How I Built a Free AI Tool to Turn Videos into Subtitles, Transcripts & Summaries Instantly

Ankur ThakurAnkur Thakur
3 min read

If you’ve ever tried extracting subtitles, transcripts, or summaries from videos or podcasts, you know how frustrating it can be. Most tools either require a paid subscription, force you to upload files to third-party servers, or provide clunky, inaccurate results.

That’s exactly why I built AI Video Summary — a free, privacy-first web app that transforms your audio or video content into accurate .srt subtitles, full-length transcripts, and AI-generated summaries in seconds.


🧠 What is AI Video Summary?

AI Video Summary is a simple tool designed for creators, educators, researchers, and developers who want quick, accurate transcriptions and summaries from their files. It supports .mp4 and .mp3 formats, and offers:

  • Subtitles in .srt format

  • Full transcripts (punctuated, structured)

  • AI-generated summaries using natural language processing

No sign-up. No file storage. No nonsense. Just results — instantly and privately.


🔧 Why I Built This

As a content creator and developer, I was tired of bloated transcription software and privacy concerns. I didn’t want to upload files to someone else’s cloud or worry about hidden limits or paywalls.

I also noticed many developers and educators needed lightweight tools that “just work” — especially when preparing subtitles, notes, or summaries for documentation, lessons, or meetings. So, I built one.


🏗️ Under the Hood: Tech Stack

Here’s how AI Video Summary works behind the scenes:

  • Frontend: React + Vite + Tailwind CSS

  • Backend: Flask (Python)

  • Transcription Engine: OpenAI Whisper

  • Summarization Engine: Facebook BART

  • Hosting: Contabo VPS

  • Privacy: 100% local processing — no data is saved or stored

The combination of Whisper and BART makes it extremely accurate and surprisingly fast. Whisper handles multilingual transcription beautifully, while BART condenses speech into readable summaries.


🚀 Try It Free (No Login)

Here’s how easy it is to use:

  1. Go to → https://aivideosummary.com

  2. Upload your .mp4 or .mp3 file

  3. Choose an action: "Generate Subtitles", "Transcribe", or "Create Summary"

  4. Download your output

You don’t need to create an account, connect a wallet, or pass a CAPTCHA wall. It’s designed to be frictionless.


👨‍💻 Open Source for Developers

Yes — it’s 100% open source and ready for forking.

🔗 GitHub repo → clever-video-summarizer

Contributors are welcome! Whether you want to add a new summarization engine, improve accuracy, or add batch processing — feel free to open a PR.


🙌 Who Is This For?

  • Educators → Transcribe lectures or training videos

  • YouTubers → Auto-generate subtitles for accessibility and SEO

  • Podcasters → Convert long episodes into concise summaries

  • Researchers → Analyze and archive interviews or voice notes

  • Developers → Fork the repo and customize your own AI-powered media tool


💬 Feedback & Feature Requests?

I’m constantly improving this tool based on real user feedback. If you try it, please share your thoughts — especially edge cases, audio quality issues, or summary tweaks you’d like to see.



✨ Give it a try, and if you love it — give it a ⭐ on GitHub or share the link with someone who needs it!

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Written by

Ankur Thakur
Ankur Thakur