Microsoft Corp. announced today that it’s bringing transcriptions to Word for all Microsoft 365 subscribers around the world.

The service, called “Transcribe,” will support existing audio files but will also allow the user to record conversations within Word for the web, which will then be transcribed automatically.

“Whether you’re a reporter conducting interviews, a researcher recording focus group sessions, or an online entrepreneur recording informal discussions, you want to be able to focus on the people you’re talking to without worrying about taking notes and without having to spend hours transcribing your conversations after-the-fact,” the company said in a blog post.

Microsoft’s artificial intelligence will detect the various speakers in the conversation and separate them, once names have been assigned. Two hundred megabytes of MP3, WAV, M4A, and MP4 files will be supported, so whether users are recording their own voice from their microphone or transcribing calls, meetings or even video, it will work.

Once the conversation has been transcribed, the audio will appear along with the text. That will be time-stamped, so it’s easy to go back to any part of the conversation and make changes if need be. The conversation can also be slowed down for tricky parts. If you’re recording directly into Word, the transcript will be hidden because tests showed that it can be distracting.

To use the feature, simply go to the “Dictate” tab in the main menu and hit “Transcribe.” You’ll be given the option to transcribe in Word or you can upload a previously recorded file. If you are recording offline then there is a 300-minute limit for the audio per month, although that can be extended at a cost. The transcription will not happen in seconds, with reviewers saying it took roughly the same time as the conversation – although they did say it was accurate.

Right now, only English is supported, although more languages will follow.

Image: Microsoft