# What is the best software to transcribe recorded interviews with speaker labels? > Use Speak AI when you also need themes and quotes, TurboScribe for many files, and Rev when a person must check the transcript. Free lesson. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/questions/transcribe-interviews-with-speaker-labels · Updated 2026-10-21 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 21, 2026 · Updated October 21, 2026 · 4 min read For recorded interviews, Speak AI is the best fit when you need more than a transcript: it labels each speaker, then pulls out keywords, tone and themes, and lets you ask questions across the recording. Choose TurboScribe when you simply have a lot of files to turn into text, and Rev when the transcript must be checked by a person, for example for legal or published work. You can try the Speak AI route step by step in [Speak AI: interviews into themes and quotes](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/speak-ai-turn-customer-interviews-into-themes-and-quotes). All four tools on this page take an uploaded audio or video file, split it by voice (this is called [speaker diarization](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/speaker-diarization)) and let you rename "Speaker 1" to a real name. The differences are in what happens after the transcript, and how much you trust the machine on its own. ## Which tool fits which job? - **Speak AI.** Upload a recording and get a transcript by speaker, plus keywords, people, brands and sentiment. AI Chat answers questions from the transcript, and you can export to Word, PDF, captions and more. Deciding factor: customer or user interviews where you need themes and quotes, not just text. - **TurboScribe.** Upload audio or video, tick speaker recognition in the upload settings, and export as PDF, DOCX, SRT, [CSV](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/csv) or TXT. It has a free plan with a daily file limit. Deciding factor: a big pile of recordings and a simple need for clean text. - **Rev.** Rev makes an AI transcript first, and you can order a human-verified version of the same file. You can give the speakers' names at checkout so the transcriptionist labels them. Deciding factor: the words must be right, such as quotes for a report or a legal record. - **Sonix.** Detects speakers automatically, lets you rename them in its browser editor, and exports to Word, PDF, captions and research tools such as NVivo with [speaker labels](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/speaker-labels) and timestamps kept. Deciding factor: you edit transcripts heavily or code them in research software. The [transcription explainer](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/explainers/ai-transcription-for-meetings) covers how these tools differ from live meeting note takers. ## How do I get a transcript I can trust? 1. **Get consent before you record,** and tell people the recording will be uploaded to a transcription service. 2. **Record each person close to a microphone.** Clean audio does more for accuracy than any setting. 3. **Turn on speaker labels at upload** (some tools need a checkbox) and set the right language. 4. **Rename the speakers** as soon as the transcript is ready, while you still remember who said what. 5. **Play back every line you plan to quote.** Fix names, numbers and product terms. 6. **Remove personal details** before you share the transcript outside the team. Some tools have a redaction option. ## What does this look like in a real lesson? In [the Speak AI lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/speak-ai-turn-customer-interviews-into-themes-and-quotes) a small accounting firm has run five onboarding interviews. You upload one recording, about three minutes long, into a folder for the study. Speak AI splits it into Speaker 0, the owner, and Speaker 1, the client, each turn with a play button and a time. You scan the keywords (First week, Welcome email, Document portal), check the people and brands it found, and jump to the low point the sentiment chart marks. AI Chat writes a summary with three problems, each with a quote and a fix. Then you export to Word with speaker names and timestamps on, and check one quote against the audio: the transcript wrote "fun" where the client said "fine". The explainer [How AI Turns Talk into Text](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/how-ai-transcription-works) shows why: speech-to-text slips most on short words, names and numbers, and speakers get mixed up when people talk over each other. ## What mistakes should I avoid? - **Quoting without listening.** One wrong word can flip the meaning of a quote. - **Leaving generic speaker labels.** "Speaker 1" is useless to the next reader. Rename them. - **Uploading sensitive interviews to any free tool.** Check where the files are stored and your company's rules first. - **Expecting the AI summary to be the finding.** It is a first draft of themes. You decide what the interviews mean. ## Key takeaways - Speak AI: transcript plus themes, quotes and Q&A for research interviews. - TurboScribe: many files, simple text, a free plan to start. - Rev: add a human check when every word matters. - Sonix: heavy editing and exports to research tools. - Always play back the lines you quote. ## Frequently asked questions **How accurate is AI transcription of interviews?** Good on clear audio, weaker on accents, crosstalk, names and numbers. The [speech-to-text FAQ](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/speech-to-text-transcription-faq) explains what affects accuracy. **Can I transcribe a recording from my phone?** Yes. All four tools accept common audio and video files. Upload the file from your phone or computer. **What is the difference between a meeting note taker and a transcription tool?** A note taker records a live call and writes notes. A transcription tool works on a file you already have. See [how to get a transcript of a meeting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/how-to-get-a-transcript-of-a-meeting) for both routes. ## Learn it hands-on Free, interactive lessons: you do every step yourself in a practice copy of the real tool, it checks your work as you go, and nothing touches your real accounts. - [Speak AI: Turn Customer Interviews into Themes and Quotes](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/speak-ai-turn-customer-interviews-into-themes-and-quotes): A business case for any small team that runs customer interviews or sales calls: upload the recording to Speak AI, read the transcript, keywords and… (about 10 minutes) - [How AI Transcription Works: Speech-to-Text, Speaker Diarization and Themes](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/how-ai-transcription-works): Follow one recorded client call from sound to transcript, catch the kind of error speech-to-text makes, name the speakers, and pull out action items… (about 6 minutes) [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/speakai-customer-interview-themes) ## AI tools in this answer Each one in the Stepthrough AI tools directory: what it does, who it is for and the free lesson where there is one. [Speak AI](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-tools/meetings-notes#tool-speak-ai) · [TurboScribe](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-tools/voice-audio#tool-turboscribe) · [Rev](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-tools/voice-audio#tool-rev) · [Sonix](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-tools/voice-audio#tool-sonix) [The full AI tools directory](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-tools) ## Related terms Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson. [Speaker diarization](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/speaker-diarization) · [CSV](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/csv) · [Speaker labels](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/speaker-labels) · [Descript](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/descript) · [Keyword extraction](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/keyword-extraction) · [Notta](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/notta) [The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) ## Related questions - [Which AI note taker works for in-person meetings, not just video calls?](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/questions/ai-note-taker-for-in-person-meetings): Pick a note taker with a phone app that records the room, like CoHear, Otter or Granola, and place the phone in the middle. 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