Speech recognition services have become an indispensable tool for converting audio to text in many professional fields. The use of artificial intelligence for transcription is an indicator of the company’s advancement, its desire for growth, development, increased competitiveness and quality of service. Neural networks have relieved people by taking on the task of processing audio and video materials, the results of which can then be more effectively applied to the development of various projects.
What is Speech-to-Text technology?
The technology for converting audio recordings into text format is called speech recognition or, in English, Speech-to-Text (STT). Its development was made possible by the advent of another technology, machine learning. Engineers have developed algorithms by which neural networks are trained to recognize human speech and translate it into text.
The first programs were characterized by low-quality speech processing. They required ideal conditions: absolute background silence, slow reproduction of sentences, clear diction, lack of accent. Today’s services are characterized by much higher processing quality. They work faster, with 95% accuracy, and not only record, but also know how to punctuate and capitalize letters, highlight paragraphs, and compose subtitles. More advanced versions know dozens of languages, handle specialized terminology, are able to clear text from slang expressions, stop words, recognize emotions and even sarcasm. Many work only online, while others do not have access to the network with downloaded audio or video files.
STT technologies are used in various spheres of professional, social and home life, freeing people from industrial and household routine. For example, decryption programs are convenient for those who work with large volumes of texts. Assistant programs (AI stenographers) are designed to handle meetings, meetings, and negotiations. Voice assistants are more often used in everyday life to search for information or control household appliances. But voice assistants have already appeared, with which it has become possible to type text by voice.
Transcription of recorded speech
This category of services is widely used in professions where you have to work with large volumes of texts: in journalism, for creating blogs, taking notes, filling out medical records.
| Title | What does | Limitations, disadvantages |
| Sonix | Automatic transcription with high speed, accuracy and support for 50 languages. Automatically marks speakers. Visualizes the shapes of the audio signal. Sets timestamps. Removes the parasitic words. It has built-in dictionaries for specific industries | Requires an internet connection. It doesn’t work well with external noises, accents, and poor diction. |
| Rev | Transcribes in automatic and manual modes with 99% accuracy. Supports 36 languages. Integrates with Dropbox, Google Drive. Allows you to upload files directly to Rev or add a link to content on Zoom, YouTube, Vimeo. It has editing tools that allow you to quickly find and highlight the right places in the text. | The high cost of the manual transcription option. It doesn’t work in real time. Not trained to transcribe audio with specific terminology |
| Riverside | Automatically syncs with the audio/video file. It is characterized by high recognition quality. Allows you to edit a transcript: delete, move, or add words to it. There are tools for suppressing external noise | |
| Whisper | Efficiently processes complex audio signals, including those made in noisy environments. Provides high accuracy of audio-to-text conversion. No internet connection is required for local processing. Supports 97 languages | Technical assistance may be required during setup and adaptation. |
| Gladia | Automatically detects the language out of 99 possible ones. Distinguishes between speakers. Works with video files (no more than 500 MB) and YouTube links |
AI-stenographers
Intelligent virtual assistants are used to record and manage meetings, conferences, meetings, and negotiations.
They:
- unloading staff;
- They allow the team to focus on discussing important production issues.;
- They record agreements and deadlines, which does not allow people to forget about their tasks.
| Title | What does |
| Fireflies.ai | It is compatible with Zoom, Meet, Team, Webex, GoTo Meeting, Skype, and Dialpad platforms. Transcribes at a rate of up to 150 words per minute and with 95% accuracy. Understands several languages. Highlights important points of the negotiations, for example, agreements, deadlines for assigned tasks, responsible persons. Forms structured summaries based on the results of meetings. It can be combined with work calendars, clouds, and mail. |
| Avoma | Integrates with Zoom, Meet, Team, Blue Jeans, GoTo Meeting, Uber Conference, and Lifesize platforms. Transcribes it. Understands the emotional background and dynamics of the conversation. Can predict the results of a meeting |
| tl;dv | Records and transcribes conferences held via Zoom or Google Meet. Supports 20 languages, including Japanese, Korean, Portuguese. Creates accurate transcripts. Distinguishes between speakers. Timestamps important points in the meeting. He is able to create short clips from a shared recording to illustrate the main points. Summarizes what he has heard. He is trained to draw conclusions, which facilitates the work of colleagues who could not attend the meeting. It is combined with common platforms, such as CRM |
| Fathom | Recognizes speech in good quality. Compiles a structured text record. You can set up a keyword alert. |
Voice typing
| Name of the program | Platform | What he can do |
| Windows 11 Speech Recognition | Built-in tool with voice import function | It works in all Windows 11 applications. Knows 11 languages |
| Apple Dictation | Available for Mac OS, iOS and iPadOS | It can work offline without an internet connection. Supports 59 languages and dialects |
| Google Docs voice typing | Any platform with access to Google Docs | Suitable for voice input |
| Gboard | Android and iOS | Provides high-quality recognition. It can be used for Web search, as well as translation. It is trained using the user’s knowledge and manner of conversation. |
| Dragon | iOS, Android, Windows | An application for dictation. Allows you to create text templates. There is a dictionary that can be customized. |
| Otter | iOS, Android | Transcribes meetings. Takes notes. Highlights keywords and words |
| Xenova Realtime Whisper – Whisper | Web application | Recognizes speech in real time in the browser. It can be installed on a computer locally, which ensures complete privacy. |
Conclusion
STT technologies are designed to improve the efficiency of processing and analyzing oral information. Artificial intelligence for transcription has been successfully used in many areas of human activity. However, when choosing tools, it is important to take into account specific tasks and working conditions.
