In today’s digital age, the ability to accurately capture and document phone conversations has become increasingly valuable across various industries. Whether you’re a business owner looking to keep track of client interactions, a legal professional needing precise records for court cases, or simply an individual seeking to remember important discussions, transcribing phone calls can offer significant benefits. This blog will guide you through 5 ways to transcribe phone calls. I believe you can find the method that best suits your needs after reading this article.
Manual Transcription
This involves listening to a recording of the call and typing out the conversation yourself. This is a time-consuming option but doesn’t require any additional tools.
Built-in Call Transcription Features
Some smartphones, like Google Pixel phones, have built-in features like Live Transcribe, which captions phone calls in real-time. This eliminates the need for additional apps.
Recording and Transcribing
If you want to transcribe a phone call yourself, you can use call recording apps or features on your phone to record the conversation. Afterward, you can manually transcribe the recorded call or use transcription software to convert the audio into text.
Record the Call:
- Use a built-in call recording feature if available on your phone.
- Use third-party call recording apps.
- For iOS, some apps like TapeACall or Rev Call Recorder can be used.
- Ensure legal compliance with call recording laws, as these vary by location.
Obtain the Audio File:
- Save the recorded call as an audio file in a commonly used format like MP3 or WAV.
Choose a Transcription Method:
- Manual Transcription: Listen to the audio and type out the spoken words. This can be time-consuming but allows for high accuracy.
- Automated Transcription Services: Use software or online services to automatically transcribe the audio. Popular services include:
- Google Cloud Speech-to-Text: Offers high accuracy and supports multiple languages.
- IBM Watson Speech to Text: Known for its accuracy and advanced features.
- Amazon Transcribe: A scalable solution with support for various languages.
- Otter.ai: Provides real-time transcription and collaboration features.
- Notta: Its AI software effortlessly creates transcripts in your preferred language from your imported audio files
Real-Time Call Transcription Apps
Real-time transcription is the practice of converting the spoken words of a phone call into written text simultaneously. This feature is incredibly practical, particularly in situations demanding immediate call recording. While there are very few applications in the market offering real-time phone call transcription, there are two notable ones worth introducing：
- AI Phone: AI Phone is leading the way as the top AI tool for real-time phone call transcription. With support for over 90 languages, including both major global ones and less common ones like Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, and Korean, it offers unmatched versatility and inclusivity. What sets AI Phone apart is its unique feature: even if the person you’re calling hasn’t downloaded the AI Phone app, you can still use its transcription function, making it incredibly convenient for everyone. Furthermore, AI Phone boasts an impressive voice recognition accuracy rate of over 99%, achieved by analyzing conversation content and context. Its ultra-fast real-time transcription and AI summary features enhance its practicality, ensuring users can easily access and understand some key points of the call long after the conversation ends.
- CaptionCall: It is a free app designed specifically for those with hearing loss to make and receive captioned phone calls. It’s offered by Sorenson Communications, a leader in communication services for the deaf and hard of hearing.
- InnoCaption: This app is free for anyone with hearing loss and provides real-time captioning of both sides of a phone call. It works on smartphones, landlines, tablets, and computers. You’ll need to register and self-certify your hearing loss to use the service.
- CaptionMate: Similar to InnoCaption, CaptionMate offers free real-time captioning for phone calls. It can caption over 100 languages and works on various devices. Registration is required.
- Rogervoice: Rogervoice is a well-regarded app for real-time phone call captioning. It is a valuable tool for people with hearing loss, allowing them to participate in phone conversations more confidently.
- Nagish: It is another strong contender in the world of phone call captioning apps. Similar to Rogervoice and CaptionCall, Nagish transcribes calls in real-time, displaying text on your screen for easy follow-along.
Cloud Phone System with ASR
Some cloud phone systems and contact center software, like Dialpad and OpenPhone, have built-in call transcription capabilities. These systems use automatic speech recognition technology (ASR) to transcribe calls in real-time as they happen. They are ideal for business and entrepreneurship.
- OpenPhone: If you are a business seeking to streamline operations and enhance customer service, this tool is valuable for transcribing your business phone calls. Firstly, you’ll need to manually record the call using the call menu. Alternatively, you can configure your OpenPhone number to automatically record all calls by subscribing to a Premium plan or higher. After the call, OpenPhone automatically generates a transcription, includes a timestamp and identifies the different speakers, simplifying the process of following the conversation’s flow and pinpointing specific comments or actions. For subscribers to the Business plan, OpenPhone generates a summary of each call, highlighting key points and outlining next steps, further enhancing the utility of the tool.
- Dialpad: Dialpad is tailor-made for businesses seeking to enhance their customer service capabilities, so it may not be as convenient or affordable for individual users. However, it is a good choice for businesses aiming to improve their customer service standards. Dialpad provides real-time transcription of calls, meetings, and voicemails, ensuring seamless communication. When making a call through Dialpad, users can conveniently view real-time transcription directly in the active call window. In addition, it can identify action items by recognizing voice commands, eliminating the need for manual note-taking and allowing users to easily manage memos. Additionally, after each call, Dialpad provides a summary of the conversation content, effectively saving companies valuable communication time.
Conclusion
The field of phone transcription has expanded to meet the evolving needs of individuals and businesses. By understanding your needs and exploring the available methods, you can ensure every phone conversation is accurately documented and readily accessible.
Consider these factors when selecting your transcription method:
- Frequency of transcription: Occasional use might make manual methods suitable, while frequent needs might warrant automated options.
- Accuracy requirements: Legal or highly sensitive calls may require higher accuracy offered by professional services or paid transcription software.
- Budget: Free options exist, but paid services often provide higher accuracy and features.