AI Chapters

In this topic, you will learn how to generate, translate, review, and publish chapters for your videos with AI Chapters.

Introduction

AI Chapters is part of the Brightcove AI Suite. It analyzes the speech and the visuals of a video, identifies the key topics and moments, and creates a chapter track with a title and a start time for each chapter.

Chapters help viewers find the part of a video they care about instead of scrubbing through it, and they show the structure of a long video before playback starts.

The generated chapters are stored as a WebVTT chapter track on the video. You can review and edit them, translate them into other languages, import an existing VTT file, and export them like any other chapter track.

Before you start

  • AI Suite access. Your account needs the AI Chapters entitlement, and users need the AI Suite Access permission. For details, see AI Suite Access Permission.
  • Video length. AI Chapters requires videos that are at least 90 seconds long. For shorter videos, the generation options are disabled and a warning explains the requirement.
  • Language. Chapters are generated in the video's primary language, taken from the video's default audio track. You can translate them into other languages in the same generation job, or translate an existing track later.
  • One track per language. A video can have one chapter track per language. Only one chapter track can be visible to viewers at a time.

How AI Chapters works

AI Chapters builds on the existing chapter track model:

  1. Transcript. The video's captions are used when they exist. When they do not, a transcript is generated from the audio.
  2. Scene analysis. The video is analyzed for shot changes and visual content, so chapters follow what happens on screen and not only what is said.
  3. Chapter titles. The AI writes a short title for each chapter and assigns a start time.
  4. Review. The chapters are saved as a chapter track in the Chapters tab of the video, where you can edit them and decide when they become visible to viewers.

The following guardrails are applied to every generation:

  • The first chapter starts at the beginning of the video.
  • Each chapter lasts at least 30 seconds. Videos without speech can produce a chapter for every scene change, so this minimum keeps the chapter list useful.
  • Long chapter titles are shortened so they stay readable in the player's chapter menu.
  • Chapters do not overlap, and every chapter ends where the next one starts.

Generating chapters for a video

Generate chapters for a single video from the video's Chapters tab.

  1. In the Media module, open the video you want to add chapters to.
  2. In the right side panel, select Chapters.
  3. Select Generate Chapters.
  4. In the Generate chapters dialog, review the options:
    • Set status as. Select Draft (recommended) to review the chapters before viewers can see them, or Published - Visible to viewers to make the generated chapters visible as soon as generation finishes.
    • Languages. The video's primary language is marked as the source. Select additional languages to translate the generated chapters into as part of the same job.
  5. Select Generate Chapters.
  6. When generation finishes, the new chapter track appears in the Chapters tab. If you selected Draft, the track stays hidden from viewers until you publish it.

Generating chapters for multiple videos

Generate chapters for several videos at once from the Media module.

  1. In the Media module, select the videos you want to add chapters to.
  2. Open the bulk actions menu and, in the AI Suite section, select Generate Chapters.
  3. In the dialog, choose the languages to generate chapters in, the status for the generated chapters, and, when some of the selected videos already have chapters, choose whether to replace them.
  4. Select Generate Chapters.

Chapters are generated in each video's primary language, plus any languages you selected in the dialog. If generation cannot start for some of the selected videos, the dialog tells you which ones to retry.

Reviewing and editing chapters

The Chapters tab lists the chapter tracks for the video. Each track shows its language, its number of chapters, and whether it is a draft or visible to viewers. The track that translations are generated from is marked Main.

To edit a track, open it from the Chapters tab. The chapter editor lets you:

  • Change the title of a chapter.
  • Change the start time of a chapter. The start time is updated in every translated track so the chapters stay in sync.
  • Add a chapter at a new time, and delete a chapter. Both changes are applied to every translated track so the chapters stay in sync.

Start times must fall within the video duration, and two chapters cannot start at the same time. When you change a title in a track that has translations, use Update All Translations to apply the new title to every language. Timing changes always apply to every translated track.

Use Draft to keep your changes hidden from viewers, or Publish to make the track visible. Editing is locked while an AI job is running on the video.

Translating chapters into other languages

Translate an existing chapter track so viewers get chapters in their language.

  1. In the Chapters tab, open the New menu and select Translate Chapters. When the video has languages without chapters, the Add translations suggestion opens the same dialog.
  2. Select Generate Chapters.

Each translation is a chapter track in the target language with the same chapters and the same timings as the main track. Only the titles are translated.

Out of sync chapters

When a translated track no longer matches the main track, it is marked Out of Sync. Hover over the marker to see why, then regenerate the track to align it with the main language.

Importing, exporting, and creating chapters manually

AI Chapters works with the same WebVTT chapter tracks as the rest of Studio. From the Chapters tab you can also:

  • Import Chapters to upload a WebVTT chapter file.
  • Export a chapter track to a WebVTT file.
  • New Chapter Track to build a chapter track from scratch in the editor, without AI.

Viewer experience in the player

When a video has a visible chapter track, the player uses it in the following ways:

  • Chapter markers. The progress bar shows a marker at the start of each chapter.
  • Chapter titles while scrubbing. Hovering over or dragging along the seek bar shows the chapter name next to the time, for example 03:24 | Opening Titles.
  • Chapters menu. The Chapters button opens a list of the video's chapters, each with a thumbnail, its title, and its start time. The current chapter is highlighted, and selecting a chapter seeks to its start.

When a video has chapters in more than one language, the player uses the chapters in the player's language.

Limitations

  • AI Chapters requires videos that are at least 90 seconds long.
  • Each generated chapter lasts at least 30 seconds.
  • Chapters are generated in the video's primary language. Other languages are translated from the main track.
  • A video can have one chapter track per language, and only one chapter track can be visible to viewers at a time.
  • AI-generated chapters should be reviewed before they are published, especially for videos with several speakers or long stretches without speech.
  • Chapters created in the Interactivity module are managed by that module. For details, see Adding Chapters to a Video.

FAQs

  • Does AI Chapters need captions?
    No. When the video has no captions, a transcript is generated from the audio first.
  • Which language are the chapters generated in?
    The video's primary language, taken from the default audio track. Select additional languages in the generation dialog, or translate the track later.
  • Can I regenerate chapters?
    Yes. Generate again and choose to replace the existing chapter track for that language.
  • Can I edit the chapters after generation?
    Yes. Open the track in the Chapters tab to change titles and start times, add chapters, or delete chapters.
  • Do viewers see chapters while they are a draft?
    No. Draft chapters stay in Studio until you publish them.
  • Can I use my own chapters?
    Yes. Import a WebVTT chapter file, or create a chapter track manually in the editor.