Best AI to edit podcasts and add subtitles
Descript turns your podcast recording into a text transcript, so you cut and rearrange the conversation by editing words instead of dragging audio on a timeline. It can also remove filler words, reduce noise, and generate subtitles and show notes from the same transcript. The AI features run on a metered credit system, so heavy use can mean buying more credits.
Descript is a transcript-based audio and video editor whose current centerpiece is Underlord (2026), a generative AI co-editor that drafts scripts, writes show notes, finds shareable clips, and generates and extends video.
Adobe Podcast focuses on making voice recordings sound clear, stripping background noise and room echo so the episode sounds like it was recorded in a quiet studio. It also handles multitrack recordings from several speakers, syncing them automatically. Deep editing and subtitles aren't its focus, so people often pair it with another tool afterward.
Adobe Podcast is a browser-based audio tool whose flagship feature, Enhance Speech, cleans up spoken recordings to sound studio-quality.
CapCut adds automatic captions to your podcast video and gives you a full timeline to trim, arrange and polish the episode for sharing. Templates, transitions and stock audio help turn a long recording into a short clip quickly. The deeper AI tools and higher-resolution export sit behind a paid tier, so the free version can feel limited for longer episodes.
CapCut is a cross-platform video editor for mobile, desktop and web.
What to choose
- 🎙️You want to cut and edit your episode by changing the text of its transcript → Descript
- 🧹Your recording has background noise or echo that needs cleaning up first → Adobe Podcast
- 📱You want to turn the episode into a short captioned video for social media → CapCut
- 📝You just need a plain transcript of the recording, nothing else → Otter.ai
How to do it with AI
- Record or import your podcast audio and video into an editor.
- Clean up the sound, removing background noise, echo and long pauses.
- Edit the episode by trimming, reordering or cutting sections, using the transcript to speed this up.
- Generate captions or subtitles automatically, then read them against the actual audio to fix misheard words and timing.
- Export the finished episode and check it plays back correctly on the platform you'll publish it to.
Your task is different? Describe it in your own words and we'll pick 3 tools for exactly that.