Free Auto Captions AI Template: Copy, Fill, Ship

The slowest part of any routine is the blank page. This post gives you a template for auto captions AI that you can copy into a note, fill in once and reuse for every video. It has three parts: a style sheet, a tricky words list and a pre-post checklist. After the blank version there is a filled in example for a made up bakery, so you can see what good answers look like.

The template works in any editor or platform. Lesson 3.4 shows how to apply it on screen: Captions in your style, automatically.

Fill in the template once, store it somewhere you can reach in a click, and every later video starts with the decisions already made.

Part 1: the caption style sheet

Copy this block and fill in each line.

Caption style sheet Font: Size (check on a phone): Text colour: Background or outline: Position on screen (and what it must not cover): Maximum lines at once: Capitalisation (sentence case, all caps): Emphasis words (colour or bold, if any): Burned in or caption file: Platform(s): Notes:

Why each line matters: size and contrast decide whether people can read it. Position decides whether it covers your face or product. The burned in versus file choice decides whether you can switch captions off later, and whether your style survives. For reference, YouTube does not recognise style information in basic SRT or SBV files, and the W3C says styling support in players is inconsistent.

Part 2: the tricky words list

Tricky words Business name (exact spelling): Products and services: People (staff, guests, you): Places: Jargon and trade terms: Numbers and units I say often: Words the tool got wrong before (and the right version):

Add to this list after every video. The point is that you fix a word once and never again.

Part 3: the pre-post checklist

Before I post - [ ] Audio was clean, one speaker at a time - [ ] Style loaded from the style sheet - [ ] Names checked against the tricky words list - [ ] Numbers, prices and times checked against what I said - [ ] "Not", "no" and "can't" checked - [ ] Watched on mute, captions only - [ ] Watched with sound, listening for mismatches - [ ] Captions do not cover anything important - [ ] New tricky words added to the list

The "not" line comes from the W3C, which warns that missing a single word such as "not" can make a caption contradict the audio.

A filled in example (illustrative)

Here is the style sheet for an invented bakery called Corner Loaf. It is an example of the format, not a recommendation of specific settings.

Caption style sheet, Corner Loaf Font: a plain, heavy sans serif Size: large enough to read on a phone held at arm's length Text colour: white Background or outline: dark outline Position: lower third, above the app's own buttons, never over the bread Maximum lines at once: 2 Capitalisation: sentence case Emphasis words: product names in yellow Burned in or caption file: burned in for short social clips Platform(s): short video apps on a phone Notes: re-check on a bright background

And the tricky words list:

Tricky words, Corner Loaf Business name: Corner Loaf (two words) Products: sourdough, focaccia, pain au chocolat, rye People: the owner and two staff first names Places: the street name and the neighbouring market Numbers and units: oven temperatures, proving times, "dozen" Wrong before: (add as they happen)

Settings like font and position are personal choices. Test yours on a real phone before you save them.

How to use the template, step by step

1. CopyPaste the three blocks into a note or document you can open quickly.
2. FillSpend ten minutes completing the style sheet and the first version of the word list.
3. TestCaption one video using it and see what is missing.
4. UpdateAdd the new tricky words and any style fixes.
5. ReuseOpen the same note before every video. Never start from a blank page again.

Adapting it to your platform

• YouTube: if you use its automatic captions, you can review and edit them in YouTube Studio under Subtitles. If you upload a transcript to be timed automatically, it must be in the same language as the video and a language supported by its speech recognition.
• Short social clips: burned in captions give you full control over the look.
• Long videos: a caption file lets viewers turn text on or off and lets you fix a typo without a full re-export.

When to update it

Review the style sheet every few months or when something looks off, and the word list after each video. If you hand captions to someone else, the template doubles as your instructions.

Questions people ask

Is the template really free?

Yes. Copy it and use it as you like. No sign up is needed.

Do I need all three parts?

The checklist and word list give the most value. The style sheet matters most if you post often.

Can I use it with any tool?

Yes. It describes decisions, not features of one tool.

Small upgrades once the template works

After a few videos you can extend the template. Add a line to the style sheet for the exact export settings you use, so a helper can reproduce them. Add a column to the word list for how you say each term, for cases where the pronunciation is unusual. Add a line to the checklist for anything you were caught out by.

Keep a dated copy each time you change it, so you can see what changed if the look drifts. And keep the whole thing short, since a template that fits on one page is one you will really open.

Where to go next

Copy the blocks into a note now and fill in the style sheet. To see the whole routine, including saving your style and batching a week of videos, follow Lesson 3.4 walks you through it step by step: Captions in your style, automatically. If you want a named process around the template, read the caption framework for auto captions AI.