This text is republished with permission from Marvel Instruments, a e-newsletter that helps you uncover probably the most helpful websites and apps. Subscribe here.
Typing isn’t at all times the easiest way 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 beneath have turn out to be essential to my workflow.
Why voice AI beats conventional transcription
Conventional transcription merely converts speech to textual content. Trendy voice AI does way more:
- On the spot transformation: Communicate naturally and get a cultured draft, define, or abstract
- Good 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 personal phrases, it doesn’t hallucinate.
5 methods I like utilizing voice AI
Listed here are some situations the place voice AI is especially beneficial:
1. Journal entries
As a substitute of watching 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 document, and discuss via key factors whereas they’re nonetheless contemporary. I don’t fear concerning the construction of my sentences or about pausing as I feel. The AI waits for me and summarizes my rambling.
3. Presentation planning
Talking via presentation concepts helps me work out my narrative circulation. The AI helps me set up my ideas right into a structured define. I can discuss via a number of potential variations, then evaluate them on display later.
4. Ebook 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 be aware the AI creates.
I like with the ability to look again on the textual content whereas dictating the be aware. And the modifying a part of my mind interferes much less once I’m speaking than once 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 attempt
Letterly
- Straightforward to make use of: Simply press the app’s huge button. As much as quarter-hour per recording.
- Cross-platform: Report or entry your previous text-from-voice throughout robotically synchronized desktop, net, and cellular apps.
- Good format detection: The magic remodel possibility 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 personal customized codecs.
- Iterative refinement: Strive totally different transformations of the identical recording till you get precisely what you want.
- A number of languages: Report in any of 90 languages, or document in a single language and have the app translate your textual content into one other.
- Offline and screen-off choices: Report anyplace, even with out Web entry. Strive utilizing background mode with out your display on. I typically document 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 must pronounce the right 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 write down. The assistant can perceive you and work out how you can rewrite the textual content.”
- Letterly Pricing: $80/12 months after a free trial
Oasis
- Multi-purpose output: Get your recording remodeled concurrently into numerous codecs—from a memo or define to a weblog put up or TED discuss.
- Make customized templates: Create and identify brief prompts that mirror your most well-liked kinds or codecs. These turn out to be a part of your customized immediate library for remodeling future recordings. I made one for my journal entries.
- Internet accessibility: Like Letterly and Audiopen, you possibly can entry your recordings and remodeled textual content via a browser on any machine.
- Oasis pricing: $5/month or $50/12 months for sufficient credit for tons of of month-to-month makes use of.
AudioPen
- Customise rewrite size: Customise the size setting for those who’d favor summaries of your transcribed recordings to be shorter or longer. Create and entry them in your telephone or on any machine via your browser.
- Shareable audio notes: Ship particular person audio be aware 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 need simplicity and reliability. Contemplate Oasis if you need a barely cheaper possibility or must concurrently entry a number of format variations of the identical content material. AudioPen is beneficial 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 whenever you need to assume freely with out your fingers on a keyboard. Listed here are conditions the place you possibly can attempt it:
At house
- Cozy chair: Seize e-book notes with out interrupting your studying rhythm.
- Kitchen: Doc recipe changes or cooking notes whereas your fingers are busy with components.
- Bedside: Report late-night musings with out disrupting your wind-down routine with a vibrant display.
- Backyard: Log landscaping concepts or random ideas whereas your fingers are soiled.
On the transfer
- Strolling: Seize challenge concepts and inspiration throughout your day by day stroll.
- Commute: Draft emails and plan your day whereas on the subway or bus.
- Automobile: Report ideas safely after parking however earlier than you neglect an necessary thought.
At work
- Quiet house: Create reflective journal entries whereas looking the window.
- Convention: Seize insights between classes to keep away from being overwhelmed whenever you get house.
- Physician’s workplace: Report appointment particulars and follow-up steps whereas the data is contemporary.
Lively time
- Outside: Draft journal entries or inventive concepts whereas surrounded by nature
- Train: Define displays or brainstorm on the treadmill
- Buying: Create lists or remind your self about merchandise
Voice AI in your laptop computer
I used to rely completely 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 possibly can paste into any device you’re utilizing. It really works with Google Docs, Phrase, e mail, or no matter else you’re utilizing. I take advantage of these on my laptop computer as a result of it’s faster and simpler for me to speak than to kind. Listed here are three value making an attempt:
Movement
- Fast to start out: When you’ve put in the software program, simply maintain down the perform 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 anyplace in your laptop: Paste transcribed textual content straight into any software—e mail, paperwork, or messaging apps.
- Reduces display and hand fatigue: Report whereas wanting away out of your display to cut back eye pressure and provides your fingers 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 staff 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.
- Good textual content transformation: You may optionally set it to investigate your display context to supply remodeled variations of your textual content.
- Free: Whereas in beta, there’s no price for TalkTastic.
MacWhisper
- Superior transcription: Use this free software program to transcribe on-line conferences, podcasts, or dwell dictation. You may even add recordsdata 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 profit from AI
- ChatGPT has a robust voice mode in its cellular and desktop apps. Reasonably than typing out AI queries, you possibly can 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 examine on its information 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 Marvel Instruments, a e-newsletter that helps you uncover probably the most helpful websites and apps. Subscribe here.