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Eyes track motion and contrast. When a specific word pops with a different color, grows larger, or gets an emoji next to it, viewers notice, even when they’re scrolling. Highlighting key words keeps engaged viewers locked in and helps skimmers catch your core message. Captions gives you several tools to do this, from automatic to fully manual.

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The tools available

Word Emphasis: the active word (the word currently being spoken) is automatically highlighted as the video plays. You control what that highlight looks like: a color change, size increase, background box, or combination. This happens automatically across every word in your video with zero manual work. Supersize: manually scale up specific individual words to make them dramatically larger than the surrounding text. Best for a key phrase or punchline you want to hit hard. AI Emojis: Captions automatically detects words that have a matching emoji and places the emoji next to them. The placement and emoji choices are editable. Manual word styling: tap any individual word in the caption editor to apply custom styling to just that word: different color, different font weight, or different size. Use this for fine-grained control over specific moments.

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Steps

1

Generate captions

Open your project and tap Add Captions if you haven’t already. Captions auto-transcribes your audio and places the text on screen. Review the transcript and correct any errors before proceeding. Accurate text makes word-level styling meaningful.
2

Set the active word highlight color

Tap the Style icon to open the Styles panel. Look for the Word Effects section and find the Emphasis (or active word) settings.Choose a highlight color that contrasts with both your text color and your video background. High-contrast combinations (yellow on dark, white on a colored background box) are the most effective.You can also choose whether the active word gets a background box, increases in size, or both.
Use your brand’s primary color for word highlights. It reinforces brand recognition on every video and creates a consistent visual identity across your content.
3

Supersize individual words

Scrub to a moment in the video where you want a specific word to hit harder. Tap that word in the caption editor to select it. Look for the Supersize option and enable it.The word will scale up significantly relative to the surrounding text. This works best for single words (a key noun, a number, or a punchline) rather than full phrases.
Use Supersize sparingly: one or two words per video, max. If every other word is supersized, none of them feel special.
4

Enable AI Emojis

In the Styles panel, find the AI Emojis toggle and turn it on. Captions will scan your transcript and automatically place relevant emojis next to matching words throughout the video.To edit or remove individual emojis, tap the emoji in the caption editor. You can swap it for a different one or delete it entirely.
AI Emojis work best for casual, social-first content. For professional or educational videos, consider leaving them off or being selective about which ones you keep.
5

Preview and refine

Play through the video and watch how the highlights land. Pay attention to:
  • Whether the active word highlight is visible against your video background at all points
  • Whether supersized words feel punchy or overwhelming
  • Whether the emoji placement feels natural or distracting
Adjust as needed in the Styles panel or by tapping individual words.

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Tips

  • Limit manual emphasis to 1-2 highlighted words or phrases per sentence. More than that and the emphasis loses impact
  • The active word highlight does its heaviest lifting for viewers watching without sound, which is most of TikTok and Instagram
  • Supersize works especially well with numbers: “lost 47 pounds”, “made $10,000”. Concrete specifics are what viewers scan for
  • If your video background is inconsistent (some bright, some dark scenes), add a background fill to your caption block so the text contrast doesn’t depend on the footage

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What’s next?

Word Effects

Full reference for emphasis, supersize, AI Emojis, and line break controls.

Caption Styles

Customize fonts, colors, animations, and the full style of your captions.

Captions by Platform

Match your caption style to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.
Last modified on April 20, 2026