production Factor
Text Overlays
Whether the video uses on-screen text overlays beyond just captions — lower thirds, pull quotes, labels, or graphics with text. These are deliberate production choices, not auto-captions.
Text overlays serve multiple functions: they reinforce key points for viewers with audio off (Shorts feed is largely sound-off), they emphasize specific moments, and they add production polish. On YouTube, text overlays are a strong signal that the video was edited with care.
Effect on views
+0%
trend only
When present
The video has deliberate on-screen text overlays — lower thirds, callouts, emphasis graphics, or labels — beyond just captions.
Videos with this factor
As House Republicans cut taxes for billionaires, they refuse to increase the Federal minimum wage.
Joe Neguse
399K views
15K views
Heath care should be a priority, maybe @SecKennedy will figure that out at some point.
Steven Horsford
4K views
Purple Line Corridor 🚉
Wes Moore
2K views
Remember “reconciliation”?
Katherine Clark
1K views
When absent
The video has no added text overlays. Any text on screen is just YouTube's auto-captions or original content.
Videos without this factor
GOD DON’T LIKE UGLY: Texas Court Just BLOCKED Trump’s Map Grab | Rep. Jasmine Crockett Live
Jasmine Crockett
494K views
Sen. Ossoff on the need to ban large corporations from buying up single-family homes in Georgia.
Jon Ossoff
17K views
4K views
2K views
1K views