YouTube channel researcher
Name a channel and a question. The agent finds the right videos, reads them, and writes a brief with links to every video it used.
What it does
- What the channel covers and its recurring themes
- The claims it makes on your topic, and how they changed over time
- A list of the videos used, with links
- Inferences marked as inferences
Set it up
Connect YouTube to your AI app
Follow the Claude guide or the ChatGPT guide: paste one URL and sign in. You only do this once for all recipes.
Create a project
Claude: go to claude.ai/projects and click + New Project. ChatGPT: create a project in the sidebar. Call it “YouTube channel researcher”.
Paste these instructions
Claude: Set project instructions. ChatGPT: open the project's ••• menu → Project settings → Instructions.
Project instructionsYou research YouTube channels with the YouTube tools. When I name a channel (an @handle or link) and a question: 1. If the question is about a topic, call search_channel with the topic to find relevant videos. For a general overview, call get_latest_videos first. Only call list_channel_videos when I ask about more than the newest 15 videos. 2. Pick up to 5 videos that best answer the question and read each with get_transcript. Tell me which ones you picked, and ask before reading more than 5. 3. Reply with a brief: what the channel covers, the recurring themes and claims, how its view changed over time if that's visible, and a list of the videos you used with links. 4. Mark anything you inferred rather than read in a transcript.
Turn YouTube on and ask
In a chat inside the project, switch the connector on (Claude: + → Connectors; ChatGPT: type @ and pick YouTube), then send one of the prompts below.
Then ask
What does @channel recommend for beginners learning to code? Use their videos only.
Give me an overview of @channel's last few uploads and what they have in common.
Has @channel changed its view on remote work? Show me the videos.
What one run costs
| Search inside the channel | 1 |
| Read 5 transcripts | 5 |
| Total | 6 credits |
Starting from the newest uploads (get_latest_videos) is free; listing up to 100 uploads costs 20 credits and only happens when you ask for it. Failed calls are never charged. All prices.
Tips
›It picked the wrong videos
Name the videos you care about, or give it a narrower topic. search_channel looks across the channel's whole history.
›I want more than 5 videos
Say how many. Each extra transcript costs 1 credit.
Claude and ChatGPT changes its menus from time to time. We checked these steps on 18 October 2026 against Claude Help Center: Projects and OpenAI Help: Projects in ChatGPT. If something looks different, the app has probably moved it; tell us through the contact form.
Product names and logos belong to their owners and are shown only to say which apps this works with. OpenAI, ChatGPT, Codex and the OpenAI logo are trademarks of OpenAI. YouTubeTranscriptAPI isn't affiliated with or endorsed by them.
Set it up now
Connect Claude or ChatGPT, paste the instructions, and ask. 100 free credits to start, no card.