# Adding Subtitles to Your Videos with AI Transcription

March 21, 2026

## Why Every Video Needs Subtitles

Studies show that up to 85% of social media videos are watched without sound. Subtitles are not just an accessibility feature - they are essential for engagement. Highlight Studio makes adding subtitles effortless with built-in AI transcription.

## Generate Subtitles in One Click

Open the **Subtitles** panel in the editor and click **Transcribe**. Highlight Studio extracts the audio from your recording and sends it through an AI-powered speech-to-text engine (OpenAI Whisper). Within moments, you will have timestamped subtitle segments for your entire video.

The transcription supports **multiple languages** and can auto-detect the spoken language, so you do not need to configure anything for most use cases.

## Review and Edit

AI transcription is highly accurate, but it is always worth a quick review:

- Click on any segment to edit the text directly.
- Use the **search function** to find and correct specific words across all segments.
- Adjust segment **start and end times** if the timing is slightly off.
- Enable **word-by-word sync** for a karaoke-style effect where individual words highlight as they are spoken.

## Style Your Subtitles

Generic white-on-black subtitles work, but branded subtitles look better. Customize:

- **Font** - Match your brand typography.
- **Size** - Large enough to read on mobile screens.
- **Text color** - Use your brand's primary color or white for contrast.
- **Background** - Add a semi-transparent background behind the text for readability on busy screen recordings. Adjust the opacity to taste.

## Subtitles in Your Export

When you export your video, subtitles are burned directly into the video frames with all styling preserved. This means they display perfectly on every platform - no need to upload a separate SRT file or rely on platform-specific captioning.

Adding subtitles takes less than a minute and can dramatically increase your video's reach and accessibility.