Why is my transcript wrong? Causes and how to fix the audio
Updated on October 25, 2026
Transcription uses a speech recognition AI that runs on our own server. With one person speaking close to the mic in a quiet place, it makes few mistakes. When the text looks off, the cause is almost always in the audio, and the next one can be better. The tool is on the home page.
The usual suspects
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Text in another language, or “translated” | Wrong audio language | Tap Another language and pick the right one |
| Missing parts | Speech too quiet, far from the mic or muffled | Record closer; on WhatsApp, speak close to the phone |
| Words swapped for similar ones | Noise: wind, fans, traffic, echo | A quiet room without echo |
| Sentences nobody said | Long silences or music without speech | Trim the silences; send only the part with speech |
| Two lines mixed together | People talking over each other | Ask people to speak one at a time |
| Names and brands spelled by sound | The AI writes what it hears | Check names before using the text |
| Numbers in words, or the other way round | Automatic formatting | Check amounts, dates and phone numbers |
The language
The tool sends the page’s language: English on /en, Portuguese at the site root. If the audio is in another language, tap Change before picking the file, or choose Detect. If the text already came out wrong, use Another language above it: it redoes the transcript with the same file, and your first change of the day is free.
Music and background noise
The AI is built for speech. Loud music over the voice, a TV in the background or a party makes it skip parts or invent words. Audio with only music usually comes out empty: the screen says it couldn’t find speech, and the attempt doesn’t count toward your limit.
Meetings and lectures
In a big room, the voice arrives weak and with echo. To help:
- keep the phone close to whoever talks most;
- don’t handle the phone while recording;
- in class, sit near the front or ask to leave the phone on the teacher’s desk.
The voice recording page has more tips.
Before you use the text
AI doesn’t replace a read-through. Before sending, publishing or using the text in a document:
- check names of people, places and brands;
- check numbers, amounts, dates and addresses;
- listen again to parts that don’t make sense.
An automatic transcript isn’t a certified transcript for court.