Does it summarize the actual spoken content?

It summarizes from the title and description, since YouTube's public feed doesn't expose transcripts — plenty for a content log or newsletter mention.

Can I track more than one channel?

Yes — duplicate the feed-read chain per channel, or loop over a list of channel IDs stored in a sheet.

AI ContentAI-PoweredStructurally Validated

AI YouTube Video Summarizer

This automation watches a YouTube channel's public feed (yours, or one you follow for research) and, the moment a new video goes live, AI summarizes it from the title and description — with key takeaways and a ready-to-use newsletter blurb — logged to Sheets and posted to Slack.

Automation flow

Step 1

Every 6 Hours

Checks the channel's feed regularly.

Step 2

Read YouTube RSS Feed

No YouTube API key needed — every channel has a public feed.

Step 3

Only New Videos

Only videos published in this window are kept.

Step 4

Summarize Video (AI)

AI writes a summary, key takeaways, and a newsletter blurb.

Step 5

Save to Sheet

Every summary is logged for your content records.

Step 6

Notify Team

Slack posts the summary the moment it's ready.

How it works

1Every 6 hours, n8n checks the channel's public RSS feed (no YouTube API key needed — every channel has one automatically).
2Any video published in that window is picked up.
3The title and description are sent to the AI, which writes a summary, key takeaways, and a newsletter-ready blurb.
4Everything is saved to your sheet and posted to Slack.

Services used

RSS FeedAI API (OpenAI-compatible)Google SheetsSlack

What you'll need

An n8n Cloud or self-hosted account
A YouTube channel ID (yours, or a competitor/industry channel you follow)
An OpenAI API key (or any compatible AI API)
A Google account (Sheets)
A Slack workspace (optional)

What's included

No YouTube Data API key required — uses the public RSS feed
Great for tracking your own channel or a competitor's
Feeds naturally into the AI Newsletter Digest template
Bring your own AI API key

Estimate what this could save you

Times per week

Minutes each time

Your hourly value ($)

3.6 hours/month

≈ $108/month in your time

A rough estimate based on what you enter above — not a guarantee. Actual time saved depends on your process.

Make it yours

Track multiple channels by duplicating the RSS Feed → Only New Videos → Summarize chain per channel, or loop over a list of channel IDs stored in a sheet.
Feed the newsletterBlurb output directly into the AI Newsletter Digest template's Curated Links sheet to fully automate "what we're watching this week" sections.
Add sentiment/topic tagging to the AI's JSON schema if you're tracking a competitor's content themes over time.

Works well with this automation

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Save with the complete system: AI Content & Marketing Bundle

Instead of buying separately: $235 — System: $99

View system

Questions about this template

$19one-time

Secure checkout via Polar. Delivered by email instantly.

Structurally validated: automatically checked for valid n8n format before every deploy.

Difficulty: Medium
Setup time: ~15 min
Integrations: 4
Node count: 7
Format: .json + guide