Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
You can transcribe a meeting recording into text with the Potok bot @potok_now_bot or the web version of the Potok bot: send the finished file or forward the recording from a chat, and you get text labeled by lines, not a general retelling. 60 minutes per month are free, and for long meetings the web version with file uploads of up to 2 GB is more convenient.
The meeting recording has long been ready, but you really do not want to transcribe it by hand, listening and typing across several voices? There is a more convenient way: send the file to the bot or the web version, and the text arrives ready, labeled with who said what.
Where to look for the meeting recording itself
Before transcribing, you need to find the recording in one of the usual forms:
- A finished file, audio or video in any common format, saved on a computer or phone after the call.
- A voice message or audio file forwarded in Telegram, if the recording is discussed or stored right in the messenger.
- A link to a recording that has already been posted, on YouTube, VK Video or RuTube, if the meeting was published as a separate video.
You do not need to convert the format in advance: both the bot and the web version accept a file, a forwarded message or a link without conversion.
How to transcribe a meeting recording into text
- Forward the file or voice message to the bot @potok_now_bot in Telegram, or upload it to the bot's mini app by dragging it in (up to 2 GB) or with a link to a video.
- If several people spoke at the meeting, turn on speaker labeling in advance: in the bot it is in the
/settings, in the web version it is in the recording card. In the finished text the lines will be labeled Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on. - Wait for the answer: a short recording comes as text right in the chat, a long one as a separate file, TXT or DOCX.
- Under the text there are buttons "Summary" (the main points and tasks for each speaker) and "Tasks and deadlines", so you do not have to reread the whole transcript to find who has to do what.
What a transcript of an ordinary audio file, not a meeting with several voices, looks like is shown in the material on turning an audio file into text on a computer for free.
Transcription right in the call program
If the meeting was held in Kontur.Talk, a Russian video meeting service, it has its own transcription: it is built into the service itself, runs on servers in Russia and supports Russian, and there is no need to forward the recording anywhere.
For meetings in other call programs, first look at their recording settings: if a finished transcript is produced right there, you will not need a separate service at all. If there is no such feature, the recording file and one of the ways above will come in handy.
| Service | Platforms | Free | Price | Payment from Russia | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potok bot and web version | Telegram (@potok_now_bot, mini app inside the bot) | 60 minutes per month | 7 days: 249 ₽, 30 days: 449 ₽, one year: 2 890 ₽; included in the Potok app subscription | Russian bank cards, rubles | cloud, servers in Russia; internet required |
| Video summary in Yandex Browser | Yandex Browser | free | — | not disclosed | Yandex cloud |
| Tactiq | Chrome extension | 10 meeting transcriptions per month | $12/mo (Pro, monthly) | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Notta | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | 120 minutes per month, up to 3 minutes per recording | $13.99/mo (Pro, monthly, 1800 minutes); $27.99/mo (Business, monthly) | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Happy Scribe | Web | 10 minutes of AI transcription | $17/mo (Basic, monthly, 120 minutes); $29/mo (Pro, monthly, 600 minutes) | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Fireflies.ai | Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension | limited storage and AI credits | — | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| SaluteSpeech Bot (Sber) | Telegram | free; voice messages, audio and video notes | — | not disclosed | SaluteSpeech cloud (Sber) |
| Voicee (@Voicee_AI_Bot) | Telegram, Web | 45 minutes to start | 500 ₽/hour of recording (without a package; cheaper with packages) | rubles | not disclosed |
| KolerskyAI Whisper Bot | Telegram | the first 5 minutes | 69 ₽/15 minutes; 149 ₽/50 minutes; 490 ₽/200 minutes | rubles | not disclosed |
| Otter.ai | Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, Desktop (Mac/Windows), integrations with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet | 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) | not directly: dollar billing through international payment processors declines cards issued in Russia and Belarus (confirmed by independent Russian-language guides on dtf.ru and vc.ru; no official Otter.ai statement about blocking Russia was found, this follows from general payment system restrictions) | cloud, US servers (the company is registered in the USA); the exact data center is not disclosed on the pricing page |
| Voix (@RecogMyAudioBot) | Telegram | voice messages up to 15 minutes, video up to 6 minutes | — | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| 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 |
| Video summary in Yandex Browser | free | — |
| Tactiq | 10 meeting transcriptions per month | $12/mo (Pro, monthly) |
| Notta | 120 minutes per month, up to 3 minutes per recording | $13.99/mo (Pro, monthly, 1800 minutes); $27.99/mo (Business, monthly) |
| Happy Scribe | 10 minutes of AI transcription | $17/mo (Basic, monthly, 120 minutes); $29/mo (Pro, monthly, 600 minutes) |
| Fireflies.ai | limited storage and AI credits | — |
| SaluteSpeech Bot (Sber) | free; voice messages, audio and video notes | — |
| 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 this will not fit for a meeting
The Potok bot is a cloud service: recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. The bot accepts links to Instagram (Reels and posts with video) and TikTok, as well as YouTube, VK Video and RuTube.
If the meeting was not in Russian, or you need the text translated into another language, the service will not fit: it recognizes only Russian speech. It tells participants apart by line numbers, not by names. If the minutes must have real names, you will have to write them in by hand. You can compare how different transcription services differ from each other in the comparison of audio-to-text transcription services.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, if the recording is already saved as a file: send it to the bot in Telegram or upload it to the bot's mini app. The bot does not join a call or connect to a conference itself, and works only with a finished recording.
No, there is speaker labeling for that: if you turn it on in the settings, the lines in the finished text are labeled Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on, by number, without the participants' names.
Meeting transcription into 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 Meeting transcription into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Meeting transcription into 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 Meeting transcription into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Meeting transcription into 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 Meeting transcription into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Meeting transcription into 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 Meeting transcription into 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: yandex.ru · vc.ru · speech2text.ru · audio-2-text.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.