How Does Call Recording Transcription Work?
PBX.IM can automatically transcribe your call recordings into text. Each transcription includes a full transcript separated by speaker, an AI-generated summary, and an integrated audio player.
Table of Contents
- Enable Transcriptions
- View a Transcription
- Transcription Player
- Summary Panel
- Transcript Panel
- Search Within a Transcript
- Playback Controls
- Plan Limits
- Common Use Cases
Enable Transcriptions
Log into PBX.IM Dashboard, go to Settings, select General, then open the Transcriptions tab.
| Field | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Enable Transcriptions | Toggle the switch to turn call transcription on or off for your account. |
Transcription availability and included hours depend on your subscription plan. Start-up accounts receive up to one hour of free transcriptions.
View a Transcription
Once transcriptions are enabled, they are generated automatically for recorded calls. To view a transcription:
- Go to Logs in the dashboard.
- Find a call that has a recording.
- Click the transcription icon to open the transcription dialog.
The dialog opens in a resizable window showing the audio player at the top, the summary on the left, and the full transcript on the right.
Transcription Player
The player sits at the top of the transcription dialog and shows two audio waveform tracks -- one per speaker.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Customer track (purple) | Waveform visualization for the customer/caller side of the conversation. |
| Agent track (green) | Waveform visualization for the agent side of the conversation. |
| Speaker labels | The customer and agent names are shown to the left of their tracks. |
| Duration breakdown | Each speaker's total talk time and percentage is shown to the right of the tracks. |
| Progress bar | Shows current playback position. Click anywhere on the tracks to jump to that point in the call. |
Summary Panel
The left panel displays an AI-generated Overview of the call. This summary is rendered in markdown and typically includes:
- Key topics discussed
- Action items or outcomes
- A brief narrative of the conversation
The summary loads separately from the transcript. A loading skeleton appears while it is being generated.
Transcript Panel
The right panel shows the full Transcript of the call, organized as a conversation between speakers.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Speaker icon | A colored avatar distinguishes the customer (purple) from the agent (green). If the agent has a profile photo, it is shown instead. |
| Speaker name | The customer or agent name appears next to each message group. |
| Timestamp | A clickable blue timestamp is shown for each message group. Clicking it jumps the audio player to that point. |
| Message text | The transcribed text for that segment. Click any word to jump the audio to that moment. |
The transcript auto-scrolls to follow playback. Scrolling manually pauses auto-scroll so you can read at your own pace.
The currently playing sentence is highlighted in blue. When searching, matches are highlighted in yellow.
Search Within a Transcript
The transcript panel includes a search bar in the top-right corner.
| Action | How to do it |
|---|---|
| Search | Type a word or phrase in the search field. Matches are highlighted in yellow. |
| Navigate results | Use the up/down arrows next to the search field, or press Enter (next) / Shift+Enter (previous). |
| Clear search | Click the X button or press Escape. |
The current match is shown as a counter (e.g., 3/12) so you can track your position in the results.
Playback Controls
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Play / Pause | Start or pause audio playback. |
| Playback speed | Adjust playback speed (e.g., 0.5x, 1x, 1.5x, 2x). |
| Mono toggle | Switch between stereo (separate channels per speaker) and mono (combined) audio. |
| Volume slider | Adjust the playback volume. |
| Click-to-seek | Click anywhere on the waveform tracks or on a message timestamp to jump to that moment. |
Plan Limits
| Plan | Transcription Allowance |
|---|---|
| Start-up | Up to 1 hour of free transcriptions |
| Essential and above | Additional transcription hours included with your plan |
If you are on a Start-up plan, an upgrade prompt appears in the Transcriptions settings tab. Click Upgrade for more to select a higher plan.
Call Transcriptions Common Use Cases
Quality assurance review -- Managers can read call transcripts and summaries to evaluate agent performance without listening to entire recordings.
Search for specific topics -- Use the transcript search to quickly find where a product name, issue, or keyword was mentioned during a call.
Training new agents -- Share transcriptions of well-handled calls as examples. The speaker separation makes it easy to follow the conversation flow.
Compliance documentation -- Keep transcribed records of calls for regulatory or internal compliance requirements. The AI summary provides a quick overview for auditing.
Quick call recap -- Use the AI-generated summary to get the gist of a call in seconds, without reading the full transcript or listening to the recording.