13 min
A conversation is a valuable source of data. What if, instead of listening to calls one by one, we told you that you could transcribe them, analyse them, and automatically extract insights?
Artificial intelligence is now capable of transcribing with more accuracy than ever before, and turning every call into actionable data in just seconds.
Curious about how it works and what it could do for your business? We explain everything in this post.
1. WHAT IS AI-POWERED CALL TRANSCRIPTION?
AI-powered call transcription converts the audio from a call—whether in real time or after the call—into written text using advanced voice recognition systems. Driven by artificial intelligence, this process produces a highly accurate transcription, even in calls with background noise, strong accents or industry-specific jargon.
2. HOW DOES AI TRANSCRIPTION WORK?
Once the call recording is available, the AI model transforms the audio into text via a speech recognition system.
To ensure accuracy, some AI service providers for customer support—like us—analyse additional parameters to tailor the process to each case: the language and region linked to the phone number, the type of channel used (e.g. VoIP), or even business-specific keywords (hints) that help the system better interpret the conversation.
This results in a transcription that closely matches the original audio, even when there’s noise, strong accents or specialised terminology (like brand names or technical terms).
3. WHY USE TRANSCRIPTION IN YOUR BUSINESS?
Because it’s the fastest and most effective way to make the most of your call content. Transcription enables you to automate analysis, carry out quality audits, spot behavioural patterns, refine your sales pitch or monitor service levels using voice analysis tools such as speech analytics.
It also saves hours of manual listening and speeds up decision-making.
4. WHICH TYPES OF BUSINESSES BENEFIT FROM TRANSCRIPTION?
Although these solutions were once reserved for large corporations, today this technology is within reach of businesses of all sizes.
Early adopters include those that handle large volumes of calls—such as contact centres, customer support services and technical helpdesks. These businesses extract real value from conversations to improve quality, increase operational efficiency and make data-driven decisions.
Now, with falling prices and better accessibility, companies of all kinds are embracing transcription as a more affordable alternative to hiring staff to analyse why customers are calling, identify common complaints or quickly review problematic calls.
5. WHERE CALLS ARE TRANSCRIBED AND HOW TO VIEW THE RESULTS
Transcription happens in the background—completely invisible to the user. The AI transcribes the call automatically, either as it happens or just after.
The resulting text is available directly in your contact centre software, in Business Intelligence tools like Power BI (as visual dashboards), or linked within the conversation ticket in your CRM.
6. WHEN IS AI TRANSCRIPTION NECESSARY?
When you need real visibility into what’s happening on your calls, without the delays of manually reviewing them one by one.
When you don’t have the human resources to analyse every single call. With transcription, AI can also automate deep-dive analysis, helping you examine everything in far less time.
If your goal is to control quality, extract insights or identify patterns, then it’s time to explore this technology.
If that sounds like you, keep reading.
7. WHICH EUROPEAN REGULATIONS APPLY TO AI CALL TRANSCRIPTION?
A common concern when applying artificial intelligence to contact centres is its legal implications. Recording calls has long been permitted under certain conditions—but what happens when technology analyses what’s said during those calls?
The good news is that, so far, there are no legal barriers to transcribing and analysing calls with AI, as long as you comply with the personal data protection laws in Europe:
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- In Spain, the Organic Law 3/2018 on Data Protection and Digital Rights (LOPDGDD).
These laws do not prohibit the use of AI for transcribing calls, but they do lay out very clear conditions:
- There must be a legal basis for processing the audio (usually legitimate interest or consent).
- Users must be informed that their calls may be recorded and transcribed.
- You must ensure the security and confidentiality of the data being processed.
- If processing is outsourced, the provider must be located within the European Economic Area or offer equivalent safeguards.
It’s also essential to review the legal policies of your transcription provider and check for any specific Data Processing Agreements (DPAs). These agreements should guarantee that:
- The data is only used to deliver the agreed service.
- It is not stored once the process is complete.
- It is not used to train AI models or for any other purpose.
8. ADDITIONAL SERVICES YOU GAIN BY USING CALL TRANSCRIPTION
Call transcription isn’t just about “turning audio into text”. It’s about opening the door to a new way of managing your contact centre—one that’s based on real-time data, instantly accessible and 100% actionable. When you enable automatic transcription, you’re not just recording what was said—you’re unlocking the potential of AI-powered speech analytics, a suite of complementary tools that greatly enhance the value of every call.
