What Are Automatic Transcription Tools?
A long time ago, there was only one way to generate transcriptions of audio or video—and that was by someone listening and writing them down manually. 😩
Now, though, the need for human transcription is becoming a thing of the past, thanks to automatic transcription tools, which have been quickly evolving with the advancement of technology.
So, what are these tools, exactly?
Automatic transcription tools are software programs that can transcribe audio or video files or real-time sounds and convert them into text. These tools are a great way to save time when you have a lot of audio or video recordings that need to be converted into text, or when you want to capture what is said in an important meeting without missing things yourself trying to write down important information.
And, now that many companies have gone fully remote, hybrid remote, or are working with teams across the globe, virtual meetings have become the hottest place for automatic transcription tools to be put to use.
They have even become useful tools for live, in-person meetings, since they relieve human employees of the role of “note-taker” and allow meeting highlights to be revisited afterward. (Just have one person log on to Zoom or Teams to record the meeting with one of these automatic transcription tools, and you’re good to go!)
Benefits of using Automatic Transcription Tools
The benefits of using automatic transcription tools are numerous, including:
- Saved time and money by companies needing mass amounts of audio or video files transcribed into text—whether for subtitles, video reviews, accessibility, etc…
- Saved headache when needing important information from meetings captured in real time for easy and efficient review later on
- Smart transcription tools’ new ability to put together highlights, time stamps, important notes, and more—saving even more time and making meetings more productive afterward (AKA, you can forget combing through—or rewatching—the entire meeting trying to find the part where you talked about X. Let these tools find it for you!)
- Easy meeting sharing with other employees, in one easy-to-navigate and searchable database
Best Automatic Transcription Tools
So, what are the best automatic transcription tools on the market today?
We’re glad you asked. 😎
Let’s jump right into our top transcription tool picks.
- Supernormal. Okay, shameless self-promo—but if we didn’t think we could do automatic transcription best, we wouldn’t be here. Supernormal captures live meeting notes that are instantly shareable, and allows you to organize and search across all of your conversations. At the conclusion of any conversation, you get access to a complete recording, transcript, and ready-to-go notes, which you can edit at your leisure and share with others, or sync directly to your CRM. And, the best part? It works with all the tools you already use, such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.
- Trint. Trint is an audio-to-text transcription service that, like all the greatest transcription tools, makes use of cutting-edge AI, such as automatic speech recognition (ASR) and natural language processing (NLP). Trint also guarantees "99 percent accuracy" with its autonomous services, and allows you to upload files in a variety of formats, including MP3 and MOV. It’s best for transcribing pre-recorded files.
- Otter.AI. Individuals and corporations can use Otter.ai's live, automated transcribing services. It can be used whether you need software to take live notes during a lecture or want to offer a written transcription of a business meeting for your team. It was created to integrate with some of the most prominent video conferencing services, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex. You can also queue import previously recorded audio or video files and have the program transcribe them in a few hours.
- Rewatch. Lastly, Rewatch is an automatic transcription tool that transcribes meetings if you upload them. Unlike Supernormal, though, it doesn’t offer a free version, and it lacks live notes.
There are hundreds of transcription tools out there, but these are our top favorites, and the ones most useful for today’s workplace.
While we’re here, be sure to check out all that Supernormal has to offer—from multi-language transcription to Slack and Google integrations. We even offer an absolutely free version that allows you to record 15 meetings for free, supplying you with a full transcript, meeting notes, and playback at 1X, 1.5X, and 2X.