A YouTube source indexes video transcripts, so answers can cite the video that explains something. It is available on every plan.

​
Before you start

  • The channel’s ID (it starts with UC) or its @handle.
  • Public videos with captions. Auto-generated captions work.

​
Set up

1

Add the source

Open the knowledge base, click Add source, pick YouTube and click Continue. Enter a Display name and click Next.
2

Name the channel

In Channel, enter the channel ID or @handle and click Load channel. Kelu lists the channel’s videos and playlists. On a very large channel, only the newest 1,000 videos are listed. To reach older ones, pick a playlist that holds them, or All videos.
3

Choose what to index

Pick All videos to index every upload, new ones included. Or pick Choose videos and playlists, then tick what you want on the Videos and Playlists tabs. Click Next: Kelu checks the channel and shows the error if it fails. Then click Add source. The first sync starts right away.
4

Check the result

Open the source’s Extracted tab to see each video’s transcript, or ask a question in the Playground and check the answer cites the video.

​
Options

FieldRequiredWhat it does
Channel IDYesThe channel (UC…). With no playlists or videos chosen, all its uploads are indexed.
PlaylistsNoPlaylists to index. When set, only these (and any chosen videos) are indexed, not the whole channel.
VideosNoSingle videos to index. When set, only these (and any chosen playlists) are indexed.
A video that appears in more than one is indexed once. A chosen playlist picks up videos added to it later.

​
What gets indexed

  • One document per video, with its title and a link to the video.
  • The transcript, in English captions when there are any (your own first, then auto-generated), otherwise the first caption track the video has.
  • The transcript is split into sections at the video’s chapters, or every minute or two with a timestamp heading. [Music] and [Applause] are dropped.
  • A video with no captions is indexed from its description. A video with neither is skipped.
  • Audio is not transcribed. Private, deleted and region-blocked videos are skipped.

​
Sync

YouTube re-syncs every 24 hours. Content that has not changed is not re-embedded. Click Sync Now to sync at once. See Keeping content fresh.

​
Troubleshooting

  • A video adds nothing to answers. It has no captions, so only its description was indexed. Add captions in YouTube Studio and sync again.
  • Videos are missing. Open Sync history: each skipped video is listed with the reason. If you chose videos or playlists, only those are indexed: open the source’s settings to add more.
  • “is not a playlist address”. Use the playlist’s own URL, the one that contains list=.
  • Unwanted videos are indexed. With All videos, every upload is indexed. Choose playlists or videos instead, or click Remove from the index on a video in the Extracted tab to keep it out.