Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
The deducted minutes are returned: if recognition or speaker labeling did not work in the bot, the minutes for that recording come back. The free limit of the Potok bot @potok_now_bot is 60 minutes per month. Sending several files at once does not get around the limit: the deduction is made as a single transaction.
A transcription uses up the bot's limit in minutes, so the logical question is what happens to those minutes when something goes wrong. There is an answer for a recognition failure and for a speaker labeling failure.
Are minutes deducted if a transcription in the bot fails
When recognition fails and when speaker labeling fails, the deducted minutes are returned. The limit at @potok_now_bot is counted in minutes of recording: 60 minutes free every month, and the count refreshes on the first of the month. Speaker labeling can be turned on on request, and its failure also returns the minutes. Timecodes in the form [mm:ss] can be turned on too. A short recording comes as text in the chat, a long one as a file, and all transcripts stay in "My recordings" and can be opened again. Answers to other questions about voice input are collected in a separate section of the site.
What happens to the limit if you send several files at once
Several files sent at the same time do not get around the limit: the deduction is made as a single transaction. The bot transcribes 60 minutes per month for free. A subscription removes the limit both in the bot and in the dictation app. The bot recognizes only Russian speech, and there is no translation. A more general breakdown is on the page about free audio-to-text transcription.
Where Potok is not the answer to this question
Returning minutes applies to the bot, not to the dictation app. In the Potok app itself for Windows, macOS and Linux, the free plan is counted differently: 2500 words per week on one device. The subscription is shared between the app and the bot and removes the limit in both. Potok has no apps for Android and iPhone, no voice commands and no offline mode: recognition is cloud-based, runs on servers in Russia, and Potok does not work without the internet.
Frequently asked questions
No. Parallel files do not get around the limit: the minutes are deducted in a single transaction. The bot transcribes 60 minutes per month for free, and the limit refreshes on the first of the month.
Yes. A refund happens both when recognition fails and when speaker labeling fails: the deducted minutes are returned.
Yes, a number of platforms have built-in meeting transcription: in Zoom for cloud recordings, in Microsoft Teams during the meeting, in 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 such transcription, since it is for live dictation; you can send a call recording as a file to the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Voice input is dictation in real time into an active text field. Transcription is turning an already finished audio or video recording (a lecture, a call, a podcast) into text after the fact, often with diarization (separation by speaker).
Voice input is dictation in real time: you speak and get text in the active field at once. Transcription is turning an already finished audio or video recording (for example, a recording of a meeting) into text after the fact. The Potok app solves the first task, live dictation; finished recordings in Russian are transcribed by its Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
With Potok you can dictate minutes live, saying them as the meeting goes on or right after it. Transcribing an already recorded audio file of a meeting (a finished Zoom or Telemost recording) is a separate transcription task: you can send such a file to the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
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: 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.