Generate Captions Automatically in Premiere Pro With AI: Accurate Subtitles, Faster Workflow

Creating captions for your video shouldn’t be the most time-consuming part of your workflow, but it usually is.

Traditionally, generating subtitles means exporting audio, using external tools, editing timestamps manually, and finally reimporting everything back into Premiere Pro. It’s clunky. It’s slow. And it breaks your creative flow.

That’s where Cutback comes in.

With Cutback, you can automatically transcribe and generate accurate captions using AI, directly in Adobe Premiere Pro. No external tools. No file-juggling. Just one plugin, one workflow.

What You Can Do With AI-Powered Captions

Using the Cutback plugin inside Premiere Pro, you can:

• Auto-generate subtitles in 100+ languages

• Edit captions word-by-word or sentence-by-sentence

• Apply animated caption styles and zoom effects

• Translate captions into 29 languages

• Export transcripts for YouTube chapters

• Use captions to insert B-roll and make rough cuts

This isn’t just a captioning tool; it’s a full creative companion.

How To Generate Captions Automatically

Let’s walk through the process.

Step 1: Open Cutback and Choose [Edit Captions]

Launch Adobe Premiere Pro and open your project.

Then from the top menu, navigate to: Window > Extension > Cutback

Once Cutback launches, select the [Edit Captions] menu on the left-hand side.

Step 2: Set Up Your Transcription Preferences

Before generating subtitles, configure how you want the AI to handle your video:

• Range: Choose which part of your video to transcribe (Whole sequence, Selected clips, or In/Out points).

• Language: Select the spoken language in the video (only one per session).

• Speakers: Identify whether it's one speaker, multiple, or multiple speakers on separate tracks.

• Video Tracks: If each speaker has a corresponding video track, assign them here.

• Names & Terms: Help the AI understand context, add character names, brand names, or unique words.

• Script Reference: If you have a script, paste it here for better alignment.

You can also choose to turn Preview mode on/off. This determines whether Cutback shows you a draft before changes are applied.

Step 3: Click [Transcribe Video to Edit Caption]

Once everything is set up, click the button, and Cutback’s AI will transcribe your content automatically. This transcription becomes your editable caption layer.

Pro Tip: While transcribing, avoid making changes in your Premiere sequence to prevent desync issues.

How To Edit Your Captions in Cutback

Once the AI-generated captions are ready, you can fine-tune them using Cutback’s editor.

Sentence & Word-Level Editing

• Edit a word: Double-click it or press the word to make a correction.

• Merge or split: Use n, m, Delete, or Enter to adjust phrasing.

• Hide words/sentences: Use h or Shift + h to mute specific captions.

View Audio Waveform for Precision

Use the timeline at the bottom to make fine adjustments based on the waveform. This is especially helpful when syncing captions for fast-paced dialogue or interviews.

Click the [Timeline] button if it’s collapsed to bring it back into view.

When you're done editing, click [Apply to sequence].

You’ll get two options:

• Premiere Pro Captions: Adds a native caption track to your timeline.

• Motion Captions: Adds styled animated captions with effects (great for YouTube Shorts or Reels).

Advanced Features That Make Editing Faster

1. Caption Formatting

Fine-tune how your subtitles appear:

• Max characters per line

• Enable punctuation or remove it

• Choose one-line or two-line captions

• Adjust casing (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case)

2. Add Effects or Resources to Text

Cutback lets you interact with captions beyond just subtitles:

• Zoom Effect: Want to zoom in when someone says a keyword? Highlight the word and click [Zoom].

• Animated Caption: Turn specific lines into animated, styled captions.

• Insert Image or B-roll: Click [Resource] to add an image, GIF, or clip right where a word appears.

This makes captioning part of your creative toolkit, not just a compliance task.

3. Translate Captions Into Other Languages

Want to reach more audiences? You can:

• Translate your captions into 29 languages

• Split the timeline into separate tracks (original + translated)

• Apply animated captions that show both languages together

4. Export Subtitles or Chapters

Export your final captions in:

• .srt (for YouTube)

• .txt (for transcripts)

• Smart Summary chapters (perfect for timestamps)

Use the Find/Replace tool (shortcut f) to clean up repeated phrases or correct brand names in bulk before exporting.

FAQ: Generating Captions With Cutback

My transcript disappeared. Can I get it back?

Yes! Go to [Edit Captions] > [Open] or choose [Transcribe again] > [Open previous transcript].

Warning: If you click "Transcribe again" without opening the previous file, it will be permanently overwritten.

How can I edit the font and color?

Once you apply captions to your sequence, open Premiere Pro’s Properties panel to change the font, size, color, and position.

Can I apply caption styles to only part of my video?

Yes. Drag-select the words you want and click [Caption] to apply animated effects.

Can I upload my own .srt file?

Yes, but note: Cutback doesn’t support word-level timestamping in imported SRTs. So timeline editing features will be limited.

My caption timing is off after editing the video.

That’s expected. Changes made directly in Premiere (after applying captions) will desync your transcript. You’ll need to re-transcribe in Cutback.

The transcription didn’t work. What can I do?

Try these steps:

1. Update Premiere Pro to 2023+

2. Change audio format to AAC (not WAV)

3. Check your internet speed – a fast connection (200 Mbps upload) is recommended

Still not working? Use Cutback’s in-app chat support.

Why is [Apply to sequence] taking so long?

Auto rough cuts result in many tiny cuts. Premiere Pro isn’t optimized for hundreds of clips.

To speed things up:

• Remove unused tracks

• Clear unneeded effects

• Split long videos into 30-minute chunks

• Use a more powerful device

Final Thoughts

Cutback takes one of the most frustrating parts of video editing, captioning, and turns it into one of the fastest.

Whether you’re a creator, marketer, or editor trying to meet accessibility needs or expand to multilingual audiences, AI-generated captions save time, reduce errors, and unlock creative workflows.

No more copy-paste between apps. No more broken timestamps. Just type, click, and caption.

For more in-depth knowledge about the ins and outs of video editing, check out our latest posts on the Cutback blog or our YouTube channel. You can also join Cutback’s Discord community of like-minded video editors.