· Updated · 4 min read · By the OptimaClip team
How Accurate Are AI Captions? A Checklist for Reviewing Auto-Captions Before You Post
Modern speech-to-text is accurate on clear audio, which is why auto-captions are now standard on short-form clips. But a 95%-accurate transcript still means a wrong word every couple of sentences, and the words most likely to be wrong are the ones that matter most: names, brands, numbers and niche terms.
Treat AI captions as a first draft. A quick review catches the errors viewers notice, and it takes far less time than writing captions by hand. Here's what to check and how.
What AI captions usually get wrong
Proper nouns: guest names, game titles, product names and places. Jargon: industry terms, slang and acronyms. Numbers: "fifteen" vs "fifty", prices and percentages. Crosstalk: two people talking at once, especially on podcasts. Music or game audio under speech, which lowers accuracy on streams.
Also watch for words that are technically right but read badly, such as filler words ("um", "like") that you'd rather drop, and swear words you may want masked.
A 2-minute review checklist
1. Play the clip once with captions only, sound off. Anything confusing? 2. Check every name, brand and number against what was said. 3. Fix line breaks so phrases aren't split awkwardly. 4. Make sure captions don't cover faces or each app's buttons. 5. Confirm the first caption appears with the first word, so the hook is readable immediately.
Caption style tips for short-form
Use large, high-contrast text with an outline or background so it's readable on any footage. Show a few words at a time and highlight the word being spoken. Keep captions in the middle third of a 9:16 frame, away from the bottom caption area and right-hand buttons. Save your style as a template so every clip matches.
How OptimaClip handles captions
OptimaClip adds animated word-level captions in 21 languages (plus auto-detect), which you can edit before export. Brand Templates store your font, colors and position. The curse-word censor can mask swear words in captions and mute them in the audio. For broadcast-style work, every clip also exports an SRT you can open in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve.
Frequently asked questions
Are AI captions accurate enough to post without checking?
Usually close, but names, numbers and jargon are often wrong. A quick review before posting is worth it.
Should I use burned-in captions or platform auto-captions?
Burned-in captions for short-form clips: you control the style and accuracy, and they show for everyone, including muted viewers.
Do captions help reach?
They help watch time because many people scroll with sound off, and watch time is what feeds recommendations.
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