'll need a ChatGPT account to use some features, which might not work in states where ChatGPT is not available. 

• Sometimes, the generated summaries do not provide all the important information. 

• There's no transcription feature available — like some of the other tools in this list. 

Pricing 

• Free 

System Compatibility 

• Chrome Extension 

• Brave Extension

• Edge Extension 

#8 Eightify app: Best for summarization and translation in 40+ languages

Eightify is one of the go-to YouTube video summarizers and translators for many people out there. Of all the apps on this list, Eightify has the strongest translation features and translates text into over 40 languages. 

While summarizing, this AI tool generally does a good job of cutting out extra sentences from the content — without going too close to the main idea. Eightify is almost exclusively an app for generating YouTube summaries for people who often watch YouTube for research or education purposes. 

Key Features 

• Supports 40+ Languages: You can understand the essence of YouTube videos in summary format and even translate them into over 40 languages. 

• Timestamped Breakdowns: Eightify also breaks down the YouTube video summary into different paragraphs with timestamps — a feature that is not available in other apps on this list. 

• TLDR Summaries: With the Eightify app, you can generate TLDR summaries of long YouTube videos — without much effort. 

Pros 

• Eightify app is one such application that can summarize even 4-6 hours-long YouTube videos. 

• There are two easy ways to share the summary: either copy the generated text or directly share the link with colleagues, friends, or on social media. 

• It is completely free to use — though you can extend its capabilities with in-app purchases. 

Cons 

• Currently, it supports only YouTube videos. 

• It may not capture the details that are very complex or creative. 

• You'll get only three summaries per week for videos that are 30 minutes or shorter in length. 

Pricing 

• Free 

• Offers in-app purchases 

System Compatibility 

• Chrome Extension 

• Safari Extension 

• iOS

Key takeaways 

As I was researching each YouTube video summarizer, I paid attention to how much time I spent on manually summarizing videos every day: it added up to about 3 hours. That's 20% of my day spent on summarizing. 

If you are in the same boat, pick up the AI video summarizer that speaks to your pain the most. Try it out for a few days (or weeks) to see if it helps you save time and improve productivity. 

If you haven't yet discovered the best tool for the job, try Notta. With this AI note-taking tool, you can take the manual process out of summarizing YouTube videos and generate AI summaries in just a few clicks.

FAQs 

Is it legal to transcribe a YouTube video? 

No, it is not legal to transcribe any YouTube video without the creator’s permission. YouTube has strict community guidelines that state transcribing someone's YouTube video without their permission and re-uploading it is a violation. It's important to seek permission from the content owner before using it for any — personal, professional, or commercial — purpose. 

How do you summarize a YouTube transcript? 

Notta Web App is an AI note-taking tool that can transcribe YouTube videos and even summarize the text into a short, meaningful version. Here's how to summarize a YouTube transcript using the Notta Web App. 

Step 1: Open YouTube, and there, you can search for the video you want to summarize. Copy the URL and then log in to the Notta account. 

Step 2: Next, select the 'Import Files' option available right on the dashboard. There, you’ll see a pop-up where you can paste the copied YouTube link, and Notta will start the transcription process. 

Step 3: Open the generated transcript and locate the 'Notta AI Summary' icon to summarize the YouTube transcript into action items, key chapters, and an overview.