Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
A YouTube video is transcribed without downloading it: paste the link into the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot or into the bot's mini app, and you get text, a short summary and speaker labels. Transcription is free for 60 minutes per month; for long videos the web version with files up to 2 GB is more convenient.
A link to a YouTube video can be sent right into the chat, and the transcript arrives as text, without downloading and converting the file. The Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot and the bot's mini app accept such links in the same way. The difference is only in where it is more convenient to view the result: in Telegram or in the browser.
How to transcribe a YouTube video into text
- Copy the link to the YouTube video.
- Open the bot @potok_now_bot in Telegram, press “Start” (/start) and paste the link into the chat, or open the bot's mini app and paste it there. You do not need to download the whole file either in the bot or in the web version: they take the audio track by the link themselves.
- Wait for the reply: a short transcript arrives as text in the chat, a longer one as a file; in the web version the result opens right on the recording page.
- Under the text the buttons “Summary”, “Tasks and deadlines”, “Ask” and “Other format” are available: you can get a short retelling of the video or a list of tasks by lines.
- Turn on timecodes
[mm:ss]and speaker labels (“Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2”) in advance in the bot settings (/settings); by default the text comes without them. - The finished transcript can be exported to TXT, DOCX, Markdown, PDF or the SRT and VTT subtitle formats, for example, to lay them back over the same video.
What comes back
The result of the transcription does not depend on where you get it, in the bot or on the web:
- the finished text: in the chat as a short message or a TXT or DOCX file, on the website right on the recording page;
- SRT and VTT subtitles, useful if you need to lay them back over the video or save them as a separate file;
- a short summary with the “Summary” button and a list of tasks with the “Tasks and deadlines” button;
- an answer to your own question about the content of the video with the “Ask” button;
- in the web version also a search across all your transcripts and a player where a click on a phrase of the text plays the recording from that place.
All transcripts are saved in the “My recordings” section and can be opened again at any moment, both in the bot and in the bot's mini app. More about how transcribing a ready recording differs from dictating your own text is in the article on the difference between transcription and voice input in practice.
| 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 |
| Audio2Text | 15 minutes per month | 295 ₽/mo (Basic, 500 minutes); 495 ₽/mo (Standard, 1000 minutes); 1245 ₽/mo (Expert, 5000 minutes) |
| Happy Scribe | 10 minutes of AI transcription | $17/mo (Basic, monthly, 120 minutes); $29/mo (Pro, monthly, 600 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) |
| Voix (@RecogMyAudioBot) | voice messages up to 15 minutes, video up to 6 minutes | — |
| Transkribator (@gotranscribeai_bot) | 3 transcriptions per month | — |
| Kontur.Tolk | not disclosed | — |
When the bot will not fit
A recording in another language works too, the bot understands 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically), but it does not translate. For translation into Russian, for example, Voisi (@Voicee_AI_Bot) with 55 languages is stated. Neither the bot nor the web version will accept a link to Instagram or TikTok: of the video platforms they understand only YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram and TikTok. Transcription runs after the link is sent, not during a live broadcast. And the service is cloud-based: recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. A broader overview of transcription services is in the article comparison of audio-to-text transcription services.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, paste the link into the Potok bot @potok_now_bot or into the Potok bot mini app: 60 minutes of transcription per month are free. You do not need to download the video and upload a file by hand.
Yes, the finished transcript can be exported in the SRT or VTT subtitle format, and also in TXT, DOCX, Markdown or PDF; the formats are chosen when exporting the text.
How to transcribe a YouTube video 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 transcribe a YouTube video into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to transcribe a YouTube video 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 transcribe a YouTube video into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to transcribe a YouTube video 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 transcribe a YouTube video into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to transcribe a YouTube video 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 transcribe a YouTube video into text you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Try it on your own recording
Potok's Telegram bot transcribes a voice message, video note, audio or video, and its buttons make a summary and a task list. 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.