This text is republished with permission from Surprise Instruments, a e-newsletter that helps you uncover essentially the most helpful websites and apps. Subscribe here.
Typing isn’t at all times one of the best ways to get your ideas down. Generally speaking via an thought results in higher readability. New AI instruments can reliably remodel these spoken ideas into clear, organized textual content.
I’ve spent months experimenting with voice AI instruments—first on my telephone, and now on my laptop computer. They’ve been serving to me pull concepts from my mind onto paper. The instruments under have turn into essential to my workflow.
Why voice AI beats conventional transcription
Conventional transcription merely converts speech to textual content. Fashionable voice AI does rather more:
- Instantaneous transformation: Converse naturally and get a refined draft, define, or abstract
- Sensible cleanup: AI removes filler phrases and provides correct punctuation
- Format flexibility: Convert speech into numerous codecs like bullet lists or structured paperwork
- Context consciousness: AI understands context and organizes your ideas logically. As a result of it’s grounded in your individual phrases, it doesn’t hallucinate.
5 methods I like utilizing voice AI
Listed below are some eventualities the place voice AI is especially worthwhile:
1. Journal entries
As a substitute of gazing a clean web page, I communicate my ideas at day’s finish. The AI transforms my stream of consciousness into organized reflections.
2. Assembly follow-ups
After an in-person assembly, I open my voice AI app, hit file, and speak via key factors whereas they’re nonetheless contemporary. I don’t fear concerning the construction of my sentences or about pausing as I believe. The AI waits for me and summarizes my rambling.
3. Presentation planning
Talking via presentation concepts helps me determine my narrative stream. The AI helps me manage my ideas right into a structured define. I can speak via a number of potential variations, then evaluate them on display later.
4. Guide notes
To protect insights from one thing I’m studying, I activate a voice AI app and flip via the pages or scroll via the textual content to remind myself out loud about intriguing passages or concepts. I then save the structured observe the AI creates.
I like having the ability to look again on the textual content whereas dictating the observe. And the modifying a part of my mind interferes much less after I’m speaking than after I’m typing.
5. Every day planning
Beginning my day by verbally mapping out my priorities helps me assume via what’s forward extra successfully than typing out an inventory.
Voice AI apps to strive
Letterly
- Straightforward to make use of: Simply press the app’s huge button. As much as quarter-hour per recording.
- Cross-platform: Document or entry your previous text-from-voice throughout robotically synchronized desktop, net, and cellular apps.
- Sensible format detection: The magic remodel choice can robotically reformat your phrases, turning lists into bullets or structuring e mail drafts for fast copy-and-pasting into different apps.
- Customizable outputs: Remodel recordings into LinkedIn posts, podcast or video scripts, structured paperwork, or your individual customized codecs.
- Iterative refinement: Attempt totally different transformations of the identical recording till you get precisely what you want.
- A number of languages: Document in any of 90 languages, or file in a single language and have the app translate your textual content into one other.
- Offline and screen-off choices: Document wherever, even with out Web entry. Attempt utilizing background mode with out your display on. I typically file with my AirPods whereas strolling with my telephone in my pocket.
- Founder’s tip: “Don’t confuse it with dictation,” says Letterly’s founder and CEO Anton Lebedev. “You don’t have to pronounce the proper textual content you need to write. As a substitute, assume out loud, communicate slowly, rapidly, and even chaotically. AI will perceive you. Consider it like a writing assistant you’re telling what to put in writing. The assistant can perceive you and determine easy methods to rewrite the textual content.”
- Letterly Pricing: $80/12 months after a free trial
Oasis
- Multi-purpose output: Get your recording reworked concurrently into numerous codecs—from a memo or define to a weblog put up or TED speak.
- Make customized templates: Create and title brief prompts that mirror your most well-liked types or codecs. These turn into a part of your personalised immediate library for remodeling future recordings. I made one for my journal entries.
- Net accessibility: Like Letterly and Audiopen, you may entry your recordings and reworked textual content via a browser on any system.
- Oasis pricing: $5/month or $50/12 months for sufficient credit for lots of of month-to-month makes use of.
AudioPen
- Customise rewrite size: Customise the size setting when you’d desire summaries of your transcribed recordings to be shorter or longer. Create and entry them in your telephone or on any system via your browser.
- Shareable audio notes: Ship particular person audio observe hyperlinks to colleagues or collaborators. Or ship then to different apps with a Zapier integration.
