Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
No: the Potok app (potok.now) is for dictation and does not transcribe ready audio files; for ready recordings there is the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot, which accepts voice messages, video notes, audio, video and links. In the bot 60 minutes per month are free, Russian speech only.
The Potok app is dictation and does not transcribe ready files; for files and meeting recordings the service has the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
How to transcribe an audio file or a meeting recording in the bot
Recordings are transcribed by the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot. It takes voice messages, video notes, audio and video. In private messages you can forward a voice message to it from any chat, send a file (including as a document) or a link to YouTube, VK Video, RuTube or a direct link to a file. A meeting recording is also a file: the bot does not record a meeting itself and does not join Zoom or Telemost, so you make the recording in the meeting program and send it as a file.
A short recording comes back as text in the chat, a long one as a TXT or DOCX file. Timestamps and the labels Speaker 1, Speaker 2 can be turned on, but the bot does not know speakers' names. For a large file the bot has a mini app: the Upload button next to the input field in Telegram. In groups the bot accepts only voice messages, video notes and audio up to 10 minutes.
Can the Potok app transcribe a ready audio file
No, the app itself has no transcription of ready files, and for them there is the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: the app is dictation. You hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release, and the text lands in the active field of any app. The app has no voice commands. An audio file or a meeting recording for transcription is sent to the bot described above, not to the app.
The app has two recording modes: Hold to speak, where you hold the key and release it to insert the text, and Hands-free, where you press to start and press again to stop (or Esc). Potok places punctuation, capital letters and numbers itself. Where the bot stores transcripts is described on the page about storing transcripts in the bot.
- 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
| 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 |
| 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) |
| 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)) |
| SaluteSpeech Bot (Sber) | free; voice messages, audio and video notes | — |
| Voicy (@voicybot) | free; on the Wit.ai engine, recordings of up to 50 seconds | — |
| Voicee (@Voicee_AI_Bot) | 45 minutes to start | 500 ₽/hour of recording (without a package; cheaper with packages) |
| KolerskyAI Whisper Bot | the first 5 minutes | 69 ₽/15 minutes; 149 ₽/50 minutes; 490 ₽/200 minutes |
Where Potok will not help
The Potok app will not replace a recording transcriber: it is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. For ready recordings there is the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot, and it understands only Russian speech and translates nothing. There is one subscription: the app for dictation and the bot for recordings and voice messages. Other questions about voice input are collected in the FAQ section.
Frequently asked questions
A meeting recording is sent to the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot as a file or a link. The bot does not record a meeting itself and does not join Zoom or Telemost, so you make the recording in the meeting program and then send it to the bot.
The bot recognizes only Russian speech, and it has no translation into another language.
Yes, several platforms have built-in meeting transcription: Zoom for cloud recordings, Microsoft Teams during the meeting, Google Meet on Google Workspace plans. The alternative is to record the sound and process it with a separate transcription service after the call. The Potok app does not do this kind of transcription, it is for live dictation; a call recording can be sent as a file to Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Voice input is real-time dictation: you speak and immediately get text in the active field. Transcription turns an already finished audio or video recording (for example, a meeting recording) into text after the fact. The Potok app handles the first task, live dictation; finished recordings in Russian are transcribed by its Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Voice input is real-time dictation into the active text field. Transcription turns an already finished audio or video recording (a lecture, a call, a podcast) into text after the fact, often with diarization (splitting by speaker).
With Potok you can dictate the minutes live, speaking them during or right after the meeting. Transcribing an already recorded audio file of a meeting (a finished Zoom or Telemost recording) is a separate transcription task: such a file can be sent to Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
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 TelegramBuilt-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 |
Primary sources: support.microsoft.com · support.apple.com
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 or RuTube 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 Russian speech; 60 minutes per month are free.