Top 12 Meeting Transcription Software and Tools

Converting your meeting conversations into written text makes it easier to track and analyse discussions. Automatic meeting transcription is vital for organisations and teams wishing to keep an accurate record of their conversations, whether held virtually or face-to-face.

With technological advances, it is now possible to transcribe meetings either manually or automatically through solutions that use artificial intelligence, more specifically conversation intelligence.

What Is a Meeting Transcription?

A meeting transcription is the process of converting spoken conversations from a meeting—whether in-person, call transcription, or through video conferencing—into written text. This speech-to-text transcript serves as a detailed record of the discussion, capturing everything from important decisions and action points to quotes and general exchanges between participants.

Table: 10 Best Meeting Transcription Software

Detailed List of Top 10 Meeting Transcription Software

1. Empower by Ringover

Empower by Ringover is an AI-powered transcription solution that integrates seamlessly with VoIP systems, designed to help businesses capture meeting conversations and analyse them for better communication and decision-making.

Empower Advantages✅

• Real-time transcription with AI-driven accuracy
• Sentiment analysis to measure the mood of calls
• Integration with CRM systems
• Multilingual support (e.g., English, French, Spanish)
• Call summaries for easier tracking

2. Otter.ai

Otter.ai is a popular tool for real-time meeting transcription, widely used for capturing notes and sharing insights during team meetings. It's also known for its collaboration features and speaker identification.

Otter.ai Advantages✅

• Live transcription with speaker identification
• Integration with tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams

Otter.ai Disadvantages❌

• Accuracy may decrease with poor audio quality
• Limited customization for specific business needs

3. Rev.com

Rev.com provides professional human-based transcription services alongside automated options, ensuring high accuracy for businesses that need precise meeting transcripts.

Rev.com Advantages✅

• Available for transcription, captioning, and subtitles
• Fast turnaround for manual transcription services

Rev.com Disadvantages❌

• More expensive than fully automated options
• No real-time transcription for live meetings

4. Trint

Trint offers AI-based transcription with collaborative artificial intelligence tools that make editing and sharing meeting notes simple. It's particularly useful for teams that need to edit and refine transcripts post-meeting.

Trint Advantages✅

• Collaboration features for teams
• Editing tools to refine transcripts

Trint Disadvantages❌

• The AI may struggle with strong accents or poor audio
• Subscription pricing may be costly for small teams

5. Sonix

Sonix provides automatic transcription for both audio and video files in various languages. It supports advanced search and file management features, making it suitable for large projects.

Sonix Advantages✅

• Multilingual support for 30+ languages
• Automated transcription and translation

Sonix Disadvantages❌

• Some language translations may lack accuracy
• Occasional difficulty with speaker identification

6. Temi

Temi is a budget-friendly transcription tool that offers quick automated transcription services. It's ideal for users needing fast, basic meeting transcriptions without a hefty price tag.

Temi Advantages✅

• Quick transcription turnaround (5 minutes for short files)
• Automatic punctuation and speaker identification

Temi Disadvantages❌

• Accuracy can be inconsistent with complex dialogue
• Limited editing and collaboration tools

7. Descript

Descript is a unique tool combining transcription with video and audio editing features. It allows users to edit media directly from the transcript, making it ideal for content creators and teams involved in podcasts and video production.

Descript Advantages✅

• Video and audio editing through the transcript
• Screen recording and podcasting features

Descript Disadvantages❌

• Learning curve for new users
• Higher pricing for premium features

8. Happy Scribe

Happy Scribe offers automated transcription and subtitling with collaborative editing features. It is designed for companies and individuals who need quick transcription with support for time-coding and translations.

Happy Scribe Advantages✅

• Time-coding and subtitling options
• Supports multiple languages

Happy Scribe Disadvantages❌

• Free tier has limited access to advanced features
• Occasionally struggles with heavy accents

9. Verbit

Verbit focuses on AI-driven transcription, especially for accessibility purposes, providing real-time captions and subtitles for meetings, conferences, and lectures.

Verbit Advantages✅

• Accurate for accessibility purposes (ADA compliance)
• Integration with learning management systems (LMS)

Verbit Disadvantages❌

• High cost for premium plans
• Focused on specific industries, such as education and legal

10. Scribie

Scribie is a cost-effective transcription service that offers both automated and human-transcribed options. It is well-suited for users needing affordable and flexible transcription solutions.

Scribie Advantages✅

• Both human and automated transcription
• Easy speaker identification and audio cleanup

Scribie Disadvantages❌

• Human transcription takes longer to process
• Limited collaboration features compared to competitors

How to Transcribe a Video Meeting and Obtain Summaries?

The transcription of a video meeting can be done in several ways, ranging from manual input to the use of dedicated software. You're likely looking for a transcription solution to avoid the tedious task of manual note-taking. So, how do you go about it?

Using Automatic Transcription Software

The advent of transcription software, powered by voice recognition, has revolutionised meeting transcriptions.

These tools, capable of converting the audio from a video into text with remarkable precision, are increasingly popular.

For example, with Empower, this is made possible through a web extension called Empower Recorder, capable of automatically transcribing the content of your meetings with collaborators, clients, or prospects, and even summarising them.

How Does Meeting Transcription Work?

1. Audio Capture and Signal Conversion

The first step is converting the sound recorded during the meeting into a digital data stream. Whether recorded through a computer, smartphone, or webcam microphone, sound waves are transformed into a digital signal that can be processed by the system.

2. Audio Segmentation

Once the audio signal is obtained, a segmentation algorithm divides it into blocks. For example, in a video interview where a salesperson is presenting to a prospective client, this segmentation helps distinguish between the salesperson's input and the client's responses, making it easier to process the data and manage follow-up steps.

3. Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)

The core of transcription lies in speech recognition models, often powered by neural networks. These systems identify phonemes (the basic sounds of language) and match them to text. Such technologies rely on vast data sets to improve transcription accuracy, particularly in specific contexts.

4. Semantic Enrichment

In some cases, transcription solutions include post-processing to add semantic tags. For instance, the recognition of business-related intents like "purchase," "objection," or "interest" can make the transcription more useful for subsequent analysis.

Empower, for instance, uses a similar system to help automatically identify certain keywords and themes in team conversations, making it easier to identify client concerns and follow-ups.

Understand All Your Video Exchanges

Identify the key points of each meeting more quickly, and improve your productivity and that of your teams thanks to Empower by Ringover.

Free Trial: Conversation Intelligence Software

Advantages of Meeting Transcription

Increased Productivity

Transcriptions save time, enabling users to quickly scan content for essential points and decisions, facilitating faster project progression.

Knowledge Sharing and Continuity

Transcriptions ensure that team members, clients, and stakeholders have access to the same information, contributing to a unified understanding of past discussions.

Content Reusability

Transcriptions can be repurposed into blog articles, internal documentation, or training materials, extending the value of shared information.

How Can a Solution Like Empower Help?

Empower by Ringover, with its AI-driven transcription and sentiment analysis, provides valuable insights for various professional contexts:

• Collaboration: Empower transcribes phone and video exchanges, ideal for teams working across different locations and time zones.
• Customer Support: Transcribing support calls helps capture key details and improve service quality so customer needs are better met.
• Sales Training: Sales teams benefit from transcriptions to review conversations, identify strengths and weaknesses, and refine strategies.
• Productivity: Additionally, Empower offers sentiment analysis, automatic call summaries, and multilingual transcription to enhance team productivity and collaboration.

These features provide significant time savings, enhance the accuracy of interactions, and ensure consistency in the company's communications.

Key Takeaways

In conclusion, meeting transcription, particularly when applied effectively, is a powerful tool to boost productivity, improve accessibility, and enhance information management within organisations.

With innovative tools like Empower by Ringover and its web extension for video calls, it's now possible to automatically transcribe your video conferences and analyse the content of discussions for informed decision-making.

These technologies also allow for integrating transcriptions directly into CRM systems, improving the customer experience and enhancing the efficiency of sales and support teams. Empower integrates with top CRM solutions in the market.

Take advantage of the opportunity to propel your business to new heights by trying Empower today or requesting a personalised demo tailored to your specific needs.

Meeting Transcription FAQ

How is a meeting transcription done?

A transcription can be done either manually or automatically. The manual method involves listening to the meeting recording and transcribing it, which is time-consuming and prone to errors.

Automation, on the other hand, increasingly relies on speech recognition to convert audio into text, a much faster method.

What are the types of transcription?

There are various types of transcription to meet different needs. Verbatim transcription reproduces every word, including repetitions and hesitations. Edited transcription improves readability by correcting grammar and eliminating filler words. Summary transcription condenses the meeting to focus on key points.

Why transcribe a meeting?

Meeting transcription offers several benefits for different teams, including sales and support teams. Here are some specific advantages:

For the sales team:

• Detailed Analysis: Transcriptions allow a closer look at conversations with prospects, identifying key points, objections, and moments of interest.
• Continuous Improvement: Analysing multiple transcriptions helps sales reps identify patterns, refine pitches, and adapt responses to frequent objections.
• Follow-Up and Prospect Reengagement: Transcriptions help track commitments, questions, and promises made, ensuring personalised follow-ups.

For the support team:

• Traceability: Transcriptions provide a clear record of customer interactions, which is useful for disputes or follow-up discussions.
• Quality Improvement: Analysing transcripts helps identify frequent customer concerns, allowing teams to create FAQs and improve training.

How to Install Empower Recorder?

Here are the steps to install Empower Recorder:

1. Visit the Chrome Web Store via this [link].
2. Click the "Add to Chrome" button to install the extension.
3. To pin the extension to your toolbar, click the puzzle icon and select Empower Recorder from the list.
4. Ensure you're logged into your Ringover account and have access to Empower. Then click the Empower Recorder icon and sign in. For detailed instructions, refer to our support article.

What is meeting transcription in Teams?

Meeting transcription in Microsoft Teams refers to the process of converting spoken conversations during a Teams meeting into written text. Teams offers a built-in transcription feature that records and generates a transcript of the meeting in real-time. This transcript is available to participants during and after the meeting, providing a written record of the discussion. It helps in reviewing meeting points, following up on action items, and ensuring transparency and accountability in meetings.

How to transcribe meetings to text?

There are two main ways to transcribe meetings into text:

• Manual Transcription: This involves listening to a recording of the meeting and manually typing out the content. While time-consuming, it allows for high accuracy and the possibility to include specific formatting or summaries.
• Automatic Transcription: Many tools, such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and specialised transcription software like Otter.ai or Empower by Ringover, offer automated transcription services. These platforms use speech recognition technology to transcribe spoken words into text in real-time or from pre-recorded audio or video files.

How much does a meeting transcription cost?

The cost of meeting transcription varies based on the method used:

• Manual transcription services typically charge between $1 to $2 per minute of audio, depending on the complexity and turnaround time.
• Automated transcription tools often offer subscription models. Software like Ringover's Empower may be integrated into existing business communication platforms, bundling transcription with other services.

The choice between manual and automatic transcription depends on the accuracy required and budget.