Transcription software

From HandWiki
Short description: Software that assists in the conversion of human speech into a text transcript

Transcription software assists in the conversion of human speech into a text transcript. Audio or video files can be transcribed manually or automatically.[1] Transcriptionists can replay a recording several times in a transcription editor and type what they hear. By using transcription hot keys, the manual transcription can be accelerated, the sound filtered, equalized or have the tempo adjusted when the clarity is not great. With speech recognition technology, transcriptionists can automatically convert recordings to text transcripts by opening recordings in a PC and uploading them to a cloud for automatic transcription, or transcribe recordings in real-time by using digital dictation. Depending on quality of recordings, machine generated transcripts may still need to be manually verified. The accuracy rate of the automatic transcription depends on several factors such as background noises, speakers' distance to the microphone, and accents.

Transcription software, as with transcription services, is often used for business, legal, or medical purposes.[2] Compared with audio content, a text transcript is searchable, takes up less computer memory, and can be used as an alternate method of communication, such as for subtitles and closed captions. Some clinical environments also use digital tools to support transcription workflows, including ambient documentation systems that employ Speech recognition to capture portions of clinical encounters and generate draft notes for later review. These tools are typically used alongside conventional transcription methods.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

The definition of transcription "software", as compared with transcription "service", is that the former is sufficiently automated that a user can run the entire system without engaging outside personnel. New software-as-a-service and cloud computing models use artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing to convert speech to text and continuously learn new phrases and accents.[9] AI transcription can, however, lead to hallucinations and other errors.[10][11][12][13]

Development

Research at Google released a free android app Google Live Transcribe, it runs on Google Cloud.[14][15] Google Chrome developed and has an available built in English Live Caption.[16] Google Docs, Google Translate, Google Assistant, GBoard Google Text to Speech engine support transcription tool too.[17][18][19][20]

OpenAI launched Whisper, an open-source speech recognition deep learning model in September 2022.[21]

See also

References

  1. "Transcription Functions | Transcribear". General Transcription Functions and Conventions, Audio Transcriptions. 2017-06-08. https://transcribear.com/transcription.asp. 
  2. "Medical Transcriptionists" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-transcriptionists.htm. 
  3. "AI scribes save 15,000 hours and restore the human side of medicine". American Medical Association. 2024. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/digital-health/ai-scribes-save-15000-hours-and-restore-human-side-medicine. 
  4. "Beyond the hype: 6 ways AI is transforming healthcare providers". International Business Times. 2024. https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/beyond-hype-6-ways-ai-transforming-healthcare-providers-1734135. 
  5. Feng, Severus (2025). "Assessing the Quality of AI-Generated Clinical Notes: Validated Evaluation of a Large Language Model Ambient Scribe". Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frai.2025.1691499/full. Retrieved 21 November 2025. 
  6. Benda, Nicole (2024). "Clinician Experiences With Ambient Scribe Technology to Assist With Documentation Burden and Efficiency". JAMA Network Open 7 (10). https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2830383. Retrieved 21 November 2025. 
  7. "Real-World Evidence Synthesis of Digital Scribes Using Ambient Listening and Generative Artificial Intelligence". BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. 2025. https://bmcmedinformdecismak.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12911-025-03061-0. Retrieved 21 November 2025. 
  8. "AI-enabled ambient scribing products in health and care settings". NHS England. 2024. https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/ai-enabled-ambient-scribing-products-in-health-and-care-settings/. 
  9. Bhatt, Medha. "What is AI Transcription? Everything You Need to Know". https://fireflies.ai/blog/what-is-ai-transcription. 
  10. Yang, John (2025-01-25). "What to know about an AI transcription tool that 'hallucinates' medical interactions" (in en-us). https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-to-know-about-an-ai-transcription-tool-that-hallucinates-medical-interactions#:~:text=Many%20medical%20centers%20use%20an,possibility%20of%20errors%20like%20misdiagnosis.. 
  11. Ananya (26 Apr 2024). "AI transcription tools 'hallucinate,' too" (in en). https://www.science.org/content/article/ai-transcription-tools-hallucinate-too. 
  12. Walker, Ben (2024-10-31). "Whispered Lies: How AI Transcription Sparks Concerns" (in en-US). https://www.dittotranscripts.com/blog/whispered-lies-how-ai-transcription-sparks-concerns/. 
  13. Burke, Garance (2024-10-26). "Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said" (in en). https://apnews.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-health-business-90020cdf5fa16c79ca2e5b6c4c9bbb14. 
  14. "Use Live Transcribe - Android Accessibility Help". https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/9158064?hl=en. 
  15. Butler, Sydney (2019-12-09). "How to transcribe speech using Google's Live Transcribe app" (in en-US). https://9to5google.com/2019/12/08/how-to-transcribe-speech-using-googles-live-transcribe-app/. 
  16. "Google Chrome's new Live Caption feature will transcribe speech in videos" (in en). https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-google-chrome-feature-speech-videos.html. 
  17. "Now you can transcribe speech with Google Translate" (in en-us). 2020-03-17. https://blog.google/products/translate/transcribe-speech/. 
  18. Krasnoff, Barbara (2020-08-14). "How to use Google's free transcription tools" (in en). https://www.theverge.com/21368867/transcription-google-docs-live-transcribe-how-to-zoom. 
  19. "Live Transcribe & Sound Notifications - Apps on Google Play" (in en). https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.audio.hearing.visualization.accessibility.scribe&hl=en_US&gl=US. 
  20. "Google Rolling Out Real-Time Transcription and Translation for Gboard Users". https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2020/08/google-rolling-out-real-time-transcription-and-translation-for-gboard-users.html. 
  21. Golla, Ramsri Goutham (2023-03-06). "Here Are Six Practical Use Cases for the New Whisper API" (in en-US). https://slator.com/six-practical-use-cases-for-new-whisper-api/.