What is speech recognition software?

Speech recognition software has come a long way, even in the past few years. As the technology evolves, the opportunities for businesses continue to expand.

If you need to quickly convert spoken words into text, speech recognition software is as simple as speaking into a microphone, and watching the programme automatically turn it into full sentences. If your knowledge of speech recognition ends with the occasional iPhone gimmick, you could be missing out on a programme that saves time, improves accessibility, and increases productivity.

So, what is speech recognition software? In today’s blog we’ll be breaking down the basics, the benefits for businesses, and the industries that benefit the most.

The basics: what is speech recognition software?

Sometimes known as voice recognition software, speech recognition software skips the need for typing, allowing you to use your voice to dictate text. While most people’s experience with this kind of technology are simple things like smartphone prompts (getting a specific song to play, for example), there are industries that rely on speech recognition software in their daily operations.

How does the tech work? Essentially, the software’s advanced algorithms can analyse and interpret human speech, allowing your words to be instantly translated into text. Since its first inception, speech recognition software has come a remarkably long way. Some softwares are even specifically trained to understand complicated, industry-specific words or phrases – like medical jargon, for example.

Benefits of speech recognition software

The primary benefit of speech recognition software for businesses is the effect it can have on productivity. Rather than spending hours typing out documents, all you have to do is speak your thoughts aloud, and those words will be transcribed. There may be the odd mistake you’ll need to tweak, especially if you’ve mumbled, misspoken, or repeated yourself – but, overall, you could be saving hours of typing every single day. That leaves you far more time to focus on other, more important tasks.

Generally, the error rate is very low – far lower than it was when this technology first appeared. Naturally you should be proofreading every professional document or email regardless, but if you’re speaking clearly, most of the transcribed text will be accurate.

Speech recognition software can also significantly improve accessibility within your business. An employee who can’t type, for example, can use this software to complete tasks that would have otherwise been impossible. Speech recognition software will make your business far more accessible for those with disabilities, or injuries.

Industries that use speech recognition software

This kind of software can be beneficial to just about any industry, particularly professional services. But these are the kinds of businesses with the most to gain from speech recognition:

• Healthcare: We touched on this earlier, but speech recognition software can help medical professionals document patient records far more efficiently, and transcribe medical notes – including jargon.
• Legal: Lawyers and other legal professionals use speech recognition to create and manage legal documents. These types of documents need to be error-free, and speech recognition is now at a level where legal professionals can actually rely on it.
• Finance: More than any other industry, time is money in the world of finance. Speech recognition software is an incredibly valuable time-saver.

Conclusion: what is speech recognition software?

Speech recognition software has evolved significantly, and is now widely used in various industries, allowing for quick transcription of spoken words into text. Healthcare, legal, and finance, and other professional services benefit greatly from this technology. The benefits of speech recognition software for businesses are significant, and its capabilities continue to expand.

We help organisations reduce the time and cost of producing correspondence via information workflow apps, speech recognition software, and digital dictation hardware & software. If you think we could help your business, book a consultation