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YouTube Summary - AI Video Summarizer icon

YouTube Summary - AI Video Summarizer

Summarize any YouTube video with AI in one click using ChatGPT.

Works on
Edge
Version
3.0.2
Add to Edge

A 45-minute video, and all you want to know is whether it answers your question. Instead of copying the link, opening ChatGPT and typing out a request, you click one button in the sidebar and the new tab arrives with the link and the prompt already in it.

YouTube Summary adds a convenient "Summarize video with AI" button to every YouTube video page. One click opens ChatGPT with a pre-filled prompt to summarize the video's main content, key points, and important information.

Screenshots

What it does

  • One-click summarization

    no copy-pasting URLs or writing prompts

  • Works on any YouTube video page

  • Smart page detection

    button appears only on video watch pages

  • Handles YouTube's SPA navigation seamlessly

  • Available in 7 languages: English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, German

  • Lightweight

    no background processes, no data collection

  • A ChatGPT account (free or paid) at chatgpt.com

When you'd reach for it

  • Deciding whether a long video is worth watching

    Conference talks and interviews rarely tell you in the title what they actually cover. Open the video, click the button at the top of the right-hand sidebar, and read what ChatGPT comes back with before committing 40 minutes. If the answer looks useful, the video is still open in the tab you left behind.

  • Turning a tutorial into something you can skim

    The prompt asks for the main content, the key points, and the important information, so what you get back is structured rather than a wall of text. That is easier to paste into your own notes than a video link is. You can keep asking follow-up questions in the same ChatGPT thread.

  • Videos in a language you read slowly

    The button label and the prompt follow your browser's language, with wording included for English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, and German. So a browser set to Korean sends a Korean request and gets a Korean reply, without you writing the request yourself. The video itself is untouched.

How to use it

  1. 01Go to any YouTube video page
  2. 02Click the "Summarize video with AI" button in the sidebar
  3. 03ChatGPT opens in a new tab with a ready-to-go summary prompt
  4. 04Get a clear, structured summary of the video instantly

Permissions & privacy

Single purpose

YouTube Summary adds a button to YouTube video pages that opens ChatGPT in a new tab with a pre-filled prompt to summarize the current video. It detects YouTube watch pages and extracts the video URL to construct the ChatGPT prompt.

storageSaves your settings and data in the browser's own storage, on this device.
webNavigationNotices when a tab moves to a new page.
tabsCan see the titles and addresses of your open tabs.

No data is collected or stored No API keys required No server communication — everything runs locally The extension only accesses YouTube pages to detect video URLs It runs only the code shipped inside the package — no remote code is fetched.

Questions people ask

How do I summarize a YouTube video with ChatGPT?

Open any youtube.com/watch page and click the "Summarize video with AI" button that sits at the top of the recommendations sidebar. A new tab opens at chatgpt.com carrying the video link and a request to summarize its main content, key points, and important information. You never have to copy the URL or write the prompt yourself.

Do I need an API key or a paid plan?

No API key is involved, and the extension never asks you for one. What you do need is a ChatGPT account at chatgpt.com, free or paid, because the new tab lands on the normal ChatGPT web interface. If you are signed out, you will be asked to sign in there as usual.

Does it read the video's transcript or captions?

No. What gets handed over is the video's URL and a written request — the extension does not download captions, audio, or the transcript, and it does not generate the summary itself. Everything you read back is produced by ChatGPT from whatever it can access about that link. That also means the result depends on ChatGPT, not on the extension.

Why is the button not showing up?

The button is only added on watch pages, and only inside YouTube's right-hand sidebar, which is where recommendations normally sit. If that sidebar is collapsed or removed — theater mode, a narrow window, or another extension hiding recommendations — there is no place to attach it. Reloading the watch page usually brings it back.

What does it collect, and what permissions does it use?

The manifest declares storage, webNavigation, and tabs, and the content scripts are limited to youtube.com pages. webNavigation and tabs exist so the extension notices when YouTube swaps to another video without a page reload and can put the button back; nothing is written to storage, since there are no settings to save. Clicking the button puts that video's URL into the address of the ChatGPT tab it opens.

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