- Versatile group: Mix a number of audio notes or their summaries into bigger collections. You may seek for previous notes or prepare them in folders.
- Wealthy template choice: Select from numerous transformation templates.
- AudioPen pricing: $99/12 months or $159/two years after a free trial.
Backside Line
Begin with Letterly if you would like simplicity and reliability. Contemplate Oasis if you would like a barely cheaper choice or have to concurrently entry a number of format variations of the identical content material. AudioPen is helpful if you wish to customise the size of your voice summaries or if sharing or combining audio notes is necessary to your workflow.
The place to make use of voice AI
Voice AI shines when typing isn’t sensible or while you need to assume freely with out your palms on a keyboard. Listed below are conditions the place you may strive it:
At dwelling
- Cozy chair: Seize e-book notes with out interrupting your studying rhythm.
- Kitchen: Doc recipe changes or cooking notes whereas your palms are busy with components.
- Bedside: Document late-night musings with out disrupting your wind-down routine with a shiny display.
- Backyard: Log landscaping concepts or random ideas whereas your palms are soiled.
On the transfer
- Strolling: Seize venture concepts and inspiration throughout your every day stroll.
- Commute: Draft emails and plan your day whereas on the subway or bus.
- Automotive: Document ideas safely after parking however earlier than you overlook an necessary thought.
At work
- Quiet house: Create reflective journal entries whereas searching the window.
- Convention: Seize insights between classes to keep away from being overwhelmed while you get dwelling.
- Physician’s workplace: Document appointment particulars and follow-up steps whereas the information is contemporary.
Lively time
- Outdoor: Draft journal entries or artistic concepts whereas surrounded by nature
- Train: Define displays or brainstorm on the treadmill
- Purchasing: Create lists or remind your self about merchandise
Voice AI in your laptop computer
I used to rely solely on cellular voice AI apps, however recently I’ve been counting on laptop computer voice AI apps. These are much less centered on remodeling textual content and extra on placing your spoken textual content in your clipboard so you may paste into any instrument you’re utilizing. It really works with Google Docs, Phrase, e mail, or no matter else you’re utilizing. I exploit these on my laptop computer as a result of it’s faster and simpler for me to speak than to kind. Listed below are three value attempting:
Stream
- Fast to start out: When you’ve put in the software program, simply maintain down the operate key to start out recording in any of 100+ languages. Your recording will get immediately transcribed and the cleaned-up textual content is copied to your clipboard.
- Works wherever in your laptop: Paste transcribed textual content immediately into any utility—e mail, paperwork, or messaging apps.
- Reduces display and hand fatigue: Document whereas wanting away out of your display to cut back eye pressure and provides your palms a break.
- Flow pricing: Free for as much as 2,000 phrases/week; $12/month billed yearly for limitless phrases and additional options. $8/month for students and educators.
TalkTastic
- Easy transcription: Made by the workforce that created the Oasis cellular app, TalkTastic is designed to be easier. As a substitute of remodeling your speech into numerous textual content varieties, it simply places a cleaned-up model of what you say onto your clipboard to stick into any app.
- Sensible textual content transformation: You may optionally set it to research your display context to supply reworked variations of your textual content.
- Free: Whereas in beta, there’s no value for TalkTastic.
MacWhisper
- Superior transcription: Use this free software program to transcribe on-line conferences, podcasts, or dwell dictation. You may even add information to transcribe.
- Pay as soon as for professional options: Allow YouTube transcriptions, batch uploads, translation, and high AI mannequin utilization with a one-time buy.
- MacWhisper pricing: Free for fundamental utilization; about $60 for professional improve; 20% low cost with this link. Journalists, college students, or non-profits can e mail support@macwhisper.com for 50% off.
Different methods to make use of your voice to learn from AI
- ChatGPT has a robust voice mode in its cellular and desktop apps. Slightly than typing out AI queries, you may have a dialog with an AI bot. Right here’s why that’s so useful.
- Perplexity’s cellular app voice AI mode is terrific. I ask it a collection of questions, like an oracle. It beats Google on a lot of my queries. The AI understands what I’m asking, then gathers and summarizes a useful response. Citations within the app guarantee I can verify on its data sources.
- Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot have recently-upgraded cellular voice modes. Converse with human-sounding AI bots with out thumb typing.
- Open-source options abound.
This text is republished with permission from Surprise Instruments, a e-newsletter that helps you uncover essentially the most helpful websites and apps. Subscribe here.
