AI Learning · 7 MIN READ
CastIQ AI Notes: Turn Any Video, PDF, or Lecture into Structured Notes
How CastIQ's AI Notes actually works — input types, chapter structure, depth settings, math rendering, and the configuration options most people never open.
On this page
CastIQ's AI Notes feature turns a YouTube video, PDF, audio/video file, image, or even just a topic name into chaptered, structured notes — with adjustable depth (short, medium, or long with examples), proper math rendering, and optional illustrations — so you get something closer to a textbook chapter than a wall of summarized text.
Most "AI notes" tools do one thing: summarize. That's useful for a 10-minute video, but a 90-minute lecture doesn't compress into a paragraph without losing the parts you actually needed. CastIQ's notes feature is built around a different assumption — that the note should be something you can study from, not just something that proves you watched the video.
What CastIQ's AI Notes actually generates
Notes come out chaptered automatically — CastIQ breaks the source into logical sections rather than handing back one continuous block of text. Each chapter has its own title and content, so a 90-minute lecture reads like a set of short sections, not one long scroll.
- Six input types — YouTube video, YouTube playlist, PDF, audio/video file, a photo of handwritten or printed notes, or plain text.
- No source at all — type a subject and topic (e.g. "Physics — Laws of Motion") and CastIQ generates a topic overview directly, for when you don't have material to start from.
- Proper math rendering — formulas render correctly rather than as garbled plain text, which matters for physics, chemistry, and math.
- Optional illustrations — per-chapter images where they help explain a concept.
- 10+ languages supported for the generated notes themselves.
- Two reading themes — a plain "Clean" view, or a handwritten-style "Paper" notebook look.
Where quality depends on your source
Notes are only as good as what they're built from. A clean YouTube video with captions or a well-scanned PDF gives CastIQ the most to work with; a mumbled lecture recording or a blurry photo of handwriting will produce thinner notes, the same way a human note-taker would struggle with the same source.
Configuration options
Three settings control what you get back, and most people never touch two of them:
- Style — short (compressed, fast revision), medium (the default), or long with examples (adds worked examples, best for math/science).
- Language — generate notes in a different language than the source video or document.
- Sub-category — lets CastIQ tune formatting slightly for the kind of material it's working from.
Have a long lecture you don't want to take notes from manually?
Try CastIQ Free →How to generate notes with CastIQ
- 01
Add your source
Paste a YouTube link (or playlist), upload a PDF, audio/video file, or a photo of handwritten notes — or skip the source entirely and just type a topic name.
- 02
Pick a length
Short for a quick pass before class, medium for regular revision, or long with examples when you need worked examples included, not just definitions.
- 03
Generate
CastIQ breaks the source into chapters automatically — you don't have to structure it yourself.
- 04
Read, then go further
Once you have notes, generate flashcards, a quiz, or a mind map from the same source without starting over.
Notes aren't really the finish line — they're the source everything else gets built from. Once you have a set of notes, the same content can become an AI-generated quiz to test yourself, or an AI mind map if you'd rather see how the topics connect than read them top to bottom.
Frequently asked questions
A YouTube video or playlist, a PDF, an audio or video file, a photo of handwritten or printed notes, plain text, or just a topic name with no source material at all — CastIQ generates a topic overview directly from the topic in that last case.
Stop rewatching lectures just to take notes from them.
Turn your videos, PDFs, and photos into structured notes with CastIQ.
Try CastIQ Free →