Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
A call recording is transcribed to text through the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward the file or a voice message with the conversation recording, and the bot returns the ready text. For long calls and larger files the bot's mini app in the browser will do. 60 minutes of transcription a month are free; for dictating your own text by voice on a computer there is the separate Potok app.
A conversation by phone or in a video call sometimes has to be converted to text, for the minutes of a meeting, a quote in an article or a check of agreements. It usually comes down to two steps: find the recording file and get text from it, and sometimes the transcription of the call program itself is enough.
Where to get the call recording file
- If the call is already saved as a file, whether a call recording on the phone, a voice recorder recording or a file from a video call program, find it in the device memory or in the history of the app where the conversation took place.
- If there is no recording yet and you will need one, turn on voice or screen recording before the conversation starts: the exact way depends on the phone and on what you call with.
- A voice message with a conversation recording sent in a messenger also works as the source file: it can be forwarded directly, without saving anything beforehand.
- If the recording lies only in cloud storage, download the file to the device: transcription needs the file itself or a direct link to YouTube, VK Video or RuTube, not a link to a disk.
How to convert a call recording to text through the bot
- Find the bot @potok_now_bot in Telegram and start it with the /start command.
- Send the recording file (you can send it as a document) or forward a voice message with the conversation from another chat.
- The bot sends the result: a short recording as text right in the chat, a long one as a separate file; the format for long replies (TXT or DOCX) is set in advance.
- The buttons under the reply, “Summary”, “Tasks and deadlines”, “Ask”, “Other format”, give not the whole transcription but the part you need or an answer about the content of the recording.
- It is worth turning on timecodes and speaker labels (/settings) in advance, before sending the file, if you will need them.
- A heavier file is uploaded to the bot's mini app: sign-in by email or through Telegram, a limit of 2 GB per file; the result is equally visible there and in the bot itself.
The built-in transcription in a call program
Some video call programs and voice recorders on a phone can transcribe a conversation right during it or straight after; then the text is already ready and a separate service is not needed. If there is no such function, you do not want to pay for it, or the recording was made in advance, transcription by a separate service after the call will do, with any file, regardless of where the conversation took place. The difference between such instant transcription and ordinary voice input of text is covered in detail in the article how transcription differs from voice input.
| Service | Free | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Potok bot and web version | 60 minutes per month | 7 days: 249 ₽, 30 days: 449 ₽, one year: 2 890 ₽; included in the Potok app subscription |
| Voix (@RecogMyAudioBot) | voice messages up to 15 minutes, video up to 6 minutes | — |
| Audio2Text | 15 minutes per month | 295 ₽/mo (Basic, 500 minutes); 495 ₽/mo (Standard, 1000 minutes); 1245 ₽/mo (Expert, 5000 minutes) |
| Otter.ai | Basic: 300 minutes of transcription per month, up to 30 minutes per meeting, 3 imported files over the whole lifetime of the account, free forever | $16.99/mo (Pro, monthly billing, 1200 min/mo); $8.33/mo (Pro, billed yearly (the full year is charged at once)); $30/mo (Business, monthly billing) |
| Fireflies.ai | limited storage and AI credits | — |
| SaluteSpeech Bot (Sber) | free; voice messages, audio and video notes | — |
| Speech2Text.ru | 3 hours on sign-up | — |
| Task | Characters | Typing (200 chars/min) | Voice (900 chars/min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| chat reply | 300 | 2 min | 0.5 min |
| 1500 | 8 min | 1.7 min | |
| post or meeting minutes | 4000 | 20 min | 4.4 min |
| article | 10000 | 50 min | 11.1 min |
When not to give the bot a call recording
Transcription in real time, right during the conversation, is not what the bot can do: it needs an already finished and saved file, and it does not accept a direct stream. Without the internet the Potok bot stops working: it is cloud-based, and the sound is recognized on servers in Russia. A recording in another language works too, the bot understands 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically), but it does not translate. The bot will not tell you by name who was speaking in the recording: it tells participants apart only with the labels “Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2”. You can compare ready transcription services with each other in a separate analysis, the comparison of transcription services.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for transcription only the audio file itself matters, not where and on which device it was recorded. Send the file or forward a voice message with the recording to the bot, and for larger files use the bot's mini app: it accepts files up to 2 GB.
Call recording to text. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Call recording to text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Call recording to text. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Call recording to text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Call recording to text. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For Call recording to text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Call recording to text. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Call recording to text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Transcribe your own recording
Forward a voice message, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link to Potok's Telegram bot, and the text arrives in the same chat. 60 minutes per month for free.
Open @potok_now_bot in TelegramPrimary sources: kontur.ru · kontur.ru · audio-2-text.ru · transcribe-ai.ru
Transcribe a recording in Telegram
Voice messages, video notes, audio and video are transcribed by Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message from any chat, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link. A short recording comes back as text in the chat, a long one as a file; timestamps and speaker labels can be turned on. The buttons give a short summary, tasks and deadlines, an answer to a question about the recording and export to TXT, DOCX, PDF or SRT. Large files, up to 2 GB, are easier to upload in the bot's mini app, via the Upload button next to the input field. The bot recognizes 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically); 60 minutes per month are free.