Step 1. Configure settings and generate captions for your sequence
In Premiere Assistant, click [Edit captions] from the panel menu.
Configure the transcription settings:
Range: Choose which part of the sequence to transcribe: [Whole sequence], [Select Clip], or [In/Out].
Language: Select the language spoken in the video. Only one language can be selected at a time. If your video has more than one language, transcribe each language separately with its own language setting, then combine the results by hand.
Speakers: Choose how many speakers are in the video.
[One person]: For a single speaker.
[Multiple]: For multiple speakers. Choose how the audio is set up:
[Audio separated]: Each speaker has their own mic and audio track. Enter the names in the [Speaker names (separated by commas)] field, then use [Speakers per audio track] to assign a speaker to each track. Deactivate any tracks not in use.
[Audio not separated]: All speakers share one audio track. Set the number of speakers in the [Speakers] dropdown and select the audio track. Premiere Assistant detects and labels the speakers automatically using AI.
Video: Select [One camera] or [Multi cameras] based on your setup.
Caution: Errors may occur when transcribing or doing text-based editing on a multi-cam nested sequence. Use a non-nested multi-cam timeline instead.Script: If you have a script that matches your video exactly, paste it here. Premiere Assistant uses it as the reference and only transcribes the parts that don't match.
Click [Transcribe video to edit captions] to start.
Step 2. Edit your captions
After transcription, your captions open in the [Edit captions] tab. To learn how to edit your generated captions and apply edits to your sequence using captions, see Text-based video editing.
The bottom toolbar of the [Edit captions] tab also has these tools.
Caption tidy up
Click [Caption tidy up] (the sparkle icon) to flag common transcription clutter in your captions. Toggle on any combination:
Hide filler words: grays out filler words like "um," "uh," and "you know"
Hide repeated words: grays out back-to-back repeated words
Hide profanity: hides profanity. Click [Profanity filter] to choose which words are filtered and whether they are grayed out or masked (for example, S***).
Grayed-out words are hidden from your captions but still exist in the transcript. To remove them from the video entirely, select a grayed-out word and press K. For more editing shortcuts, see Text-based video editing.
Spell Check
Click [Spell Check] (the A with a checkmark icon) to scan your captions for spelling errors. Premiere Assistant checks through your captions and flags anything that looks off for you to review and fix.
Step 3. Adjust caption formatting
Before applying to the sequence, adjust how your captions look in the [Caption Format] window. To open it, click the lines icon in the bottom toolbar of the [Edit captions] tab.
Max length per line: Choose [Letter count] or [Word count], then set the number with the input field or the slider.
Punctuation: Turn periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation marks on or off individually.
Multi-line (Up to 2 lines): Toggle on to display captions across two lines instead of one.
Tip: You can also add a line break by hand in [Edit captions] mode with Shift + Enter.
Lettercase: Choose how captions are capitalized: As Typed, Uppercase, Lowercase, or Titlecase.
Silent section: Choose how captions behave during silence. [Sustain caption] (the default) keeps each caption on screen for its whole line, including pauses. [Hide caption] hides the caption during silence at the start and end of each line.
Tip: If you don't see every setting, scroll inside the [Caption Format] window.
Step 4. Apply captions to the sequence
When your captions are ready, click [Apply to sequence], click [Add captions] if a menu opens, and choose a caption type:
[Premiere Pro captions]: Adds captions as a native Premiere caption track.
[Animated captions]: Adds captions as styled graphic clips. Choose a caption effect first.
[Captions with speaker name]: Same as Animated Captions, but includes speaker labels. Shown only when the video has multiple speakers.
For more on caption styles, see Add animated caption effects.
Troubleshooting
How do I hide captions during silent sections?
The easiest way is to set Silent section to [Hide caption] in the [Caption Format] window (see Step 3). Captions are timed per line, so a caption disappears as soon as its line ends. To hide captions during a silence inside a line: in [Edit captions] mode, add a line break at the end of the last spoken line before the silence. This creates an empty line with no text that covers the silence, and a line with only spaces never shows.
For a smoother transition, adjust the clip length directly on the Premiere timeline.
How should I work with videos that include more than one language?
Premiere Assistant's AI does not support transcribing multiple languages at once. If your video contains more than one language:
Set the language to Language A, transcribe and complete your edits, then apply to Premiere. Then set the language to Language B and transcribe again for the other section.
Or, create one sequence with only Language A parts and another with only Language B parts. Transcribe and edit each separately, then combine.
The number of tracks in Premiere Assistant doesn't match what I see in Premiere
Click [Reload] in Premiere Assistant to refresh the track list.
Why do I get a recognition error when transcribing a sequence longer than 2 hours?
If you try to transcribe a sequence longer than 2 hours, Premiere Assistant shows this message: "Up to 2 hours of video can be processed at a time. Use the In/Out points in Premiere Pro to limit the length as needed." Transcription supports up to 2 hours of video per transcription, and this limit applies to every Premiere Assistant tool that requires transcription, including Clean up your video with Trim and Edit multi-cam in Premiere Assistant.
Note: The 2-hour cap is a technical limit of Premiere Assistant itself, not tied to your plan. It's the same across all paid plans, even if your plan includes many more transcription hours per month. On the free plan, the per-transcription limit is 30 minutes.
To fix this, set In and Out points to select a portion of your sequence under 2 hours, or split the sequence into multiple parts and transcribe each one separately. If you're already subscribed, you can check your total monthly transcription hours in Cutback Dashboard > Premiere Assistant > Usage.
Why are my captions missing from the exported video?
Captions can go missing from your exported video when you applied them as a Premiere caption track. Premiere does not write a caption track into the video file by default, so your captions show in the timeline and the Program Monitor but disappear from the export preview and the finished video.
To burn them into the video:
Go to [File] > [Export] > [Media].
In the settings list on the left, scroll to [Captions].
Set [Export Options] to [Burn Captions Into Video].
Export your video.
If [Export Options] is set to [Create Sidecar File], Premiere saves your captions as a separate subtitle file next to the video instead of showing them on screen. That is the right choice for YouTube, where you upload the subtitle file alongside the video.
If you translated your captions and applied them with [Split track for translation], you will have two caption tracks. Premiere displays both at once and places them in the same position by default, so they sit on top of each other. To separate them, select all the captions in one track, then adjust the position in Premiere's [Properties] panel. Learn more in Translate and apply captions to your video.
Tip: Animated Captions are added as graphic clips rather than a caption track, so they are always included in your export with no extra settings. Choose [Apply to sequence] > [Add captions] > [Animated captions] if you would rather not manage this setting each time.