Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
In Telegram, voice messages and video notes have a built-in transcription button: without a Premium subscription it gives a few transcriptions per week, with Premium an unlimited number. If the limit is used up or you need a whole file, a link to a video or a short summary, the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot helps: 60 minutes of transcription free per month, with no message counter.
Voice messages and video notes in Telegram have a built-in transcription button, but without a Premium subscription it gives only a few transcriptions per week. If the limit has run out or you need to transcribe a whole file, a link to a video or get a short summary, another tool helps: the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Telegram's built-in transcription and when you need the bot
The transcription button in Telegram works right in the dialog: you press it, and text appears under the voice message or video note, without forwarding it anywhere. The limit is on the number of transcriptions per week without a Premium subscription; with Premium there is no limit on the number. The button will not accept a whole file, a link to a video or a message from a group: it is only for voice messages and video notes in a private dialog, and it returns the text inside the message itself, without exporting to a separate file.
The bot works differently: you forward a recording, a file or a link to YouTube, VK Video or RuTube in a separate chat, and its limit is not on the number of messages but 60 minutes of recognition per month. Besides the text, the bot sends the buttons Summary, Tasks and deadlines and Ask, which the button in Telegram itself does not have.
A separate task from both is to dictate your own text yourself: a letter, a comment, a reply in a chat. This needs not a transcriber but a voice input tool that inserts what you dictate into the input field of the active app, including Telegram itself, for example the Potok app (potok.now).
Ways to transcribe without Premium
Besides the built-in button and the bot, other services also transcribe voice messages in Telegram, with different conditions:
- SaluteSpeech Bot (Sber) accepts voice messages, audio and video notes for free and recognizes Russian and English;
- Voicy (@voicybot) has a choice of recognition engine: Wit.ai, Yandex SpeechKit or Google Speech; the recognition language is set separately with the /language command;
- KolerskyAI Whisper Bot is free only for the first 5 minutes, and after that you pay for separate blocks of minutes;
- Voisi (@Voicee_AI_Bot) states 55 languages and translation into Russian, which neither the built-in button nor the bot has;
- Transkribator (@gotranscribeai_bot) gives 3 transcriptions per month free.
For long recordings and calls there are also non-Telegram services, for example Otter.ai or Transkriptor: these are separate apps with a subscription, working through the web (Otter.ai also has a desktop version), not as bots or a button inside a messenger. If you need to transcribe not only a voice message but any audio file, the bot has a separate instruction on audio to text for that.
When the bot will not fit
If you have few voice messages and stay within the weekly limit without Premium, you do not need the bot: the button in Telegram itself is enough. The Potok bot will not fit for a recording that is not in Russian either: it recognizes only Russian speech and does not translate; for translation into Russian Voisi (@Voicee_AI_Bot) fits better. Transcription right during a call will not work: the bot processes an already sent recording, not a stream of speech in real time. In a group where the bot is not an administrator, it will not see voice messages. The bot will not accept a link to Instagram or TikTok either: of external sources it understands only YouTube, VK Video and RuTube. The bot 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
Without a Premium subscription a few transcriptions per week are available, with Premium an unlimited number. If the limit is used up, you can forward the recording to the bot @potok_now_bot: its limit is not on the number of messages but 60 minutes per month.
The Potok bot has no translation, and it recognizes only Russian speech. Translation into Russian and 55 languages is stated for another bot, Voisi (@Voicee_AI_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.
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 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 TelegramPrimary sources: core.telegram.org · www.ixbt.com · developers.sber.ru · t.me
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.