Automatically create subtitles for videos saved on Google Drive

What’s changing 

Google announced that when you upload a video to Google Drive, captions for the video may be automatically generated. These subtitles are automatically generated using voice recognition technology to transcribe the audio. Automatically generated subtitles will be supported in English, with plans to expand to other languages ​​in the future.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why it’s important

Automatic captioning can improve access to media stored in Drive and can save you the effort of manually creating captions. It also allows you to easily search for videos based on their content, making it easy to find the exact file you need.

Additional details

You can manually request automatic captions for any videos uploaded before this new update. See the end user guide below for more information.

Getting started 

• Admins
  • This feature will be ON by default and therefore captions will be automatically generated when users upload videos to Drive or administrators can choose between two options:
    • Option 1: Turn off this feature
    • Option 2: Set captions to be generated only when a user requests them for a specific video by going to Admin Panel > Drive and Documents > Features and Apps > Automatically Generated Captions.
  • Visit the Help Center to learn more about this feature.
• End users
  • If your admin chooses option 1, you can add created captions by right-clicking on the video in Drive > Manage caption tracks > create captions automatically. You can also create subtitles while the video is playing by going to the three-dot menu at the top right > manage subtitle tracks > create automatic subtitles.
  • If your admin selects option 2, no action is required and captions will be automatically generated when the video is uploaded.
  • Visit the Help Center to learn more about this feature.

Rollout pace

• Rapid release and scheduled release: Available now.

Availability

• Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts
  • Note: Users with personal Google accounts must request automatic captions after uploading videos to Drive.

Source: Gimasys