How to transcribe audio in Google Docs
How to transcribe audio in Google Docs: the steps that take the voice typing recording and turn it into text. Free $0, 3 files a day.
The sound of the voice typing recording is enough: the engine reads the file as it was made. The file of the recording may be 30 minutes, and the free plan is $0 with 3 files a day.
How to transcribe audio in Google Docs, step by step
- 1
Turn on the microphone
The microphone of the computer is switched on, and the microphone box appears on the screen of the document.
- 2
Speak the text
The words are spoken into the document, and the text arrives in the document of Google Docs.
- 3
Fix a mistake in place
A mistake is fixed without turning the microphone off: you put the cursor on the word and write it again.
- 4
Name the file before you send it
Give the file of the voice typing recording a name that says what is inside it: the name travels with the export and saves a search later.
- 5
Check the length of the recording
One file may be up to 30 minutes, on every plan. A longer the voice typing recording is cut into parts before it is sent here.
What comes back from the engine
- TXT
One segment per line, the way a person wrote it down. It is the format to paste into a ticket, a chat or a document.
- TXT, CSV
The start and the end time of every segment, and the speakers named separately when you ask for it.
- SRT, VTT
SRT and VTT with the time of every line, so the recording can carry its own subtitles.
- Markdown, DOCX
The transcript is edited through the API and exported as Markdown for a wiki, or as DOCX for a review.
How Google Docs stores the file, and what it says about it
- What can go wrong
The microphone of the computer has to be on and working, and the devices differ, so the settings are in the manual of the computer.
- What usually fails
The microphone box appears on the screen, and the recording starts when you click the microphone and stops when you click it again.
- Length of one file
up to 30 minutes on the free plan, no minute limit on Pro
- Free plan
$0: 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes per file, no card
What the recording does not give you
Once the voice typing recording is on the disk, the rest is the engine and a minute of waiting. What the file of the voice typing recording cannot do is answer a question asked three weeks later. Our engine reads the file of the voice typing recording and returns it as text, with the start and the end of every piece.
Tips
Turn on the split by speaker when more than two people talk in the voice typing recording.
Give the speakers of the voice typing recording their names in the editor, one time, and export again.
Send the audio track of the voice typing recording when the platform gives you both.
The audio of the voice typing recording is smaller than the video of the same call.
Export SRT when the voice typing recording has to become a subtitled video.
Questions about how to transcribe audio in Google Docs
Can I search the text after I transcribe audio in Google Docs?
Our own engine reads the voice typing recording and gives the text back; the part the platform decides is only the download.
What are the steps to transcribe audio in Google Docs?
For how to transcribe audio in Google Docs, the text comes out of one upload: the file of the voice typing recording goes to the engine and the text comes back.
What do I need before I transcribe audio in Google Docs?
The recording of Google Docs is enough for the engine, and the text of it comes back with the time of every line.
Do I need an account to transcribe audio in Google Docs?
Upload the voice typing recording and read the result: our own engine writes down what it hears, with the time of every piece.
What is in the file after I transcribe audio in Google Docs?
The file is all it takes: the voice typing recording goes to our own engine and a document comes back.
Related pages
- Google Docs audio to textGoogle Docs audio to text: the steps of the platform, and what comes back from the engine.
- How to transcribe a podcastHow to transcribe a podcast: the file of Podcasts, the limits of it and the price of the service.
- Audacity audio to textAudacity audio to text: what Audacity says about the recording, and what the engine adds to it.
- Transcribe audio to textWhat one recording file gives to the engine, and what the text of it looks like.
Sources
- SType & edit with your voice - Google Docs Editors Help (read 2026-10-25)support.google.com · checked
- TTranscription service page (read 2026-10-25)transcrib.si · checked
- TPricing page (read 2026-10-25)transcrib.si · checked
Reading: 4 minutesUpdated Transcribsi editorial team
Drop a recording — the text arrives in a minute
Speakers by name, a time on every line, export to TXT, SRT, VTT, CSV and Markdown.