---
title: "Accuracy"
description: "Clean audio transcribes at up to 96% accuracy. Audio quality is the biggest factor, ahead of accent, crosstalk and background noise."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.speakai.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Accuracy

With clear audio, automated transcription accuracy typically exceeds **95 percent**
. The gap between a great transcript and a rough one is almost
never the engine. It's the recording.

## What moves accuracy most, in order

1. **Audio quality.** A dedicated microphone beats a laptop mic across the room, every time.
2. **Crosstalk.** Overlapping speakers are the hardest thing in transcription; one voice at a
   time transcribes nearly perfectly.
3. **Background noise.** Record in the quietest room available.
4. **Specialized vocabulary.** Product names, drug names, legal terms:
   [custom vocabulary](/help/transcription/custom-vocabulary/) teaches them once, for every future file.
5. **Language setting.** Auto-detect is right most of the time; set it explicitly for short,
   noisy, or mixed-language files.

## Testing accuracy before you commit

The honest test is your own audio, not a benchmark. Upload a real recording, the kind your team
actually produces, and read the result. The [free trial](/help/account/free-trial/) includes enough
transcription to do exactly that, and if your evaluation file is longer than the trial cap,
ask us to extend it:
[book a free consult](https://calendly.com/speak-ai/consult?utm_source=docs&utm_campaign=consult).

## When automated isn't enough

Legal records, published interviews, compliance archives: order
[human transcription](/help/transcription/human/) on the same file and get the highest accuracy
available, reviewed by a person.

---
Related: [Custom vocabulary](/help/transcription/custom-vocabulary/) ·
[Supported languages](/help/transcription/languages/) · [Human transcription](/help/transcription/human/)

Source: https://docs.speakai.co/help/transcription/accuracy/index.mdx