Upgrading to ChatGPT‑4.1‑mini for better video summaries

Valérian

April 16, 2025 · 4 min read

TL;DR: We moved YouTubeSummary from 4o‑mini to 4.1‑mini. Expect clearer key points, tighter context, and better accuracy on technical videos, with faster turnaround.

Why we upgraded

4o‑mini was solid, but 4.1‑mini consistently reduced hallucinations on niche topics and handled longer transcripts without losing the plot. It costs a bit more to run, but the quality delta justifies it in user outcomes: fewer rewrites, more trust, and higher retention on long-form content.

What improves in practice

Finds the signal: Pulls out the actual claims, steps, or arguments, not just time markers.
Keeps context intact: Connects early premises to later conclusions instead of bulleting isolated facts.
Handles technical depth: Interprets code, formulas, or finance jargon with fewer misreads.
Faster responses: Lower latency for standard summaries and better stability on long videos.

Concrete examples

Technical tutorial: Instead of “install libs, make charts,” 4.1‑mini outlines the pipeline (cleaning, outliers, normalization), names the stack (pandas, numpy, seaborn, plotly), and calls out performance tips for large datasets.
Historical documentary: Goes beyond events to causality, debates pivotal decisions, and ties outcomes to Cold War dynamics. Less “what happened,” more “why it mattered.”

These aren’t cosmetic tweaks. They reduce follow‑up queries and make summaries actionable.

Where 4.1‑mini shines

Educational content and lectures
Programming and data workflows
Finance and economic explainers
Long interviews where themes recur

If your use case involves extracting frameworks, methods, or decisions, you will notice the jump.

Technology notes

Under the hood, 4.1‑mini improves long‑range attention and factual retention on mixed media training. In our tests on transcripts exceeding 12k tokens, it preserved topic threads and reduced contradictory statements compared to 4o‑mini. It also produced fewer hedges and fewer generic fillers, which makes summaries denser and easier to skim.

What this means for you

Quicker, cleaner key points
More accurate technical phrasing
Better summaries on long videos without losing context
Faster custom formats when you need bullets, steps, or pros/cons

Try it

Paste a YouTube link into YouTubeSummary.
The process will automatically choose the best category for your video.
Get a concise, trustworthy brief in seconds.

Verdict: If you rely on YouTubeSummary for learning or research, 4.1‑mini reduces rewatching and double‑checking. Net effect: less time, better recall.

Conclusion

Upgrading to 4.1‑mini marks a clear step up in comprehension and speed. The summaries now read closer to expert notes than generic recaps. Tell us where it still misses and we’ll tune the prompts and post‑processing.

Author note: I review failed summaries weekly. The biggest gains came from fewer context drops around the 60–80 percent mark of long videos.

FAQ

Does the model “watch” videos?
No. It analyzes transcripts and metadata. Quality depends on subtitle accuracy.
Will older summaries be upgraded?
New requests use 4.1‑mini. We’ll selectively refresh popular videos.
How do you handle videos without subtitles?
We can’t summarize reliably without transcripts. Add captions, then retry.
Can I get different formats (bullets, steps, key quotes)?
Yes. Use custom format options when generating a summary.