PulseDictation vs transcription
Chat dictation and meeting transcription are different things. When to use each, and how they are billed.
The microphone icon in the chat input field and the transcription that records a meeting look similar, and are easily confused. This article explains what each does, which to use, and how to tell when you have used the wrong one.
Dictation and transcription are both desktop app (macOS / Windows) features. The web version in a browser only views and edits notes that are already saved; neither is available there.
Which to use, at a glance
| Dictation | Transcription | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | typing a question into chat with your voice | recording what is said in a meeting and producing a note |
| Where you use it | the microphone icon in the chat input field at the bottom of the screen | “+ New note” at the top right, or starting from a notification or calendar event |
| Audio covered | a short question you speak yourself | what meeting participants say, plus system audio |
| Expected length | a single sentence, a few to a few dozen seconds | a whole meeting |
| Result | what you said becomes text and is sent to chat | a transcript is saved, and a note is generated when it ends |
| Records a new meeting | no | yes |
Remember it as: dictation for asking about past meetings, transcription for recording a conversation that is about to happen.
Chat dictation
At the right of the chat input field at the bottom of the desktop app is a microphone icon. It is there to let you speak a question rather than type it, and it does not start recording a meeting.
A microphone-shaped button shown at the right of the wide input field.
Use it when:
- you want to ask chat about a meeting that has already been recorded
- speaking is quicker than typing a long question
- your hands are full and the keyboard is awkward
How to dictate
- Choose the microphone icon in the chat input field.
- Audio capture begins. Two icons are shown while it is listening.
- When you have finished speaking, choose the tick icon. What you said becomes text and is sent to chat exactly as if you had typed it.
- To abandon it without sending, choose the × icon. Nothing is sent to chat.
Dictation is meant for short questions. It is not suited to capturing a long conversation, so use transcription to record a meeting or discussion. For everything chat can do, see Asking your notes questions (chat).
Proper nouns such as company and product names can be misheard in dictation too. Registering terms you use often in the dictionary in advance makes them more likely to be recognised, in transcription as well. How to set this up is in Customising transcription.
Starting meeting transcription
Transcription starts only when you do one of the following. Do nothing and no meeting is recorded.
- click the notification shown when a call is detected
- open an event whose start time has passed, from the home screen
- click “+ New note” at the top right of the screen
- leave the note for an upcoming event open (it starts automatically when the start time arrives)
The conditions are set out in detail in How transcription works. To record an unplanned discussion that is not in your calendar, use the third option, a new note.
After starting from a new note, check the following.
- three green bars appear vertically at the bottom of the screen
- the bars move with the volume (if they move, audio capture and transcription are running)
- selecting the bars shows the state of transcription
If the green bars do not appear after choosing a new note, transcription has not started. Check microphone permission, the permission needed to capture system audio, and your input device selection. The steps are in Transcription problems.
Three vertical bars at the bottom of the screen, their height changing with the volume.
Telling participants
Transcription records what is said in a meeting. Quite apart from any legal obligation, saying at the start of the meeting that it is being recorded makes problems less likely later. How to set internal rules, and wording you can use at the start of a meeting, are explained in How far you can rely on AI meeting notes (a guide for teams). Dictation is an action for entering your own question, so it is not covered by that notice.
Usage and billing
What you say when dictating is treated as chat input. It is not saved as a meeting note or transcript, so it does not appear in your notes list. Transcripts are saved as notes and are subject to retention settings and automatic deletion. Automatic deletion is “off (do not delete automatically)” by default, and a period can be set in workspace settings. The periods available and what deletion covers are in Automatic transcript deletion.
The source article does not say how dictated speech counts towards usage. Please add that to this section in line with UNCHAIN, Inc.'s pricing. For plan limits and billing generally, see Plans and billing.
If something is not working
You meant to ask a question but a meeting recording started
You may have chosen a new note. Check the green bars at the bottom of the screen and stop the recording. You can delete the unwanted note. What happens to a deleted note is covered in Deleting and restoring notes.
You meant to record but nothing was kept
You may have used dictation from the microphone icon. Dictation is for sending a question; it does not create a meeting record. Start again from a new note.
Nothing happens when you choose the microphone icon
Check that Pulse has microphone permission from the operating system. If another app has exclusive use of the microphone, quit that app and try again.