The short answer
Can Claude watch videos?
Not on its own. Paste a YouTube link into Claude and it can't see what is on screen or hear what is said, and it won't take a video file as an upload: Claude reads documents and images, and has no way to play a video (as of October 2026).
With the Watch Any Video connector, it can, for YouTube videos and your own recordings. Claude passes the video on, the whole video is watched, and Claude gets back what is seen and heard, with timestamps, so it can answer your question.
Pro: 7 days free, then $60 a year. Nothing to install, no API key.
Three ways to get a YouTube video into Claude
- Paste the transcript
- Claude gets the words, but nothing that is only on screen: slides, code, product shots, captions, what someone points at.
- Developer tools in Claude Code
- Scripts that download the video and cut it into frames need ffmpeg, yt-dlp and your own API key, so they only run in Claude Code, not in the Claude app.
- Watch Any Video
- A connector that runs on our servers. It sees and hears the whole video and works everywhere Claude does, including the app on your phone.
Only need the words? Get a YouTube transcript with timestamps and speakers, even for videos without captions.
Set it up in a minute
- Step 1
Add the connector
Use the button, or go to Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector in Claude and paste https://watchanyvideo.com/api/mcp. Free Claude plans can add one custom connector.
- Step 2
Sign in once
Sign in with your email or Google account when Claude asks. Watching videos needs Pro: 7 days free, then $60 a year, or $8 a month.
- Step 3
Paste a YouTube link and ask
Short videos come back in seconds; a two-hour podcast takes about a minute. Follow-up questions about the same video take a couple of seconds and use none of your minutes.
What to ask about a YouTube video
Paste the link after any of these.
- “Turn this 40-minute lecture into study notes, with the time each topic starts.”
- “At what point does he show the settings screen, and what does it say?”
- “Which problems does the reviewer mention, and when?”
- “What happens in the first three seconds of this Short, and how does it keep people watching?”
- “Summarise this video in five bullet points, each with a timestamp I can check.”
Which videos it can watch
- Public YouTube videos, including Shorts and past live streams, up to about three hours long.
- Your own recordings: ask Claude for an upload link and send a file of up to 2 GB, such as a Zoom, Loom or Teams recording you downloaded. If a YouTube video of yours is private or unlisted, upload the file instead.
- Direct links to video files, and public Google Drive and Dropbox links.
- Not TikTok, Instagram or Facebook links: those sites don't allow their videos to be downloaded.
Can ChatGPT watch YouTube videos?
No, ChatGPT can't open a YouTube link and watch it either. Watch Any Video works in ChatGPT the same way, through developer mode on plans that allow custom connectors. How to add it to ChatGPT.
Good to know
- We never store videos. Google's Gemini model watches YouTube links directly, and we keep the written, timestamped breakdown for 30 days so follow-up questions are instant.
- It never identifies people from their faces. It only uses names that are said aloud or shown on screen.
- Watch Any Video is not made by Anthropic; it is a connector you add to Claude.
Your first week is free
Pro is 20 hours of video a month for $60 a year, and the first 7 days are free, with 2 hours of video. Or $8 a month, with no free week.