How transcripts work on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Both Apple Podcasts and Spotify now create their own automatic transcripts. That's great for accessibility, but it raises a fair question: if you've added a transcript on RSS.com, which one do listeners actually see, ours, or the platform's? 

The short answer is it depends on the platform, and this article explains what each one does and what you need to do to get your transcript shown.

What RSS.com does with your transcript

When you add a transcript to an episode, either by generating an AI transcript (paid plans) or pasting in your own, we save it as a WebVTT file and include it in your RSS feed using the Podcasting 2.0 <podcast:transcript> tag. (As of March 2026 we use VTT only; plain-text and SRT are no longer supported.)

That feed transcript does two things automatically:

• It shows on your RSS.com podcast page and web player as a follow-along, clickable transcript.
• It's picked up by Podcasting 2.0 apps (Pocket Casts, Podverse, Fountain, and others) straight from your feed with no extra steps.

What happens on Apple Podcasts and Spotify is more specific. Here's each one.

Apple Podcasts

Apple generates its own transcript by default. Since iOS 17.4 (March 2024), Apple automatically transcribes new episodes shortly after they publish, and listeners see them labeled “Automatically generated.” This is on by default and needs nothing from you. Apple currently does this for podcasts in English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish, available in 170+ countries and regions (Apple's announcement).

Apple can use the transcript from your feed instead, but you have to switch it on. This is the step most people miss. Apple reads the transcript we put in your feed, but it keeps showing its own auto-generated version until you tell it to use ours. To do that:

1. Add your transcript on RSS.com (it goes into your feed automatically).
2. In Apple Podcasts Connect, open your show, go to the Availability tab, and set the transcript option to “Display transcripts I provide.”

Once that's set, Apple shows your transcript instead, labeled “Provided by [your show name]” so listeners can tell it came from you (Apple's transcript guide). If you ever want transcripts hidden entirely for your show, Apple handles that by request.

Why provide your own? Apple's auto transcript can't be edited inside Apple. When you provide your own, you control the wording and corrections, and on RSS.com you can edit your transcript any time.

Spotify

Spotify generates its own transcripts too, for eligible shows. Spotify rolled out auto-generated, time-synced transcripts in September 2023. They appear automatically on shows Spotify considers eligible (currently a rolling set of English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese shows, hosted on Spotify or elsewhere). Not every show is eligible yet.Spotify notifies you when yours is.

Spotify does not use the transcript in your RSS feed. This is the key difference from Apple. As of now, Spotify only displays (a) its own auto-generated transcript or (b) a transcript you upload directly inside Spotify for Creators. The <podcast:transcript> tag we put in your feed isn't read by Spotify, Spotify's own RSS transcript option is for sending transcripts out to other apps, not pulling them in from another host.

To show your own transcript on Spotify, upload it in Spotify for Creators (how Spotify handles transcripts):

• The file must be VTT or SRT, max 5 MB, and include timestamps (otherwise it won't sync during playback). You can download your VTT from RSS.com and upload it there.
• If you later enable Spotify's auto-generated transcript, it will replace the file you uploaded.

Other apps

Apps built on Podcasting 2.0, Pocket Casts, Podverse, Fountain, and more, read the <podcast:transcript> tag directly from your feed. So the transcript you add on RSS.com already works in those apps with no extra setup.

Known issues

• My transcript won't save / “VTT is not valid.” VTT has strict formatting rules, a stray space or missing timecode will break it. See Why am I getting an error when editing a transcript? Tip: an & symbol must be written as &.
• Apple still shows its auto transcript. Double-check the Availability → “Display transcripts I provide” setting in Apple Podcasts Connect. Without it, Apple keeps showing its own.
• My transcript isn't on Spotify. Spotify won't pull it from your feed, upload it in Spotify for Creators, or wait for your show to become eligible for Spotify's auto transcripts.
• The language is wrong. AI can occasionally misdetect language. Regenerate the transcript and check your podcast's language setting. (See the supported languages list, we support 14.)
• My episode has dynamic ads. A transcript reflects the audio at the time it was generated, so dynamically inserted segments may not match word-for-word.

Still stuck? Email support@rss.com with your show and the episode and we'll take a look.