Depending on the bots your provider offers, you may have access to a wider or narrower range of services. Here are the five most common used in our sector:
1. AUTOMATIC CALL SUMMARIES
No need to read the entire transcription or listen to the recording. The system can generate a headline or automatic summary per call, capturing the key points from start to finish.
2. CALL CATEGORISATION
AI can identify the main reason for the call and assign it an automatic tag: complaint, enquiry, cancellation request, technical issue, and so on. This helps analyse volumes by category, spot recurring problems and improve internal processes.
3. CUSTOMER SENTIMENT ANALYSIS
Based on language and tone, AI can determine whether the customer had a positive, neutral or negative experience. This becomes a key indicator of service perception, allowing you to spot unsatisfied customers without listening to the call.
4. SERVICE QUALITY SCORING
Each call can receive a star-based overall rating, calculated using various factors—whether the agent followed the script, showed empathy, and whether the customer was satisfied. This lets you measure service quality in a standardised, automated way.
5. TALK VS LISTEN RATIO
Is your agent really listening, or interrupting too much? The system analyses speaking turns and displays the percentage of time the agent speaks versus the customer. It’s a key metric for developing active listening and empathy skills.
9. USE CASE: HOW TO SPOT IF YOUR AGENTS ARE PROMOTING A SPECIFIC SERVICE
A common concern in sales teams is whether agents are actually promoting a specific service or product during the call. Although this is a widespread need, it’s very hard to track manually.
With call transcription and AI, that tracking becomes 100% automated:
- AI transcribes every call with precision.
- It scans the text for specific keywords you define (for example, “premium service”).
- Based on whether it was mentioned, the system tags the call or assigns it a score.
- All this information is displayed in real time on a dashboard, so you can instantly see which agents are delivering and at what rate.
This allows you to get the data right when you need it, without waiting for manual reviews or spending days compiling reports. What once took hours of listening and checking can now be done with a click.
Best of all: AI adapts to your own business rules, so you can tailor it to any specific goal. Whether it’s confirming if a service was offered, if the agent identified themselves properly, or if they followed the objection-handling script, the analysis logic is fully customisable.
10. DOES YOUR BUSINESS NEED REAL-TIME OR POST-CALL TRANSCRIPTION?
One of the key considerations before implementing call transcription is when you need the data: do you need it immediately, or only after the call ends?
There are two types of transcription, each meeting different needs:
1. REAL-TIME TRANSCRIPTION (Streaming)
This transcription is generated while the call is ongoing. It’s essential if you want to connect the service to a copilot that acts during the conversation, providing live suggestions, recommending responses or alerting the agent in real time.
💡 If you want to analyse the call as it happens, you’ll need streaming transcription.
2. ON-DEMAND TRANSCRIPTION (Post-call)
This type is performed once the call ends. While it also connects to an AI solution, the aim is to understand how the conversation went.
A major advantage of this mode is that you can control the number of calls to analyse. If you don’t need to transcribe 100% of conversations—say 70% is enough—you can significantly reduce the service cost.
💡 This is the best option when you’re after strategic insights, like historical performance or service quality.
WHICH IS BETTER?
It depends on what you plan to do with the data. If your goal is to take action during the call, automate decisions or support agents live with copilots, then you need real-time transcription.
If, however, you want to review the call after it ends, identify trends or monitor quality, on-demand transcription is more than enough.
11. ARE THERE DIFFERENCES IN TRANSCRIPTION QUALITY BETWEEN PROVIDERS?
Yes—big ones. Not all AI transcriptions are equal, and knowing what impacts quality is key to avoiding unpleasant surprises.
1. THE RECORDING: THE “FLOUR” OF THE WHOLE PROCESS
The first factor is the quality of the original audio. If the call is poorly recorded—full of noise, echo or overlapping voices—the transcription will be less accurate. It’s like baking: if the flour isn’t good, the end result won’t be either.
2. TRANSCRIPTION TECHNOLOGY: NOT ALL ENGINES ARE THE SAME
Once you have good audio, the next big factor is the technology you use to transcribe. In our case, we work with a highly advanced system that lets us fine-tune the transcription model based on key parameters:
- Phone number language detection: we automatically assign the language usually spoken on that number, improving recognition from the very first second.
- Specific region: we can even specify the accent or geographical area (Spanish from Madrid is not the same as from Galicia, for instance).
