Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
An iPhone Voice Memos recording in m4a format is transcribed into text through the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: send the file and the bot returns finished text with punctuation placed. For a larger file the bot's mini app fits. 60 minutes of transcription per month are free; for dictating your own text by voice on a computer there is the separate Potok app.
A recording from the built-in Voice Memos app on iPhone is saved in m4a format, an ordinary audio file that can be forwarded to a messenger like any other file. Such a recording can be transcribed straight from the phone, without a computer and without installing programs.
Transcribing an iPhone Voice Memos recording into text through the bot
- Find the bot @potok_now_bot in Telegram and start it with the /start command.
- Send the m4a recording file as a document: this way it arrives without compression, however long the conversation or note is.
- Wait for the reply: a short recording comes as text right in the chat, a long one as a separate file; the format for long replies (TXT or DOCX) is chosen in advance in the settings.
- If the recording has several voices and you need speaker labels or timecodes, turn them on in the bot settings (/settings) before sending the file: with several voices, transcription is harder than with one, and why is covered in the article why transcribing meetings is harder than ordinary dictation (in Russian).
- A larger file is easier to upload to the bot's mini app: sign in by email or through Telegram, a limit of 2 GB per file.
- All transcripts are saved in the My recordings section, and you can open them later both in the bot and in a browser.
What comes back for an m4a file
- A short transcript comes as text right in the chat; a long one as a file in the chosen format, TXT or DOCX.
- The text already has punctuation and capital letters in place, and the bot also corrects obvious recognition errors. It will not shorten or retell the recording, unless you press the “Summary” button yourself.
- Under the transcript there are buttons: “Summary” (the main points and tasks by speaker), “Tasks and deadlines”, “Ask” (your own question about the content of the recording) and “Other format”, an export to TXT, DOCX, Markdown, PDF, SRT or VTT.
- If you turn on timecodes and speaker labels in advance, for a recording with several voices this also appears in the text, under the labels “Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2”; the bot does not know the participants' names.
- The finished transcript stays in the My recordings section: you can open it again at any moment, from the bot or from the web version.
| 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 |
| KolerskyAI Whisper Bot | the first 5 minutes | 69 ₽/15 minutes; 149 ₽/50 minutes; 490 ₽/200 minutes |
| Happy Scribe | 10 minutes of AI transcription | $17/mo (Basic, monthly, 120 minutes); $29/mo (Pro, monthly, 600 minutes) |
| Voicy (@voicybot) | free; on the Wit.ai engine, recordings of up to 50 seconds | — |
| Audio2Text | 15 minutes per month | 295 ₽/mo (Basic, 500 minutes); 495 ₽/mo (Standard, 1000 minutes); 1245 ₽/mo (Expert, 5000 minutes) |
| Tactiq | 10 meeting transcriptions per month | $12/mo (Pro, monthly) |
| Transkriptor | 10 minutes on sign-up, limited to 2 min/day (according to the localized Russian site transkriptor.ru); the international site transkriptor.com states a free trial (up to 90 minutes according to secondary sources; the official pricing page could not be opened directly because it timed out) | 490 ₽/one-time (Start, 150 minutes (transkriptor.ru)); 790 ₽/one-time (Pro, 700 minutes (transkriptor.ru)); 1900 ₽/one-time (Premium, 2100 minutes (transkriptor.ru)) |
When it is better not to trust the bot with a voice recorder recording
A recording in another language works too, the bot understands 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically), but it does not translate. It also does not hear a live conversation: it needs an already finished file, and it does not accept a broadcast during a call or meeting. The Potok bot is cloud-based: the audio goes to servers in Russia, and without the internet transcription will not start. It tells the voices in a recording apart only by the numbers “Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2”, and the participants' names have to be added by hand. Ready-made transcription services can be compared with each other in a separate review, the comparison of transcription services.
Frequently asked questions
No, you do not need to convert the file separately: the bot accepts audio files, and m4a is an ordinary audio format, so send it as is, as a document or a forwarded voice message.
How to turn an iPhone Voice Memos recording 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 How to turn an iPhone Voice Memos recording into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to turn an iPhone Voice Memos recording 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 How to turn an iPhone Voice Memos recording into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to turn an iPhone Voice Memos recording 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 How to turn an iPhone Voice Memos recording into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to turn an iPhone Voice Memos recording 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 How to turn an iPhone Voice Memos recording into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Recording to text
Send a recording to Potok's Telegram bot or upload a file of up to 2 GB in the bot's mini app. The first 60 minutes of every month are free.
Open @potok_now_bot in TelegramPrimary sources: speech2text.ru · audio-2-text.ru · turboscribe.ai · turboscribe.ai
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.