Everyone has varying needs and budgets to work with and finding the right transcription service can be a challenge. One of the first choices to make when you begin outsourcing transcription is the type of transcription service you would like to use. There are two primary categories to choose from: human transcription services and automatic transcription software—also known as ASR (automatic speech recognition software). Each type of service has its pros and cons, so how do you know which is best for you? Here’s everything you need to know about automatic transcription software vs human transcription.
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Automatic Transcription Software
Automatic transcription software is when an AI listens to an audio or video file and transforms it into a written text document utilizing speech-to-text technology. While there are limitations to what automatic transcription can do, there are many reasons and situations in which automatic transcription software can be a valuable tool:
Affordable
Automatic transcription software is great for those working with a strict and limited budget. Similar to other AI automation systems, since there’s no human interaction, you can save on costs. Just remember, you get what you pay for.
Save Time
If your options are between sitting down and transcribing an audio or video file yourself and using ARS, the AI transcriptionist will save you a few hours of your time. Transcription software can transcribe an hour of audio in a few minutes, which is impressive, but there’s a catch.
A file transcribed by an AI will have many errors. If you need it to be shareable or publishable on the web, then you’ll either have to spend a lot of your time proofreading and editing errors or spend a good bit more money paying someone else to do that for you.
Eliminate Back and Forth of Email
If you’re in a rush for a last-minute project, there is some inevitable time lost in back-and-forth email communication. However, be sure to weigh and calculate how much time you’ll be spending editing a document yourself vs communicating with a human transcriptionist.
Human Transcription Service
Hiring a human transcription service, as opposed to using automatic transcription software, is a great option for those looking for high-quality, high-accuracy, and ready-to-publish text documents. Working with an actual human for your transcription needs provides many benefits:
High-Accuracy & Quality
While automatic transcription can get the job done fast and cheap, automatic transcription software rarely exceeds 80% accuracy. And since ASR runs purely on logic, they cannot differentiate nuanced situations or correct mistakes until they’re taught how. This means the transcript needs to be double-checked and reformatted by a human. With human transcription, however, you can be guaranteed accuracy of 99%, providing you with a text document high in quality and clarity.
At Intentional Reach, we promise 99.9% accuracy and on-time delivery, or we will give you a full refund.
Human Ability
There are many situations in which an AI still can’t outdo a human. Human transcriptions will outperform automatic transcription software in all of the following instances:
Filtering background noise
Differentiating between speakers
Understanding different speaking styles, accents, and dialects
Considering context and nuance
Differentiating between homophones
Security, Safety & Privacy
Unlike automatic transcription software, a human transcriptionist can provide and guarantee that the information in your files will remain private and secure. Unfortunately, with ASR, there is a possibility that transcripts could be leaked, hacked, and compromised.
Flexible Pricing
Controlling costs is an essential part of any business. The great thing about human transcription services is that you can find a variety of service packages at varying price points to best serve your needs.
Detailed verbatim transcription, edited transcription, or intelligent transcription each require a different time commitment and therefore pricing. Additionally, the length and quality of your audio will determine a transcriptionist's working hours, so the length and depth of a project can and should affect the pricing. Some human transcription services will also offer discounts on bulk or regular orders.
When to Use Automatic Transcription Software
In short, there are times when it’s best to use one service over the other. Here are the times when it might be beneficial to use automatic transcription software:
When you need a rough draft and errors are okay
·When you need something done quickly
When you have a limited budget
When the audio file is clean with little to no background noise
When the audio file only has one or two speakers
When you have significant time to edit and format your transcript
When to Use Human Transcription
Here are some essential cases in which you should opt for human transcription services over AI:
When you need to publish your content to an audience
When you don’t have time to edit and format a transcript
When you need flexible pricing or more service options
When you need to save time so you can work on other things in your business
When you need to pull quotes from your audio
When you have an imperfect or low-quality audio file
When your audio file contains multiple speakers or speakers with accents
When you need to ensure greater accuracy that accounts for context, fact-checking, and more
Get High Quality Transcripts Today
Intentional Reach is the leading sermon transcription service provider. Have your sermons, podcasts, speeches, and more transcribed so you can reach three times more people with your message!
