Guide
How to use a YouTube video with AI
Want to summarize a long YouTube video, turn a lecture into notes, or ask questions about a tutorial? Here’s how to hand it to any AI.
Option 1: Just the transcript
For talks, podcasts and lectures, the words carry most of the meaning. On YouTube, open the video’s description and click Show transcript, then copy it. Or paste the link into Unreel’s YouTube link option and it pulls the captions for you, with timestamps.
Option 2: Transcript + screenshots
For anything visual (coding tutorials, design, sports, cooking, slides) the AI also needs to see what’s happening. In Unreel:
- Choose YouTube link in step 01 and paste the URL.
- Pick how many screenshots you want, or use Smart mode.
- Click Extract. Your browser asks to share the tab: choose this tab. Unreel jumps through the video and captures each moment. This works on a computer in Chrome or Edge.
- Download the folder and drop it into your AI.
On a phone, screen-record the part of the video you care about and upload the recording instead.
Which AI should I use?
- Claude and ChatGPT work best with screenshots + transcript, which is exactly what Unreel produces.
- Gemini can take some videos directly, but a clean folder still gives you control over which moments it focuses on.
Prompts that work well
- “Summarize this video in 10 bullet points with timestamps.”
- “Make flashcards from this lecture.”
- “List every step shown in this tutorial, and which screenshot shows it.”