AI captions need more than correct words. Check sounds and timing too.

Review the captions while replaying the recording. Confirm who speaks, meaningful non-speech sounds and when each line appears.

Use automatic captions as a draft, then compare them with the recording. Correct grammar does not establish that the line matches the audio or appears at the right moment.

Listen for meaning, not just spelling

W3C WAI describes captions as synchronized text for speech and non-speech audio needed to understand the content. It says automatic captions need accuracy review. Check names, numbers and meaning-changing omissions against what was actually said.

Include useful sound information

If a doorbell explains why a speaker stops, that sound may matter to the viewer. Identify an off-screen speaker when needed to understand the exchange. Do not add sound descriptions merely because they would fit the scene; verify them in the recording.

Check each cue in the player

Our fictional WebVTT example places “The door is closed.” at 00:01.000–00:03.000 and “[doorbell]” at 00:03.500–00:05.000. A parser can check ordered timestamps. Only playback against the actual recording can establish whether these are the right words, sounds and times.

Review the displayed result

Turn captions on in the intended player and check line breaks, speaker changes and whether text obscures important visual information. Keep translation review separate if another language is added. Editing a file successfully is not the same as checking its final display.

Published October 14, 2026. Cue order and text were checked on an original fictional VTT file. No audio was recorded, transcribed or played for this example, and no automatic-caption service was tested.

Sources: W3C WAI · Captions.