YouTube transcripts in Make

• A Make account.
• An API key from Dashboard → API Keys. New accounts get 100 free credits.
• An OpenAI connection in Make for the summary, or any other AI app you use there.

1. 1

   Pick a trigger that gives you a YouTube link

   For example a new row in a Google Sheet with the link in column A, or a new form response. Any module whose output contains the link works.

2. 2

   Add HTTP → Make a request

   Set it up like this:

   • URL: the address below. Method: GET.
   • Headers: name Authorization, value Bearer tk_live_… with your key.
   • Query string: video_url = the link from your trigger, format = text, include_timestamp = false, send_metadata = true.
   • Parse response: Yes, so the next modules can map transcript and metadata.title.

   URL

   https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcriptCopy
3. 3

   Add OpenAI → Simple text prompt

   Map the transcript into the prompt:

   Prompt

   Summarize this YouTube video for someone who hasn't watched it: a one-paragraph overview, then 5 key points as bullets. Use only what the transcript says.
   
   Title: {{title}}
   Transcript: {{transcript}}

   Copy

   Replace {{title}} and {{transcript}} with the HTTP module's metadata.title and transcript fields.

4. 4

   Send the summary anywhere

   Add the module you want last: an email, a Slack message, a row update in your sheet, a Google Doc. Map the OpenAI module's result into it, then run the scenario once to test.

Schedule the scenario to run every morning. Then add these in order:

• An HTTP request to /api/v2/youtube/channel/latest with channel = an @handle, once per channel you follow. It returns the 15 newest uploads and is free.
• An iterator over results, with a filter that keeps videos whose publishedAt is in the last 24 hours.
• The transcript request and summary from above, then a text aggregator to join the summaries into one message.

Transcripts cost 1 credit each, so a digest of 5 new videos costs 5 credits. If you'd rather import something ready-made, the n8n version is a template.

Make's MCP Client app (in open beta) can call a remote MCP server's tools, including ours at https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/mcp with your API key. The HTTP module above is simpler for fixed steps; MCP helps when a Make AI agent should choose the tool itself.

Make changes its menus from time to time. We checked these steps on 18 October 2026 against Make's HTTP app docs, the OpenAI app docs and the MCP Client app docs. If something looks different, the app has probably moved it; tell us through the contact form.