Stop watching. Start asking.
We’re building the reasoning layer for YouTube.
TubeCortex is an independent AI layer for YouTube content — it turns YouTube videos, channels, and saved libraries into searchable knowledge. It began as a YouTube summarizer — but the larger mission is to make video content readable, queryable, and useful long after the watch session ends. Stop watching passively. Start asking better questions.
A personal knowledge system for YouTube.
YouTube holds the world’s largest library of lectures, product reviews, market commentary, tutorials, interviews, and expert analysis. The problem isn’t access — it’s time. People save videos they never watch, forget what creators said, and repeat the same research every time a decision comes up.
TubeCortex turns that overload into an AI-powered reading and knowledge layer. A YouTube video becomes a structured, searchable summary. A saved library becomes something you can ask questions about. A channel becomes a Creator Brain you can chat with across its back catalogue.
It’s built for learners, researchers, and busy professionals who follow more on YouTube than they have hours to watch. If your “watch later” list is a graveyard of good intentions, this is for you.
More than a summary. A knowledge engine.
Creator Brain
Pick the videos you want from a YouTube channel's back catalogue, then ask questions like you'd ask someone who has watched them all — not just the one video in front of you. Switch on auto-update and every new upload joins the brain on its own.
Library-wide chat
Ask one question across every video you've saved. Compare creators, retrieve recommendations, and reason across hundreds of transcripts at once.
Channel subscriptions & import
Subscribe to channels or import your existing YouTube subscriptions. Every new upload is automatically processed, summarized, and added to your library.
Automated pipeline
You don't have to check for new uploads yourself — TubeCortex watches every channel you follow in the background and picks up new videos automatically. Each one gets summarized and indexed, and Telegram can ping you with a link the moment it's ready.
Bring your own keys (BYOK)
Connect your own API keys via OpenRouter for full model flexibility. Chats and summaries then run free on your account — only building brains uses credits.
Structured outputs
Chapters, Verdict, Deep Dive, or a custom format you define. Choose the Quick, Balanced, or Think Deeper tier per summary.
From video feed to queryable knowledge.
- 01
Paste a link or sync your subscriptions
Drop in any YouTube URL for an instant summary, or import your channel subscriptions and let TubeCortex process every new upload automatically.
- 02
Structure the transcript
TubeCortex pulls the video's transcript and turns it into a structured summary — organized by topic and timestamp — instead of a raw wall of text.
- 03
Choose your tier and format
Pick a tier — Quick, Balanced, or Think Deeper — and a format that fits: Chapters, Verdict, Deep Dive, or a custom mode you define.
- 04
Read, search, and ask across your library
Every summary is indexed and searchable. Ask follow-up questions on a video, query a creator's back catalogue, or reason across your entire saved library.
The AI models behind it.
TubeCortex is model-flexible. You choose the tier that generates each summary — Quick, Balanced, or Think Deeper — for on-demand videos and automated channel summaries alike. Each tier runs on a leading model from the labs below, kept current for you. There is also TubeCortex Free, which runs on our own servers, costs nothing, and never spends credits. Or connect your own keys and use any exact model available through OpenRouter.
Your library is yours.
Your library and your summaries are private to your account by default. The videos you save, the questions you ask, the custom formats you build, and the channels you follow are not published or shared unless you explicitly choose to share them.
Frequently asked questions
- What is TubeCortex?
- An AI-powered knowledge layer for YouTube. It summarizes any video, auto-processes your channel subscriptions, and lets you query your saved library through conversation — turning your feed into a searchable knowledge base.
- How is it different from a YouTube video summarizer?
- A summarizer handles one link at a time. TubeCortex bulk-indexes the videos you choose from a channel into a Creator Brain, lets you ask questions across your whole library, and auto-summarizes new uploads. The summary is the entry point, not the product.
- How do I summarize a YouTube video?
- Paste any YouTube URL, choose your tier and format, and get a structured summary organized by topic and timestamp. New accounts start with 2,500 free credits — no credit card required.
- Can I auto-summarize a YouTube channel?
- Yes. Subscribe inside TubeCortex or import your YouTube subscriptions. TubeCortex watches those channels for new uploads, summarizes each one in the tier and format you picked, and saves it to your searchable library — and Telegram can ping you with a link the moment one is ready.
- Can I chat with a video or a whole channel?
- Yes. Ask follow-ups on any video (answered from its transcript). Creator Brain lets you chat with a channel's back catalogue, and Library-wide chat reasons across every video you've saved.
- Which AI models can I use?
- You choose the power level: Quick, Balanced, or Think Deeper — per video or as a default for channel summaries. Each tier runs on a leading model from Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google, kept current for you. Power users can connect their own keys via OpenRouter and pick any exact model.
- How does Bring Your Own Keys work?
- Connect your own API keys through OpenRouter. TubeCortex runs answers and summaries on your provider account, free of platform fees — only building brains still uses credits.
- Is there a free tier?
- Yes, in two parts. Every new account gets 2,500 free credits to spend on the premium tiers — Quick, Balanced, and Think Deeper — with no credit card required. Alongside them sits TubeCortex Free, which runs on our own servers and costs nothing at all. When your credits run out the premium tiers lock until you top up, and TubeCortex Free carries on.
- What output formats are available?
- A timestamped Chapters breakdown, a Verdict with the call and the action items, a full Deep Dive, or a custom format you define — not generic AI prose.
- Are my summaries private?
- Yes. Your library, summaries, custom modes, subscriptions, and chats are private to your account by default. Nothing is shared unless you choose to share it.
Need help with your account, billing, or a problem? Visit Support →
Our mission
Stop watching. Start asking. We want to give you back your time and attention — so you can learn more from YouTube without watching more of it.