Google Inc. will offer computer-generated captions on its YouTube video-sharing site, making it easier to search for certain words and phrases within videos.
The new service combines Google’s automatic-speech-recognition technology with YouTube’s caption system, Ken Harrenstien, a software engineer at the Mountain View, Calif.-based company, said Thursday.
The technology is similar to features in Google Voice, a service introduced in March to help users manage their phone, voice mail and text messages. The captions can improve searches and help users jump to specific parts of videos, Harrenstien said. The feature also will make millions of videos accessible to the deaf and hearing-impaired.
“It’s an important historical step, and I’m thrilled,” Harrenstien, who is deaf himself, said through an interpreter.
