We explain how to activate automatic subtitles on YouTube whether you are a content creator or if you just want to watch a video.
Automatic captions on YouTube help content creators to offer this feature in their videos without the need to manually include the text. Now, how exactly do they work? In what languages are they available? If you upload videos to YouTube, the information in this guide is of interest to you. But, if you are a user of the Google video platform, too.
In this article we give you information related to automatic subtitles on YouTube . First, we offer you some relevant information, such as how it works and what languages are supported. Then, we show you the steps to modify them if necessary and the reasons why they do not appear correctly. And finally, we explain what you must do as a user to enable subtitles while watching a YouTube video.
Index of contents
- Activate automatic subtitles on YouTube for content creators
- What are they and how are they activated?
- Problems with automatic subtitles
- Prevent inappropriate words from being displayed in subtitles
- Edit wrong subtitles
- Live broadcast subtitles
- Activate automatic subtitles on YouTube for users
Activate automatic subtitles on YouTube for content creators
Let’s start by talking about automatic captions on YouTube for content creators. Do you upload videos to the platform? What we tell you here interests you.
What are they and how are they activated?
Automatic subtitles are those that are generated by the YouTube system itself when content is uploaded to the platform. To achieve this, machine learning algorithms are employed . The intent of these subtitles is to improve the accessibility of videos on YouTube, even when the content creator hasn’t manually included subtitles.
Google’s request in this regard is clear: it is best to prioritize professional subtitles and do without automated transcription. However, when this is not possible, YouTube’s automatic captions allow everyone to enjoy content. Whenever possible, they are turned on by default.
Problems with automatic subtitles
There are a few reasons why the automatic captions on YouTube don’t match what’s actually being said in the video. According to the official Google documentation, the most frequent reasons are these:
- Bad pronunciation.
- The pronunciation corresponds to a specific accent of the language.
- Dialects of the same language are used.
- There is background noise.
Also, remember that activating automatic subtitles on YouTube will not be possible if the video is not in one of the following languages:
- German
- Korean
- Español
- French
- Indonesian
- English
- Italian
- Japanese
- dutch
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Turco
- ukrainian
- Vietnamese
Prevent inappropriate words from being displayed in subtitles
Another option that you have at your disposal is to prevent inappropriate words from appearing in the automatic subtitles . From the web version of YouTube, go to the options menu of your avatar and press on YouTube Studio . Then click on Settings and open the Channel section . Check the Do not show words that may be inappropriate box . Take a look at the warning that Google issues in this section:
Sometimes automatic captions get it wrong. If you check this box, words that may be inappropriate will not be displayed.
What does this mean? YouTube replaces words it deems inappropriate with two underscores in square brackets “[__]”. It should not be overlooked that since the generated subtitles come from machine learning systems , there can be glitches. It is best to check the subtitles after the video is uploaded to avoid hiding words that are not really inappropriate. Another aspect to take into account is that this option is available for both automatic subtitles and those that have been translated.
Edit wrong subtitles
YouTube ‘s automatic captions take the worry out of uploading their own professional captions for content creators. Although Google prefers the second option, in most cases the AI does a good enough job. But is it possible to edit the automatic subtitles if they are not right?
Yes, and to achieve this you must do this:
- Go to YouTube Studio.
- Click on Subtitles.
- Click on the corresponding video.
- Click on the button with the three vertical dotsto edit the subtitles of the video.
Live broadcast subtitles
One field where YouTube’s automatic captions are especially useful is live broadcasts. However, in this case the possibilities are less since the only supported language is English.
If you’re streaming content in English, do this to turn on automatic captions:
- Start a live broadcast.
- Open broadcast settings.
- Turn on Subtitlesand select Automatic Subtitles .
There are a few reasons why it is not possible to enable automatic captions in a live broadcast. They are the following:
- The channel does not have enough followers. In live broadcasts, the feature is gradually being rolled out to channels that have more than 1,000 subscribers.
- There is a problem with latency. It happens sometimes when broadcasting from mobile devices. If the latency is low or extremely low, live automatic captions are not available. They only work on streams with normal latency.
- The sound quality is bad. This causes YouTube to be unable to recognize what is being said.
- Conversation participants step on each other when speaking. When multiple people’s speech overlaps or multiple languages are spoken at the same time, YouTube’s AI fails or fails to generate subtitles.
Activate automatic subtitles on YouTube for users
Everything we’ve discussed above was intended for content creators who upload videos or live stream on the Google platform. But what about the viewers? Activating automatic subtitles on YouTube is very simple.
Do the following to turn on subtitles on your favorite videos:
- Start playback.
- If subtitles are available, click on the corresponding icon. It’s located next to the settings cogwheel.
- The subtitles will have been activated. It is also possible to enable them by pressing the C key.
- If the subtitles are automatic, the message Spanish (generated automatically) will appear. Click (gear) to go to settings.
Another possibility is that the video, for some reason, does not have subtitles. In that case, the following warning appears:
Finally, do not forget that you have, in the video configuration section, some interesting options. For example, it is possible to translate the automatic subtitles to any language:
This is especially useful for watching videos in languages you don’t know.
