Long videos. Podcasts. Too much time spent just to get the key points.
We’ve all been there. Whether it’s an educational lecture or a lengthy podcast, trying to extract the main takeaways from a YouTube video can feel like an uphill battle.
Luckily, there are AI tools and strategies that make summarizing YouTube videos a breeze. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use AI tools like Gemini, Beloga, ChatGPT and Perplexity to summarize videos quickly and effectively.
Ready to save time and get straight to the point?
Let’s dive in:
Can you summarize a YouTube video with AI?
Short answer: it depends.
With the rise of AI and transcription tools, summarizing YouTube videos has never been easier. Tools like Gemini, Beloga, ChatGPT, Perplexity can process transcripts or captions to create concise summaries.
Let’s break it down:
Using AI tools to summarize YouTube videos
Sample video used in this demo: Deep dive with Ali Abdaal - How to Stay Focused and Beat Distraction - Nir Eyal
Gemini
Gemini is Google’s latest AI tool, designed for deep understanding and summarization. It integrates seamlessly with YouTube.
To use Gemini:
Copy the video’s URL and paste it in a new Gemini thread with the following prompt template.
Provide a concise summary of the key points and main arguments presented in <YouTube URL>, highlighting the most important information.
Hit enter and Gemini will generate a useable summary as such.
Refine the output by asking follow-up questions or specifying a format.
Beloga
Beloga is an up-and-coming AI tool that offers a new dimension to prompting, multi-source search.
Steps to use Beloga:
Copy the video’s URL and paste it in Beloga’s search bar with the following prompt template.
Provide a concise summary of the key points and main arguments presented in <YouTube URL>, highlighting the most important information.
Hit cmd / ctrl + enter or press the arrow button, Beloga will extract the video’s transcript and generate a useable summary of the video’s content.
Source: https://app.beloga.xyz/search/f6c9b2b2-0c02-4835-a3b1-a76ba724ef06
Copy the content or share the search result link with friends! 🎉
Alternative, you can also save the video directly into Beloga via our web-clipper. A summary would be automatically generated for all saves on Beloga e.g. https://app.beloga.xyz/links/1cc40eef-b620-4130-9516-f40ab68d7c8d .
Why Beloga? It let’s you do so much more than just ask questions. You can also reference multiple sources at one go and ask Beloga to search through them.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT (especially the GPT-4 version) is another powerhouse for summarizing videos. It works best when you provide a transcript.
How to use ChatGPT:
Copy the video’s URL and paste it in ChatGPT’s prompt box with the following prompt template.
Provide a concise summary of the key points and main arguments presented in <YouTube URL>, highlighting the most important information.
Hit enter, ChatGPT will extract the video’s transcript and generate a summary of the video’s content.
Note: From our tests, it did not seem like ChatGPT was referencing the video specifically and might have hallucinated parts of the answer output. Take the generated answer with a grain of salt and fact check it thoroughly.
Perplexity
Perplexity is a robust AI search tool that excels at answering questions grounded on real sources.
Here’s how to summarize a YouTube video with Perplexity:
Copy the video’s URL and paste it in Perplexity’s prompt box with the following prompt template.
Provide a concise summary of the key points and main arguments presented in <YouTube URL>, highlighting the most important information.
Perplexity will extract the video’s transcript and generate a summary of the video’s content.
Source: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/provide-a-concise-summary-of-t-RTg5b7pcRmOqI42wJt7hHw
Note: From our tests, it did not seem like Perplexity was able to access the YouTube url directly on non-pro searches.
Pro Tip: Use Perplexity’s question-answer feature to drill down into specific sections of the video.
Wrapping Up
Summarizing YouTube videos does not have to be tedious. With tools like Gemini, Beloga, ChatGPT and Perplexity you can extract key insights quickly and efficiently.
Want to stay ahead in your productivity game? Try integrating these tools into your workflow and experience the magic of AI.