Can ChatGPT Transcribe Audio? Step-by-Step Guide [2024]

Can ChatGPT transcribe audio into text? With OpenAI’s AI tools, you can stop spending hours turning audio recordings into text and avoid the hassle of manual typing. I will show you how and introduce you to other cool audio transcription tools for automatically converting your voice into text.

Key Takeaways.

• ChatGPT can’t do audio transcription on its own.

• ChatGPT transcribes audio using Whisper API.

• You can upload various audio file types for transcription.

• Whisper API isn’t easy for non-techie users.

• Otter.ai is a good alternative to ChatGPT/Whisper for transcription services.

Can ChatGPT Transcribe Audio?

Yes, ChatGPT can transcribe audio files, BUT it needs the help of Whisper API and its super-powerful neural net to turn speech into text.

Keep reading and I’ll show you step-by-step how to configure Whisper API and how you can incorporate ChatGPT into your transcription workflow.

Note: Whisper works best in English! However, you can use fine-tuning to teach it other languages and accents and make it more accurate.

What is Whisper API?

Whisper API is an Automatic Speech Recognition(ASR) system that is pretty darn cool and can be helpful for all sorts of tasks.

It can handle audio transcription in over 99 languages and works with most audio file types.

It can be used for all sorts of voice applications, such as;

• Turn audio recording into text (e.g., Study Guides)

• Answer customer phone queries (e.g., in a Call Centre).

• Automatic note-taking (e.g., Virtual Meeting Assistant).

• Transcription tool for live events (e.g., Podcasts or Webinars).

And so on… the possibilities are endless.

How Do You Use Whisper API for Transcription?

To use the Whisper speech recognition model, you need an API from OpenAI. Here’s how you do that:

Step 1: Set Up Your Environment

1. Install Python: Ensure you have Python installed on your machine. Run this command in your terminal or at the command prompt to check.

python3 --version

2. Install the OpenAI Python Package: Open your terminal or command prompt and run:

pip3 install openai

Step 2: Get Your OpenAI API Key

1. Sign Up/Log In: Go to OpenAI’s platform and sign up or log in.

2. API Key: Generate an API key from the API section of your OpenAI account.

Step 3: Prepare Your Audio File

1. Audio Format: Make sure your audio file is in a supported Whisper API format.

These include:

• MP3: MPEG-1 Audio Layer III, commonly used for music and podcasts.

• WAV: Waveform Audio File Format, used for storing uncompressed audio data.

• M4A: MPEG-4 Part 14 audio, often used by Apple devices.

• FLAC: Free Lossless Audio Codec for lossless compression of audio data.

• OGG: Ogg Vorbis, a free and open-source format often used for streaming.

• WEBM: Used mainly for video but can contain audio-only data.

• AAC: Advanced Audio Coding used in streaming and broadcasting.

Step 4: Write the Python Script

Here’s a Python script you can use:

from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(api_key='YOUR API KEY')

audio_file= open("/PATH/TO/YOUR/FILE/audio.mp3", "rb")
transcription = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
  model="whisper-1", 
  file=audio_file
)
print(transcription.text)

Step 5: Run the Script

1. Save: Save the script as transcribe_audio.py.

2. Run Script: Open your terminal or command prompt, navigate to the directory where your script is saved, and run:

   python3 transcribe_audio.py

Step 6: Review the Transcription

Once the script runs, it will print the transcription of your audio file directly in the terminal or command prompt.

The transcription is pretty good, and if you have the API/coding know-how, you can do many technical things with it to get better results.

If you’re new to manual techie stuff, coding, and APIs, getting used to how it works might take some time. But don’t worry; with some practice, you’ll get the hang of it.

Should You Use ChatGPT/Whisper API for Audio Transcription?

There’s a long and short answer…. I’ll give you the short version. 🤪

No, I don’t think you should rely on Whisper API as your sole tool for transcribing audio.

Why, what’s the problem? There are a few problems:

1. Steep learning curve. If you don’t know Python scripting and how the API works, you’ll be in a world of hurt figuring out all this techie stuff.

2. ChatGPT can’t access Whisper API directly, so you can’t use it to convert audio files to spoken words. Everything has to happen in the terminal/command prompt.

3. It’s not plug-and-play. Most content creators need a no-code solution that requires only a few buttons to be clicked, and the magic happens. This is NOT that!

What are the good reasons to use Whisper? There are several for the right user.

1. It’s free! That’s a massive incentive. You get access to a state-of-the-art natural language processing machine for zero dollars!

2. It’s powerful. You can do so much with Whisper beyond just the transcription process.

3. Whisper is very accurate, with a 92% accuracy rating.

How To Use ChatGPT for Audio Transcription

There is a way you can still use ChatGPT for audio and video transcription.

ChatGPT can’t turn your audio memoirs into text output (yet), but it does an excellent job of analyzing, understanding, improving, and developing creative ideas based on text.

So, use a dedicated audio transcription tool to convert your audio files to text and feed that text into ChatGPT. You can then use prompts to do whatever you like to the text. Boom! 💥

Benefits of Using ChatGPT After Transcription

After using a dedicated transcription service, ChatGPT can help polish and improve the text. It fixes grammar and spelling mistakes, summarizes long transcripts, and aids in content creation of social media posts, blog articles, and email newsletters. This boosts productivity by handling time-consuming tasks, allowing you to focus on using the information in your audio.

Alternatives To ChatGPT For Audio Transcription

While ChatGPT can’t directly transcribe audio, there are other great options.

7 Top AI Transcription Tools:

1. Otter.ai – Great for meetings and interviews

2. Google Speech-to-Text – Powerful and versatile

3. Amazon Transcribe – Handles multiple speakers well

4. Descript – Great for podcasters, includes audio editing

5. Sonix – Affordable and flexible

6. Rev – Offers both AI and human transcription

7. YouTube – Free auto-transcription for uploaded videos

There are a bunch of good options, so try them out and see which one fits your needs.

Everyday Use Cases For ChatGPT & Audio Transcription

You can refine transcriptions from speech-to-text tools with ChatGPT. Here are some ways to use this combo:

• For podcasters: Turn episodes into show notes🎙️.

• For students: Transcribe lectures, and let ChatGPT summarize key points 🧑‍🎓.

• For meetings: Transcribe meeting recordings and use ChatGPT to highlight action items 📆.

• For journalists: Transcribe recordings, then use ChatGPT to pull out the best quotes and organize them by topic 📔.

• For content creators: Turn video scripts into blog posts 🎥.

• For researchers: Transcribe participant responses and let ChatGPT help analyze interviews 🕵️‍♂️.

• For legal professionals: Use ChatGPT to review depositions by flagging important statements or inconsistencies 👨‍⚖️.

Wrap Up.

We started by asking, ‘Can chatgpt transcribe audio?’ No, ChatGPT cannot transcribe audio files into text. Maybe OpenAI will add this feature in the future. You can, however, use OpenAI’s Whisper API to take audio and video files and turn them into text. If you are tech-savvy, Whisper AI is a good, free tool for transcribing audio.

Personally, I prefer to use a tool such as Otter, which is a purpose-built transcription service. Once you have the text, you can use ChatGPT to transform the text output into your desired format.

So what’s your preference? The free Whisper API option or a paid tool like Otter. Let me know in the comments below how you are turning audio into text.

Frequently Asked Questions.

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