How to Improve Zoom AI Transcription Accuracy for Business Meetings

Video conferencing tools like Zoom have been gaining serious traction for both professional use.

With remote jobs, virtual interviews and meetings becoming the order of the day, transcription tools like Zoom’s built-in transcription feature are increasingly important for accessibility and productivity.

You can now automatically transcribe your Zoom calls in real-time and get a text record of everything said after the meeting.

Automation has been made possible by the advancements in Artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

By leveraging AI transcription tools, you can seamlessly transcribe your Zoom meetings with razor-sharp accuracy and cut down on hassle.

However, the transcription is not entirely spot on.

It has a few inconsistencies, leading to the need for manual corrections.

This article explores how Zoom AI transcription accuracy can be enhanced to ensure clearer records, better meeting summaries and more efficient workflows.

Is Zoom AI Transcription Accurate?

Zoom AI transcription serves a great purpose, though imperfect, approach for meeting transcriptions.

Several driving forces behind the accuracy limitations include:

- Excessive background noise

- Speaker volume

- Accents

- Rapid speech

- Overlapping dialogue 

By finding alternatives, businesses can polish flawless transcription.

How to Improve Zoom AI Transcription Accuracy for Business Meetings

Optimize Your Audio Quality for Better Transcription

As common as it may seem, the suspect behind your Zoom sound quality issues could be a bad internet connection, the position of your external mic, or your audio settings. 

These might appear daunting, but luckily, these problems have a workaround.

Let’s explore some practical fixes as follows:

- Use an external microphone to achieve precise accuracy

- Host your meetings in quiet environments

- Urge participants to mute their microphones when not speaking.

2. Speak Clearly and Minimize Overlapping Speech

AI transcription relies on speech recognition models that thrive with well-defined speech.

Overlapping, rambles and Mutters only make it harder for AI to separate voices leading to mixed-up transcripts.

Moreover, when multiple voices blend into noises, AI may drop some words, or misinterpret sentences.

For accurate transcription:

 - Practice turn-taking in discussions to avoid talking over others

- Speak distinctly and at a moderate pace

3. Enable Zoom AI Dictation and Speaker Labels

Enabling Zoom AI Dictation and speaker Labels fine-tunes the accuracy of AI-generated transcripts.

Advanced speech recognition models do a better job of capturing complex terminologies, accents and context.

It's also worth noting that speaker labels allocate names to different speakers and that reduces confusion in group meetings.

Without those labels, transcripts may mix up dialoges making it harder to determine who said what.

Lastly, even individuals with hearing impairments and non-native speakers can rely on transcripts for accessibility.

Without speakers, you may have to hand-assign names to each segment of speech to identify speakers; which can be tedious.

How to Transcribe a Zoom Meeting Without Recording

Employ a third-party transcription service like VerbalScripts or Otter.ai.

You might consider using transcription services like VerbalScrips and Otter.ai to transcribe your Zoom recording.

The process is uncomplicated. Simply record your Zoom call and upload the audio file to these services. The file will consequently converted into an editable text by default.

Manually transcribe the meeting.g

Though it might take extra effort, you can hand-transcribe your Zoom recording by listening to the audio and typing up what is being said. To successfully do this, ensure that you are proficient in typing, and have an excellent command of the language used during the meeting.

How to Turn Off or Remove Zoom AI Transcription

Switch off Live transcription in Zoom setting (Admin & Host)

Should you decide to turn off Zoom AI transcription, follow this simple steps:

- Start the Zoom meeting.

- Click on “show captions” or “live transcripts”

- Click "Disable auto transcription" to turn it off

 Remove Zoom AI Transcription from Cloud Recordings

- Access Zoom Web Portal and click Recordings

- Select the transcript file 

- Click more options (3 dots) next to the transcript

- Choose Delete to permanently remove it.

What to Do When Zoom AI Is Unable to Transcribe

If your Zoom AI transcription is not working:

- Double-check if you’ve enabled Live Transcription in settings

- Check your internet connection and audio quality

- Restart Zoom or update to the latest version to fix software issues

What Does a Zoom Transcript Look Like?

Understanding the Zoom transcript format

Zoom transcripts are time-stamped text files of all the conversations had during the meeting.

They are generated by AI live transcription and Zoom cloud recording transcription.

They’re usually displayed at the bottom of the screen as real-time captions, and timestamps shown when each speaker talked.

The speaker labels help to differentiate voices. For instance:

- Laura: "Let's discuss the marketing plan for this quarter."

- Judy: "Sure! I think we should focus on social media ads”

 How to export and edit transcripts for accuracy

Usually, users can download them in .txt or .vtt formats for editing and sharing.

- First sign in to Zoom web portal (https://zoom.us)

- Click recordings

- Select the meeting with the transcript

- Point out to the Audio Transcript section

- Click download (usually as .vtt or.txt file)

Best Alternative Transcription Tools for Business Meetings

Comparing VerbalScripts, Otter.ai, Rev.com, Descript, and Trint

To be well prepared, here are other alternatives if Zoom AI transcription isn’t meeting your needs:

Verbalscripts

- It is AI-powered and does highly accurate and real-time transcription.

- They support multiple languages

- Exports transcripts in multiple formats ( TXT, VTT, SRT)

Descript

- AI-based with text and audio editing

- Allows text-based audio editing

Otter.ai

- Real-time transcription

- Free plans available

- Integrates with Google Meet, zoom, and Microsoft teams

Let’s Wrap up

If your priority is to get the most out of Zoom AI transcription, then you’re good to go.

Be sure to notify all participants that the meeting will be recorded.

You can also consider legal requirements regarding recording consent in certain jurisdictions.

Remember, if Zoom AI transcription doesn't fully meet your needs, sign up and take advantage of technology to simplify and enhance your virtual meetings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I enable Zoom AI transcription?

Zoom’s AI-powered live transcription can be made possible via Zoom settings under "Accessibility." 

Can I transcribe a Zoom meeting without recording it?

Yes! Zoom offers live transcription without recording. You can also use tools like VerbalScripts or Descript for real-time captions.

Why is my Zoom transcription inaccurate?

Frequent causes are background noise, overlapping speakers, accents, and poor microphone quality.

How do I remove a transcript from a Zoom recording?

You can delete transcripts from Zoom cloud recordings by clicking on the Recording Management tab and "Delete Transcript."

What are the best alternatives to Zoom AI transcription?

Other viable choices include VerbalScripts, Otter.ai, Descript, and Trint, offering higher accuracy and more editing features.

Can Zoom transcribe different languages?

Zoom facilitates several languages for live transcription, but accuracy depends on the language model and clarity of speech.