Master the Art of Transcribing Speech in an Audio File with Microsoft Word’s AI Magic
If you want to convert an audio file into an AI-generated text transcript for free, you could find a robot from the future to handle the task. But look no further than your Microsoft 365 subscription. Here are the quick and easy steps to upload and transcribe your file using Word on the web.
Many AI transcription tools available today convert recorded speech to text from audio and video files. AI voice-to-text conversion isn’t perfect, but it’s getting better all the time.
The easy ‘pro’ solution is to use Adobe Premiere Pro, which integrates strong transcription powers into its video-editing interface. But if you’re not in the Adobe ecosystem or looking for other solutions that don’t require video editing, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Most standalone AI transcription tools do cost money after a limited free trial. In doing research for a personal project, I tried to identify a low-cost or free AI solution.
And I was hoping to find it with a recognizable brand I felt I could trust. Happily, I discovered that Microsoft effectively offers what I needed.
And the Microsoft solution is free (as long as you already pay for a Microsoft 365 account).
Microsoft Word on the Web via your Microsoft 365 Account
There are a few important details to take care of before getting started on your transcription journey with Microsoft:
- You have to use the web version of Microsoft Word via your Microsoft 365 account. (That’s the key to opening this free transcription door.)
- You also need to use Chrome or Edge (not Safari… which seemingly doesn’t offer the ‘Transcribe’ feature).
- If you’re working with a video file, you first need to convert your video to an audio file. Yes, Microsoft Word transcription only lets you upload audio files, and that creates an extra step (but it’s worth it).
To make the audio file, I use the ‘Compressor’ app on my Mac. (You can also use QuickTime.) The conversion process goes surprisingly fast. (I converted to MP3s with Compressor, but you can convert to other audio formats.)
Step-by-Step Guide to your AI Transcript
Once you’ve got your audio files created and ready to go, here’s how to create your AI transcripts:
Click on the ‘Dictate’ drop-down on the top right of Word’s ribbon. Then the ‘Transcribe’ option displays. Click it.
Click on ‘Upload audio.’
Choose your audio file to be used. The Transcribe feature activates.
The full transcription will quickly appear on the right after 30 seconds or so, depending on the length of your audio file. Click ‘Add to document.’ Click ‘With speakers and time stamps.’
Click on ‘File.’ Choose ‘Save as.’ Choose ‘Download a copy.’
Done! That’s it.
Now you’ve got your AI-driven transcript with time stamps that you can easily work with.
Perfection Not Required
If you’re planning to edit a video using these transcripts, you can select your sound bites by simply highlighting the sentences you want. From there, you can create your paper edit. (A paper edit is the roadmap you’ll follow when doing your actual video editing.)
Is the AI transcript from Microsoft perfect? Not at all! But it’s good enough to select the sound bites you need.
Not Subtitle-Ready
Warning: If you’re eventually planning on taking the next step to create subtitles/captions from these clips for a final video, you’ll still have some ‘human-powered’ proofing work ahead of you (as there are plenty of AI misspellings and misinterpreted words).
Easy and Fast Solution
In the old days, people would transcribe long audio or video files themselves. If you paid someone to do this, it could cost hundreds of dollars. Now, AI has effectively taken over this painstaking task.
Though imperfect, it gets the job done.
(And don’t forget- AI transcription technologies will only continue to improve over time.)
Plus, it’s free and already baked into your Microsoft 365 account.
(Yes, you do need to pay for Microsoft 365, but then this is a great way to maximize that necessary investment.)
They say emerging AI will continue to make our lives ‘easier.’ I’m happy to report that this is just another example.
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