Best AI Tools for Transcriptions

AI for transcriptions is an evolving field that leverages the capabilities of artificial intelligence to convert spoken language into written text.
This technology has found applications in numerous areas, from business meetings and academic lectures to legal proceedings and medical consultations. AI transcription tools use advanced algorithms such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to interpret and transcribe spoken words accurately. These tools are capable of handling different accents, dialects, and even multiple speakers — making them highly versatile.
Saving time is obviously one of the key reasons why AI tools for transcription are getting increasingly popular and are changing (or that’s improving) online meetings as we speak. You no longer have to take notes while in a meeting when AI can do that for you. Moreover, it is also capable of providing a summary of the meeting along with key points, actionable items and more.
Here are some of the most popular AI tools for transcription, many of which are also used for online meetings:
Tactiq
👍 Pros
👎 Cons
- Easy to use, works like a browser extension
- A free version is great for getting started
- Makes meetings productive (not a small feat)
- No pause feature
Tactiq is one of the most popular AI meetings services in the world, working across platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom, MS Teams and Webex.
As they say, it’s up to you to lead the conversation – Tactiq will take care of the notes with its real-time transcriptions.
The GPT-powered service supports about a dozen languages, including English, Español, Português, Français, & Deutsch and 10 others.
Just start a meeting, from where you’ll have Tactiq on your side to generate a meeting summary, action items, and the next meeting agenda. You’ll also get the full transcript, summary and quotes — which you can then share with your colleagues. It’s a collaboration at its best.
Tactiq is loved by 250,000 users in 10,000 organizations, such as Twitter, Shopify, flexport, Red Hat, Canva, Spotify, Xero, Riot Games, Pinterest, and Twitch. Every month, more than 2 million meetings are transcribed with the service.
That’s an impressive roster of clients and equally impressive numbers. Want to join them?
Fireflies by Fireflies.ai Corp
👍 Pros
👎 Cons
- Helps with transcriptions & note-taking
- Integrates with various software
- The soundbites feature is particularly handy
- The free version is rather limited
- The transcript accuracy can be improved
Fireflies uses generative AI to bring ChatGPT to meetings, helping you record, transcribe, search, and analyze voice conversations. The service works with popular video-conferencing apps — including Google Meet, Zoom, Teams, Webex, Ringcentral, Aircallm, etc. It can also work with dialers and audio files to create transcripts in minutes.
After the meeting, there is the option to use an AI-powered search to review what has been said in 5 minutes. Fireflies will highlight action items, tasks, questions, and other key metrics — and all you to filter and listen to key topics discussed.
In addition, it also supports multiple users, so that your team can add comments, pin and react to specific parts of conversations; as well as create soundbites and share the most memorable moments from meetings.
Fireflies is used by over 100,000 organizations, including the likes of Netflix, Nike, Uber, Expedia, Delta Airlines, and more.
Trint
👍 Pros
👎 Cons
- Makes transcriptions easy
- Great for newsrooms (many are already using it)
- Multi-language support
- AI transcriptions are not always super accurate
Trint is an AI-powered tool that will transcribe audio and video to text in over 30 languages.
The service was developed by the Emmy Award-winning journalist Jeff Kofman, who got tired of manual transcription grinding stories to a halt. And so he decided to change that with the help of AI.
Trint was born to allow anyone to upload any audio or video files, or capture content live, and convert every word into text with up to 99% accuracy.
After that, there is the option to edit, playback and search transcripts just like a text document — as well as to pull quotes from multiple transcripts and create articles, podcasts, scripts and soundbites.
All this is available for individuals and teams, allowing multiple users to collaborate in real time, share using granular access permissions and create Shared Drives to make sign-offs quick and easy.
Trint also has a mobile app, using which you can capture audio from your phone, and transcribe moments as they happen.
The tool is used by such organizations as BBC, AP, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel, PBS News Hour, Thomson Reuters, and Financial Times, among others.
