To turn a voice recording into text, send the file to the Potok bot on Telegram and read the transcript in the chat. Recordings from phones and dictaphones are accepted in their own format. Files up to 2 GB work, and you can export TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT or VTT.
Transcribe a recording
Send your voice message, audio or video to @potok_now_bot on Telegram and the text comes back in the chat.
Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram
Files up to 2 GB · export to TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT · speaker labels and timestamps · about 30 languages
Key facts
- Voice recordings are usually short audio files from a phone or a voice recorder.
- Phones save them as M4A, AAC, AMR or OPUS depending on the model, and the bot takes these without conversion.
- A recording made close to the speaker gives far cleaner text than the same speech recorded across a room.
- Short recordings often come back as text in the chat, within the same conversation.
How to do it
- Find where the app stored the file. Open the recorder app, pick the recording and use Share or Export. Some devices also let you copy it to a folder.
- Open the bot. Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram.
- Send the recording. Choose Telegram in the share menu or attach the file as a document. A long session, up to 2 GB, goes through the Upload button.
- Pick labels if more than one person spoke. A recorded interview or a family conversation reads better with speaker labels.
- Read, fix and export. Check names and numbers, then export as TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT or VTT.
What the result looks like
[00:00] Speaker 1: Reminder for Monday: send the signed form to the school office.
[00:05] Speaker 1: Also bring the receipt from the shop, they asked for it twice.
Sample text written by us to show the layout of a transcript. It is not the output of the recognition engine and not a real recording.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Where it works | Telegram bot @potok_now_bot; large files go through the bot's mini app |
| File size | Up to 2 GB |
| Export | TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT, VTT |
| Speakers and time | Speaker labels and timestamps can be switched on |
| Languages | About 30 languages with good published results; a few more with warnings |
| Translation | The transcript is not translated into another language |
| Dictation | A separate Potok desktop app lets you dictate text into any program; it recognises Russian speech |
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Recording with the phone in a pocket or a bag | The cloth muffles the voice, and consonants are lost. | Hold the phone near the speaker's mouth or put it on a table facing them. |
| Deleting the recording once the text is ready | You cannot check a doubtful word afterwards. | Keep the recording until the text has been proofread. |
| Using a speakerphone for a call recording | The far side sounds thin and echoes, so its words are the ones most likely to be wrong. | Use the call recording feature of the phone, where it exists, or record in a quiet room. |
| Sending a screenshot of the recorder instead of the file | There is no audio in a picture, so nothing can be transcribed. | Share the audio file itself from the recorder. |
More
See the full list of languages, the tools and the glossary.
Frequently asked questions
What formats do voice recorders use?
Phones commonly save M4A, AAC, AMR or OPUS, depending on the model. Dedicated recorders vary.
Do I have to convert the recording?
No. Send it as it is. Conversion adds an extra lossy step.
Can I send a call recording?
Yes, if you have the audio file. The text is only as clear as the call was.
How long can a recording be?
The limit is the file size, 2 GB, not the length. Large files use the Upload button.
Can I get a Word document?
Yes. Export DOCX, or choose TXT, MD, PDF, SRT or VTT.
Sources
Each source was opened by hand on the date shown. Pages change, so open the source if a detail matters to you.
- Voice recorder (Wikipedia), Wikipedia · checked
- Opus audio format (Wikipedia), Wikipedia · checked
- Bit rate (Wikipedia), Wikipedia · checked
Try it on your own recording
Send your voice message, audio or video to @potok_now_bot on Telegram and the text comes back in the chat.
Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram