Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
A marketer dictates a marketing plan, a campaign report or a brief for a contractor by voice instead of typing. In Potok (potok.now) the model is trained for Russian speech, including terms like CJM or “channel unit economics”; it inserts text into the active field of any app. 2500 words per week are free, and after that you need Pro with no limit.
A marketer says English abbreviations and terms right in the middle of a Russian phrase: CJM, channel unit economics, positioning. In voice input this does not always work equally well; here is what Potok does.
Voice input for a marketer: Russian mixed with English terms
For a marketer, terms are a mix of languages inside one phrase: abbreviations like CJM and expressions like “channel unit economics”. The Potok model is trained specifically for Russian speech, including terms and Russian mixed with English, so such phrases are recognized without switching the language by hand. Numbers, percentages and sums for campaign reports Potok writes as digits itself: “pyatnadtsat protsentov” (fifteen percent) becomes “15%”, “dvesti pyatdesyat rubley” (two hundred fifty rubles) becomes “250 ₽”.
It places punctuation and capital letters itself during dictation: you do not need to say “zapyataya” (comma) or “tochka” (period) between the items of a marketing plan. The default hotkey is Ctrl+Space, but you can change it in the settings to any key combination or a side mouse button: if the combination is taken in the program you need, changing the hotkey is the solution.
A personal dictionary and snippets for a marketer's terms
For expressions that are not recognized the first time, Potok has a personal dictionary: you add names, abbreviations and wordings like “channel unit economics” there. Snippets are also set up there: templates for often repeated pieces of text, such as a signature under a brief for a contractor or a standard introduction to a campaign report. Both features are available in Pro.
The free version gives 14 days of full access without a card, and then 2500 words per week on one device; the personal dictionary and snippets come only with Pro, which has no word limit. How voice input works in other professions is in the article how voice input works for programmers.
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Free
- Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed
- Pro
- Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly
- Payment
- Russian bank cards, rubles
- Where speech is recognized
- cloud, servers in Russia; internet required
Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. Download: potok.now/download
What Potok will not do for a marketer
Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia; it does not work without the internet. It has no voice commands for editing text: a wrongly recognized term or abbreviation is removed with the keyboard, not by voice. The personal dictionary and snippets are unavailable in the free version: without Pro, rare expressions like CJM are recognized only by the general model, without a prior hint. Data is stored in Russia under the 152-FZ personal data law; if a company's internal regulation forbids cloud services, only the business option with servers inside the company perimeter fits, and it is provided on request. Other professions and their terms are collected in the section overview of voice input by profession.
Frequently asked questions
The Potok model is trained for Russian speech, including terms and Russian mixed with English, so you do not need to switch the language by hand; rare abbreviations can be added to the personal dictionary on the Pro plan.
Yes, Pro has a personal dictionary for terms and names and snippets for repeated pieces of text; the free version does not have them.
Dictation pays off most for long texts written in one go, such as email drafts, notes, messenger replies and lecture notes, and also when your hands are busy or tired (for example, with RSI). For short precise edits (one-word commands, code) typing is often faster.
Potok states about 900 characters per minute by voice versus about 200 when typing, roughly 4 times faster. This is the product's own estimate, not an independent measurement.
Built-in system tools (Win+H in Windows, Dictation in macOS, Voice Typing in Google Docs, Gboard on Android), voice browser extensions, and specialized desktop and web services (Potok and similar) that work on top of any app via a hotkey.
Any microphone the system sees as a recording device will do. In Potok you choose it in the app settings or in the tray icon menu; system access to the microphone is required.
How to start
Potok is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. For two weeks everything is open for free, after that 2500 words per week without paying. Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokYou dictate in the app, and recordings and voice messages are transcribed by @potok_now_bot in Telegram. 60 minutes per month are free; the Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot and in the app.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows voice typing (Win+H) | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows 11 only | Microsoft cloud, does not work offline |
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
| 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 |
Primary sources: support.microsoft.com · support.apple.com