Converting audio to text has become an essential skill in various fields, from healthcare and HR to content creation and the legal sector. It not only allows you to convert spoken words from dictations, interviews, podcasts, lectures, and more into written form, but it also makes analysing, editing and sharing written records easier and more efficient.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover various methods, tools and techniques available for audio to text transcription, its importance across different industries and the main reasons for its boom in popularity.

What is transcribing?

Audio to text transcription usually involves having a trained transcriber listen to an audio recording and typing the spoken content into a text document. This requires careful attention to detail, language proficiency and excellent listening skills.

Which industries use audio to text transcription?

Audio to text transcription empowers professionals across various industries with extra time to focus on their core roles, all while enhancing efficiency and being cost-effective. Below are just some of the key sectors that can benefit from transcriptions.

Business & HR

From international corporations to individual HR teams, there are several advantages to using audio to text transcription in business:

• Zoom and Microsoft Teams meeting recordings can be automatically transcribed
• Meeting dictations can be converted into written records for future reference and accountability
• Transcripts become easily shareable, helping keep all staff and shareholders informed.

Medical sector

Medical transcriptions are a popular option for reducing admin burden on busy clinicians, allowing them to:

• Outsource transcription to free up time and resource for busy admin teams, leaving them to focus on patient care
• Easily record patient notes, send referrals and create follow-up reports
• Organise records efficiently with automatic transfers to your electronic patient record (EPR).

Legal sector

Audio to text transcription is commonly used in the legal sector to improve efficiency, security and accountability. These services allow legal professionals to:

• Integrate transcripts with dictation software or your case management system
• Convert audio recordings from court hearings, client meetings and more into written documents
• Collect detailed and accurate records for law firms, legal professionals and court reporters.

Academia

Students and academic professionals conducting research, completing assignments and everything in between can benefit from audio to text transcription services. It offers:

• Proofreading to check grammar, sentence structure, review of content, and syntax, alongside conducting terminology reviews and light copy editing
• Audio to text conversions for dictated lecture notes and video recordings
• Accessible transcriptions from other formats to ensure educational content can reach anyone.

Media industry

Covering everything from TV shows to social media videos, transcription allows media professionals to:

• Automatically generate accurate captions and subtitles
• Improve accessibility by meeting international regulations, including WCAG, EAA, and ADA standards
• Convert subtitles into foreign languages to reach wider audiences.

How to transcribe audio into text

From manual processes to automatic tools, audio can be converted into text using several methods and technologies, which we’ll explore in more detail below.  

Manual transcription

Manual transcription is just that – a manual process that doesn’t utilise technology. This option may be used as the default across different sectors, especially when the process is handled in-house.

Transcription tools

Meanwhile, online transcription tools like Accuro can be used to improve time efficiency. Leaning on the latest technological advances, these tools are designed to provide the accuracy, speed and value-for-money that many professionals are searching for in transcription. 

How to manually transcribe audio to text

Manual transcription involves selecting the right environment (ideally somewhere quiet with minimal distractions), listening to the audio multiple times, and typing the transcription word-for-word.

This option gives you more oversight of the process, but it can often be time-consuming and expensive due to the extra resource needed – even if it’s handled in-house. Alongside leaving room for human error, manual transcription is usually less efficient than other options available.

How to use an audio to text transcriber

Outsourcing to a transcriber doesn’t need to be complicated – the process is often very simple and just requires you to send across a dictation or audio file. For instance, it’s quick and easy to submit your audio with Accuro for transcription. Simply dictate using the app, your phone or Dictaphone and send us the audio file for audio to text conversion.

Depending on your needs, you can use different tools and apps for transcription, including automation, AI, hybrid and human transcription – all of which are offered with Accuro.

Accuracy, speed and pricing can differ between the options, with AI and automated transcription usually being the quickest and human transcription being the most accurate.

Tools to transcribe audio to text

For a more efficient, time-saving, but still accurate solution, online tools utilising the latest developments in technology can be a game-changer when it comes to audio to text transcription.

Accuro

Accuro has you covered with a number of audio to text transcription services, from speech recognition to human generated transcripts and hybrid options.

Accuro’s speech recognition service keeps costs down, starting at £0.10 per minute of audio converted to text. Backed by industry specific terminology dictionaries curated over 20 years of transcription, you’re unlikely to find more accurate speech recognition anywhere else on the market.

We also offer proofread speech recognition, utilising an industry expert human proofreader to ensure 99% accuracy.

Alternatively, you can utilise Accuro’s complete human-made audio to text transcription, which ensures up to 99% accuracy, along with converting your audio into text onto your own branded templates. You can spend less time copying and pasting into your templates, creating a much more efficient process. 

The role of AI in audio to text transcription

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionised the transcription process, making it faster and more accessible. At Accuro, we’ve developed advanced AI-powered transcription services providing impressive accuracy up to 99%.

Using AI speech recognition technology and Ambient Scribe technology supported by continuously updated dictionaries, dictations can be automatically converted into text. No detail is missed with AI-powered transcriptions, providing you with reliable and accurate records, no matter what your industry.

Tips for transcribing audio to text

Want to know how to transcribe like a pro? You’re definitely in the right place! Here are a few of our best practices to make sure audio to text transcription can help you reach your full potential in any sector.

1.      Ensure your transcriptionists are experts in your field

Trusting outsiders to transcribe for you can be a worry, especially if they’ll be handling niche terminology or sensitive information. Whether that’s patient records in the medical industry or legal proceedings notes, there are several industries where this can be a cause for concern. However, hiring and training in-house industry expert transcribers can come at a significant cost and strain your resources.

Outsourcing to trusted transcriptionists with expertise across various sectors is the best way to ensure that specific terminology and context are accurately transcribed. Check that any tools used are relying on expert dictionaries or human transcribers with the knowledge required for the best results.

2.      Pick a transcription service that works for you

With AI, hybrid and human transcription options available, each with varying benefits, it’s important to do your research and ensure you choose the one that works best for you. Consider your needs when it comes to pricing, speed, flexibility and accuracy when making your decision.

For medical and legal transcriptions, for instance, where accuracy is paramount but turnaround can be crucial, hybrid transcription generated by AI and thoroughly checked by a human expert transcriptionist can be the best option.

3.      Consider factors for reliability

Dictations may include different languages, accents and interruptions which can affect the reliability of a completed transcript. Some services allow you to choose different verbatim options depending on whether you need to capture every detail, which is something to look for if reliability is key.

We hope this complete guide helped you understand audio to text transcription and the various options available across sectors. For further insights, check out the Accuro blog.