YouTube is an excellent source of information. But it’s usually hard to find exactly what you’re interested in efficiently.
Recently, I’ve been using this method to learn from long-form videos, usually dense in information where the visual part is not so important, like a podcast. Thanks to AI, I don’t need to watch two hours of videos to get to the content I’m interested in anymore.
The process I’ve been using is based on NotebookLM:
NotebookLM is a Google product that allows you to gather information from various sources and then ask questions or analyze it. You can use websites, Google Drive, files, and, yes, YouTube.
1. Grab the link
Go to YouTube and get the link to the video you’re interested in.
2. Using it as a source in NotebookLM
Now, create a new notebook:
Add a YouTube video as the source:
And start asking questions:
You can even generate a mind map or a briefing doc based on the video, but I think the most interesting part is being able to tell them specifically what you’re interested in.
Alternative approach using Claude or ChatGPT
Another way to achieve the same: use one of the free tools available to get the full transcript of a video like this one, or this one, and then paste the content on ChatGPT or Claude with this simple prompt:
Read this video transcript, and now I'll ask you questions.
I hope you found that useful. Until next time!