YouTube did not generate automatic captions for your video: what to check

If you published a video and cannot find its automatic caption track, first check whether YouTube is still processing the audio. Then review the language and sound conditions. If you need captions while you wait, or the track does not appear, you can add your own transcript in YouTube Studio.

Check whether the track is pending or missing

Sign in to YouTube Studio, select Subtitles, and open the video. YouTube says an automatic track may not be ready when a video is uploaded, and processing time depends on audio complexity. Check again later; the help page does not set a timeframe or offer a control to force generation. Read how automatic captions work and what can affect them.

If you see an automatic caption track but its text has errors, you can review or edit it. This guide covers a missing track; to edit one that already exists, follow the guide to fixing YouTube captions.

Check these possible causes

In Subtitles, check the video’s audio language, especially if it has multiple audio tracks: automatic captions are generated in the default language. YouTube lists an unsupported language, a video that is too long, poor sound quality, speech it cannot recognize, a long silence at the beginning, and overlapping speakers or multiple languages as possible causes. These clues can help you review the file, but they do not identify what happened in your specific video.

Play the file from the beginning and listen for clear speech, a long quiet section at the start, or people talking over one another. If you think the language is not supported, check the current list in the linked help article before changing the audio track or file.

Add a manual track if you need one

In YouTube Studio, open Subtitles, choose the video, and select the language. If that language is not listed for the track yet, select Add language; under Subtitles, choose Add. YouTube offers options to upload a file, auto-sync a transcript, or type captions manually. YouTube’s help explains the options for adding subtitles and captions.

To type captions in Studio, select Type manually, play the video, and enter the words you hear. You can pause while typing; when you publish, YouTube sets the track timing automatically. Check names, numbers, and uncertain words against the audio before publishing. If you already have a transcript in the spoken language, you can also try auto-sync; YouTube does not recommend it for videos over an hour or with poor audio quality.

Check the result by returning to the video’s track list and playing several sections with captions turned on. If the track appears but needs text or timing edits, continue with the guide to correcting existing captions.