What Is AI Transcription? Is It Better Than Human Transcription?

AI transcription uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to convert human speech into text. Thus, eliminating the process of manually converting the audio from files and videos into text.

The software has a database of words, in many languages as well, from where it matches the human speech in the audio. The software is also programmed to identify different sounds such as laughing, coughing, knocking, and so on.

AI transcription saves you time and instantly gives you the transcript of your lectures, interviews, meetings, or even casual conversations.

Benefits of AI Transcription

Time Efficient

The key selling point of AI transcription software is definitely the speed at which it can provide you with your final transcript. Most AI transcription software provides transcription almost immediately, even for lengthy files such as full-length movies and lectures.

Compared to an experienced human transcriber who might take an hour to transcribe 20-30 minutes of audio, you’re saving valuable time when it comes to getting your transcription done.

Saves You Money

If you do not want to spend hours and hours transcribing, there are transcribers online that are available for hire.

The average rates of these transcribers will range between $1.50 to $3 per audio minute. This amounts to $90 to $180 per hour. This may not be an economical choice for you if you have many hours of content.

AI transcription softwares have lower rates as compared to human transcribers and provides you with the transcript within minutes.

Moreover, many of these transcription softwares have free versions as well.

Automatic Timestamps

Timestamps are the markers in your transcription that indicate when the text is spoken. These can occur every minute, every 5 minutes, or when a new speaker starts speaking.

Not all transcriptions require timestamps, but it is useful to have when your audience needs to refer to the audio or audio-visual file when reading your transcript.

AI transcriptions usually also come with timestamps, so you do not need to go through the hassle of manually typing out the hours, minutes, and seconds for each line of speech.

Real-Time Transcriptions

AI transcription technology has advanced so much that it is now capable of converting speech to text in real time.

One example of this is in virtual meetings and online conferences where the different accents may be difficult to comprehend for weak listeners. Real-time transcription makes it accessible to everyone.

Video-sharing platforms like YouTube also offer real-time live transcription for videos.

Humans vs AI: Who Wins?

AI transcription technology has come a long way and is definitely better than human transcribers in many ways. But like in many other industries, AI still cannot fully replace humans.

Background Noises

Humans know how to navigate background noises better than transcription softwares.

If the background noises are loud, the AI may not accurately transcribe your audio but an experienced transcriber may do a better job. Additionally, multiple speakers may speak at the same time so the software will, again, have trouble differentiating the voices.

The software may type words and phrases during this part of the transcript which may result in a less accurate transcription.

Accents and Dialects

The database used by most AI technologies is mainly based on the formal dictionary.

Unless your software’s AI technology is also trained with a database containing colloquial languages and different accents, the software is most likely to not understand the colloquial languages used, as we make out the different accents heard in the audio.

On the other hand, humans are more accustomed to understanding these deviations in languages and accents.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings, origins, and spellings.

AI transcription technology makes use of sentence structure and contexts to guide itself on which words to use, and mistakes may occur when it comes to homophones.

For example:

There is a hole in your shirt.

I am not able to eat the whole cake.

The words “hole” and “whole” sound the same, but they have different meanings. If there is background noise or the audio is not clear enough, the software may not be able to differentiate between the two words.

Humans most likely will not face the same mistake, as we have the ability to process natural language. Of course, AI technology is improving every day. Being fed with large amounts of data sets, its transcription accuracy and speed will only get better from here.

Is AI Transcription Safe?

The answer depends on the company and its privacy policies. Is the audio and text encrypted when it goes through the software?

When deciding on transcription software, go through the history of the company and specifically focus on data breaches, privacy policies, security policies, and the overall reputation of the company.

On the other hand, the software and the company may be excellent security-wise but how sensitive are your files? Are you willing to take a risk if there is an incident that leaks your sensitive information? Every company, big or small, should come up with a decision after thinking about the latter.

Full & Edited Verbatim

Full verbatim transcription is where everything is added to the final transcript. This includes repetitions, coughing, laughing, and unnecessary phrases such as ‘uh’, ‘hmm’, and so on.

Edited verbatim is where everything mentioned above is neglected and the final transcript only includes the necessary information.

AI software will perform edited transcription easily but it may have issues with what words or phrases to cut. It may delete crucial information which may break the flow of the entire conversation.

On the other hand, humans have the capability to identify what information is crucial to the topic of the conversation.

How to Get a 100% Accuracy Rate?

By now, you should know both AI and human transcription services have their pros and cons.

To get a transcription with a 100% accuracy rate, the simplest way is to utilise both AI and human solutions!

Sign up for a free AI transcription service like Auris AI to get your first draft in a matter of seconds, and proofread the document to ensure a 100% accuracy rate!