- Audio origin: we define that the audio comes from a VoIP call, not a video or recorded message, tailoring the model to the correct format.
- Custom hints: we include business-specific keywords, frequently used terms or technical jargon. So if the AI is unsure between similar-sounding words—like “write” or “wright”—it can make the right choice using the context we provide.
This last point is critical: hints act as contextual guides, helping the AI not only better understand what’s being said but also choose the most logical option—even if the pronunciation isn’t perfect.
12. WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR MY COMPANY TO START USING AI CALL TRANSCRIPTION?
In most cases, transcription services are linked to your telephony or contact centre software provider. That’s because calls already pass through their systems, making it easy to activate transcription directly without manual integrations or additional technical setup.
In our case, transcription is included as part of our communication solutions. When you sign up, the service is activated with no fuss and runs automatically in the background.
13. HOW IS CALL TRANSCRIPTION ACTIVATED?
By activating the service. It really is that simple.
If you also want to automate quality scoring or service level tracking, you’ll need to activate our Speech Analytics bot.
Once we tailor the bot to your business needs, calls answered or made by your agents will start being transcribed automatically in the background. You’ll be able to view the AI’s analysis in the “Details” tab of the Omnichannel Contact Centre:
- A headline summarising the conversation in one sentence
- A slightly longer summary of the discussion
- The category or reason for the call
- The customer’s level of satisfaction
- A rating of the service provided
14. HOW MUCH DOES AI CALL TRANSCRIPTION COST?
The cost of AI-powered call transcription is calculated per minute of audio transcribed. This means you only pay for the calls that are actually transcribed, with no fixed fees or need to transcribe everything.
Pricing depends on the provider and several factors. One of them is language: some providers apply different rates for less common languages or those with less mature AI models. Another factor is transcription engine quality, as not all providers offer the same accuracy, accent recognition, or ability to customise with business-specific keywords.
In any case, it’s a fully scalable service: you can adjust the percentage of calls you want to transcribe—say, limit it to 70%—to reduce the overall cost.
15. CAN TRANSCRIPTIONS BE SENT TO THE CRM AUTOMATICALLY?
Yes, absolutely. Once the transcription is generated, it can be sent directly to your CRM or any other platform, without needing to upload the transcript file or paste a link manually.
We deliver transcriptions and the full bot analysis (title, summary, category, etc.) using webhooks, which allow data to be transferred between systems when a condition is met—like the end of a call.
16. DOES THE AI TRANSCRIBE IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES?
Yes, AI is generally equipped to transcribe conversations in multiple languages. For example, our solution supports over 125 languages.
17. CAN CALLS BE TRANSLATED INTO ANOTHER LANGUAGE?
Yes. If we’re transcribing a conversation in real time, we can send that text to a copilot for instant translation. This allows an agent to assist a customer speaking a different language, even if they’re not fluent.
An ideal solution for international teams, multilingual environments, or when native speakers aren’t available for every language.
18. HOW DO YOU FIND A CALL TRANSCRIPTION?
A transcription isn’t a loose document or a file hidden in some folder. Each transcript is directly linked to its original call, so locating it is as easy as pulling up the call record.
Depending on how your system is set up, you’ll find the transcription in one of the following:
- Your contact centre software, under the call details view
- Your CRM, if the transcript is embedded in the customer ticket or contact history
Just search by phone number, call ID, date or any other identifier, and you’ll access the recording, transcript and all related conversation data.
19. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHOOSING AN AI CALL TRANSCRIPTION PROVIDER
As you’ve seen throughout this article, not all transcription services are the same. Here’s a list of six things to check before signing up for one:
- Check which AI model is being used to transcribe conversations. Not all models offer the same accuracy, and some allow training with business-specific vocabulary (hints), which greatly improves results.
- Ask about security and data privacy guarantees. Make sure transcriptions aren’t used to train other AI models or stored by third parties.
- Find out if streaming transcription is available, in case you need to connect the conversation to a copilot.
- Ensure audio quality is adequate. If the provider also handles call recordings, ask how they guarantee clear, interference-free sound—this is crucial for accurate transcription.
- Consider how easily it integrates. Is it automatically stored in your CRM or ticketing system?
- And lastly, consider the pricing. Ask about cost per minute, whether you can limit transcription volumes, and whether there are extra charges for specific languages.
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