Guide to AI-Generated Subtitles for Social Video

85% of Facebook video is watched without sound. On TikTok, over 80% of users scroll with sound off. On Instagram, video autoplay is muted by default.

Subtitles aren't a nice-to-have. They're the difference between your message being heard and being scrolled past.

#Why Subtitles Matter: The Numbers

• 85% of social media video is watched without sound (multiple platform studies)
• Videos with subtitles see 40% higher watch time on average
• 80% of viewers are more likely to watch a video to completion with subtitles
• Subtitled videos generate 16% higher reach on most platforms
• Accessibility: over 400 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss

#How AI Subtitle Generation Works

There are two approaches to AI subtitle generation:

#Approach 1: Speech Recognition (Post-Production)

The traditional method. An AI model listens to the video's audio and transcribes what it hears.

• Accuracy: 90-95% for clear speech
• Timing: Word-level alignment with audio
• Limitation: Requires existing audio; accuracy drops with accents, background noise, or multiple speakers

#Approach 2: Script-Based Generation (Production-Time)

Used by AI video creation tools like Orange. Subtitles are generated directly from the script text that also drives the voiceover.

• Accuracy: no transcription errors (the captions reuse the script text itself)
• Timing: Word-level sync, aligned to the TTS output
• Advantage: the text and the voice share one source, so nothing gets misheard

The script-based approach is inherently more accurate because the subtitles come from the same source as the audio.

#Subtitle Styles That Work on Social Media

For short-form social media, word-by-word highlighting is the most engaging style. It creates a visual rhythm that keeps viewers reading along.

#Platform Requirements

Burned-in subtitles (permanently rendered into the video) are recommended for cross-platform posting because they display identically everywhere, regardless of platform caption support.

#Best Practices

1. Always include subtitles: every social media video should have them. No exceptions.

2. Use high-contrast text: white text with a dark outline or background bar works on any visual. Avoid thin, light-colored text.

3. Keep it readable: maximum 2 lines on screen at once, at a font size you can read on mobile.

4. Position correctly: center-bottom is standard. Avoid the very bottom edge, where platform UI elements may overlap.

5. Time accurately: words should appear when they're spoken. Even 200ms of delay feels wrong and reduces engagement.

6. Use word highlighting: for short-form content, word-by-word highlighting beats static text blocks for engagement.

#How Orange Handles Subtitles

Orange builds captions during generation, right after the voiceover is recorded:

1. The script provides narration text for each scene
2. The voice engine (premium voices on Pro and Studio, a standard engine on other plans) produces the voiceover along with word-level timing data
3. Subtitles are created from the same text with precise timing
4. The styled subtitles are burned directly into the video

The result: accurate, well-timed, styled subtitles on every video, with zero manual work.