Dialpad
👍 Pros
👎 Cons
- Brings AI to many parts of the organization
- Increasing sales alone is worth the price of Dialpad
- Can do wonders for customer support
- There are better options out there for meetings alone
More than a tool for enhancing meetings, Dialpad is made to streamline communication with customers on every channel with its AI-powered customer intelligence platform. As such, the service wants to “completely change how you work” by providing your team and customer conversations with real-time transcription, sentiment analysis, live coaching, predictive CSAT, and more.
Dialpad consists of several parts, including AI Contact Center, which is described as the “world’s most advanced customer engagement platform”; AI Sales Center for outbound sales with live coaching at every step; AI voice – the “world’s smartest business phone system”; and AI Meetings.
All of these are meant to work together to ultimately bring your company’s productivity to the next level, and then some. Or you can buy these solutions separately, whatever fits your needs.
What’s more, the company’s DialpadGPT technology brings along several AI features to the mix — including instant call summaries and in-the-moment coaching for sellers and support agents. That tech, according to Dialpad, was built for business from the ground up and works for every role, industry, and segment. Plus, it can be customized to understand unique business use cases and industry-specific jargon.
Dialpad says, and its pricing confirms this, that its solution is made for small and big businesses alike. Among its customers are such names as LA Chargers, Sacramento Kings, Asana, Randstad, WeWork, TED, Uber, Remax, and Ooredoo, among others.
Otter.ai
👍 Pros
👎 Cons
- Saves a ton of time on transcribing recorded files and live meetings
- Works in the web browser and on mobile devices
- Transcription editing and team collaboration tools are handy
- Only for English speakers
Otter.ai is designed to simplify your life by transcribing or taking notes from voice conversations. As such, it is perfect for meetings, interviews, or even when you’re driving. With Otter, you can easily convert these voice conversations into searchable notes with the ability to add photos within your transcripts.
The tool has many functionalities, and it works both in your web browser and on your mobile phone. For instance, you can share your conversations with others and allow them to edit, comment, or simply view the conversation. You can also review and edit your conversations, which can be handy for catching up on details you might have missed.
Imports and exports are also available with support for various audio and video formats for transcription. Then, once your conversations are transcribed, you can easily export the text and audio and even organize these files in different folders.
Regarding integrations, Otter.ai can sing along with all the “usual suspects” — including Google Calendar & Contacts, Microsoft Calendar & Contacts, Dropbox, and Zoom, among others.
The service is available in a few different plans, and the neat thing is that you can try it for free — and only sign-up for a paid plan, if you determine Otter.ai will work for you.
What AI tools for transcriptions can do?
Some of the features you should know about these tools include:
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Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)
AI tools for transcription use sophisticated ASR algorithms to convert spoken language into text. These algorithms are made to accurately recognize and process a wide range of voices, accents, and speaking styles.
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Natural Language Processing (NLP)
This feature enables the AI to understand context, manage colloquialisms, and discern the nuances of language. Therefore, NLP helps in delivering more accurate transcriptions across apps and services.
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Multi-speaker recognition
Again, we have NLP to thank for the ability to differentiate between multiple speakers in a conversation. As a result, AI tools for online meetings can easily attribute text to the correct speaker – even if they aren’t properly sign-in to a meeting.
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Real-time transcription
Many AI can transcribe text from both recorded audio/video as well as from the one happening in real-time – like that’s the case in online meetings, interviews, streaming media, and so on.
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Noise reduction and audio enhancement
AI algorithms are capable of filtering out background noise and enhancing the clarity of speech in audio recordings, ensuring higher accuracy in transcription even in less-than-ideal audio conditions. Again, very important for online meetings when most participants don’t have the pro-level gear.
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Data privacy and security
Finally, we should mention that most of the modern AI transcription tools incorporate robust security measures to protect sensitive data. This includes secure data handling, encryption, and compliance with privacy standards.
The above-mentioned set of technologies comes included with most modern AI tools for transcription and certainly with all of those mentioned on this page. So check them out.