Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about BrightClips.ai
General Questions
What is BrightClips.ai?
BrightClips.ai is an AI-powered tool that analyzes YouTube videos and extracts key insights. Think of it as "Wikipedia for YouTube Learning" - we turn hours of video content into minutes of structured, digestible takeaways. Perfect for students, researchers, and anyone who wants to learn faster.
How does it work?
Simply paste any YouTube URL into BrightClips.ai. Our AI analyzes the video transcript and extracts key segments with timestamps. You get:
- Smart Segments: AI-generated chapters with timestamps and summaries
- Key Terms: Important vocabulary extracted from the video
- Reading View: Focus on one segment at a time with detailed key points
- Share & Export: Share via link/QR code, or export to PDF
Which videos work with BrightClips.ai?
BrightClips.ai works with any YouTube video that has:
- Transcripts/captions available (auto-generated or manual)
- Reasonable length (under 60 minutes for English, under 40 minutes for non-English)
- Educational or informational content (works best with lectures, tutorials, talks)
Videos without transcripts or music videos won't work since there's no text to analyze.
Features & Functionality
How accurate is the AI analysis?
BrightClips.ai uses advanced AI to analyze videos, but AI-generated content may contain inaccuracies. You should:
- Verify important information by watching the original video
- Treat timestamps as approximate (may vary by a few seconds)
- Use takeaways as study aids, not authoritative sources
- Report issues if you notice significant errors
We're constantly improving our AI to provide better accuracy, but always cross-reference critical information.
How long does analysis take?
First-time analysis: 20-30 seconds for a typical 20-minute video
Previously analyzed videos: Instant loading (under 100ms from our cache)
The AI processes the entire video transcript, identifies key segments, and generates detailed takeaways. Once analyzed, the results are saved permanently so you and others can access them instantly next time.
Does BrightClips.ai support non-English videos?
Yes! BrightClips.ai supports 95+ languages with automatic detection and AI-powered translation.
How it works:
- We automatically detect the video's language (Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, etc.)
- AI analyzes the video in its original language
- You can request an English translation with one click
- Switch between languages using the language toggle
Example: A Hindi lecture gets analyzed in Hindi, then you can translate the takeaways to English while preserving all timestamps and key points.
What happens to analyzed videos?
Once we analyze a video, the results are saved permanently in our database. This means:
- Instant access: Next time anyone analyzes the same video, they get instant results
- No duplicate processing: We never re-analyze the same video, saving time and resources
- Public knowledge base: Like Wikipedia, analyzed videos become part of a shared learning resource
- Always available: Your analyzed videos remain accessible anytime
Can I analyze the same video multiple times?
You can submit the same video URL as many times as you want, but we won't re-analyze it. You'll get the cached results instantly (under 100ms). This is intentional - it saves processing time, reduces costs, and ensures consistency across all users.
Technical & Limitations
Why did I get a "transcript too large" error?
This happens when a video's transcript exceeds our AI's processing limits (28,000 tokens or ~86,000 characters for non-English content).
What affects transcript size:
- Video length: Longer videos = more text
- Speaking pace: Fast talkers generate more transcript text
- Language: Non-English languages (Hindi, Chinese) use more AI tokens
- Auto-generated captions: May have redundancy or errors
Guidelines: Videos under 60 minutes (English) or 40 minutes (non-English) typically work fine. Very dense or technical content may hit limits even with shorter videos.
What if a video has no transcript?
BrightClips.ai requires videos to have transcripts or captions. If a video doesn't have them, we can't analyze it. Most educational content on YouTube has auto-generated captions, but music videos, vlogs without captions, or private videos may not work.
Is this free to use?
Yes! BrightClips.ai is currently free to use during our beta period. We're building this as a public learning resource similar to Wikipedia.
In the future, we may introduce premium features (like personal notes, analytics, or flashcards) while keeping core video analysis free for everyone.
Performance & Speed
Why is the first analysis slow but subsequent ones instant?
First-time analysis (20-30 seconds):
- Fetch video metadata from YouTube
- Extract transcript (can be large - 50KB+ of text)
- Send to AI for analysis (segments, key terms, summaries)
- Generate timestamped takeaways
- Save everything to our database
Cached videos (under 100ms):
- We already have all the data in our database
- Just fetch and display - no AI processing needed
- Works for everyone who analyzes the same video
Can I browse other analyzed videos while one is processing?
Yes! Video analysis runs in the background. You can browse our featured videos, navigate away, or even close the tab. We'll notify you when the analysis is complete. Processing continues on our servers even if you leave the page.
Privacy & Data
Do you store my personal data or watch history?
No. BrightClips.ai doesn't require login or track individual users. We only store public YouTube video data (titles, transcripts, our AI analysis). We don't know who analyzed what or track your viewing habits.
Is this legal? What about copyright?
Yes, this is legal. BrightClips.ai operates similarly to search engines and educational tools:
- We analyze publicly available YouTube transcripts (not video files)
- We don't host or copy video content
- Our AI generates original analysis and summaries (transformative use)
- Users still watch videos on YouTube (drives traffic to creators)
- Similar to how Google indexes and summarizes web pages
We respect creator rights and comply with YouTube's Terms of Service.
Still Have Questions?
Can't find what you're looking for? Check out our other help resources or start analyzing videos to see how it works!