Limitations of Google Meet Live Transcriptions and How to Overcome Them

Google Meet Live Transcription is a handy feature offered by Google Meet and is the tech giant's video conferencing solution. It allows real-time captions to be displayed during video calls, essentially transcribing the speech in real-time. This feature is handy in various situations, such as when you have team members who are hard of hearing, when there's background noise, or when you simply want to have a written record of your meeting conversations.

At their core, Google Meet live transcription uses automated speech recognition (ASR) technology to convert spoken language into written text. It provides a visual representation of the conversation happening in the meeting, allowing participants to follow along, even if they can't hear or understand the speaker. It is a significant step towards inclusivity and accessibility, helping to ensure that everyone in the meeting can participate and engage.

However, while Google Meet Live Transcription is undeniably a powerful tool, it's not without its limitations, such as struggles with heavy accents, complex technical jargon, or overlapping speech. It may not always interpret the speaker's words correctly, leading to possible misunderstandings. And also, it currently only supports English, which might be a setback for international teams communicating in different languages.

However, there are different ways to overcome Google Meet transcription issues. That's what we'll be looking at in the rest of our article.

Where Google Meet Live Transcription Falls Short

As innovative and transformative as Google Meet Live Transcription is, we'll discuss a few limitations that may hinder its effectiveness in certain scenarios. Understanding these limitations can help users control their expectations and find solutions that guarantee the best transcription.

• Accuracy of transcriptions. Which we looked at earlier.
• The language support. As of now, Google Meet Live Transcription only supports English, which can be a major drawback for international teams or multilingual meetings. If participants are speaking in different languages, the transcription service won't be able to convert their speech into text.
• No distinction between different speakers. This means that all the transcribed text appears in a single stream, without specifying who said what. This can make it difficult to follow conversations, especially in larger meetings where multiple people are speaking. This could be quite a headache.
• Not available for all versions of Google Meet. Only users with a Google Workspace subscription can access this feature. For organizations or individuals who use the free version of Google Meet, this limitation can be a deal-breaker.

Despite these limitations, Google Meet Live Transcription is still a powerful tool that can greatly improve communication, especially for individuals with hearing impairments. Now that you are aware of these shortcomings you are able to find ways to work around them to maximize the benefits of this feature.

Real-life Challenges with Google Meet Live Transcriptions

Let's take a look into some real-life scenarios where Google Meet transcription limitationspose a challenge.

1. Heavy accents or non-standard dialects. Imagine a situation where you are conducting an international meeting with participants from various linguistic backgrounds. Google Meet Live Transcriptions, though advanced, still struggle with accent recognition. People with heavy accents or non-standard dialects may face issues as the AI ​​may not accurately transcribe their words. This can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications during the meeting. How do you overcome the issue : To get around the accent problem, speakers can try to speak slowly and clearly to improve transcription accuracy.
2. Noisy environments. If you are in a loud setting or if there is significant background noise, the live transcription feature might find it difficult to pick up the speaker's words accurately. This can also result in partial or incorrect transcriptions that can disrupt the flow of the meeting and cause confusion among the participants. How do you overcome the issue : Using a good quality microphone or headset can significantly improve the clarity of the audio.
3. Technical jargon and industry-specific terms. Google Meet's AI might not be familiar with certain specialized terms or abbreviations used in different industries. As a result, during a meeting where such language is frequently used, the live transcription feature may not provide accurate transcriptions, which can be a significant drawback for professionals relying on these transcripts. How do you overcome the issue : Google is continuously improving its AI to understand a wider range of vocabulary. But until then, users could consider using more common synonyms where possible or clarifying important terms after the meeting.

Practical Ways to Overcome Google Meet Live Transcription Limitations

Google Meet Live Transcription comes with multiple transcription challenges but luckily, there are 3 practical solutions that users can use to overcome Google Meet transcription issues.

1. The transcription feature only works in English, which can be a limitation for non-English speakers or for meetings conducted in different languages. While we wait for Google to add more languages, a workaround could be to use a third-party transcription service that supports multiple languages. Happy Scribe's AI Notetaker for instance supports many languages ​​and enables multilingual meeting transcription.
2. Google Meet does not provide a direct option to save the live transcriptions. To overcome this, users can manually copy the transcript and paste it into a document for future reference. Alternatively, you can use a screen recording tool to capture the live transcription in real-time.
3. Live transcriptions do not include speaker attribution which can make it difficult to follow who is saying what in a busy meeting. A good practice to overcome this is to encourage participants to state their names before speaking. This way, while reviewing the transcript, it is easier to match the text with the respective speaker.

Improvements and Alternatives to Google Meet Live Transcriptions

Looking ahead, it's clear that advancements in the field of speech recognition and AI will continue to improve features like Google Meet's Live Transcriptions. Currently, Google is investing heavily in improving its AI capabilities, and we can expect that these improvements will affect even their transcription services. The goal is to increase accuracy, add more languages, and reduce latency, ultimately making live transcriptions even more accessible and useful.

However, it's important to note that while Google Meet is a popular platform, it's not the only one offering live transcription services. Microsoft Teams, for instance, also provides live captions during meetings.

There is also the option of using standalone transcription software, like Happy Scribe, Trint or Otter.ai, which can work with virtually any platform and offer additional features like speaker identification and integration with other tools. These alternatives have their own pros and cons, and may provide a viable solution for those who find Google Meet's limitations unworkable.

Let's take a look the Happy Scribe AI Notetaker :

Happy Scribe can support many languages, enabling multilingual meeting transcription with their AI Notetaker assistant. The AI Notetaker can access to the calendar and join scheduled meetings automatically in order to detect upcoming meetings from the user's calendar. It prepares to join supported platforms: Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom . The AI ​​Notetaker joins the meeting automatically, records and transcribes the audio in high fidelity.

Whether you're looking forward to Google's future Improvements or seeking out alternatives, there is no shortage of options to ensure that your virtual communication remains clear, accessible, and efficient. These technologies enriches your own communication but also promotes inclusivity by ensuring that everyone, regardless of their hearing ability, can participate fully in the conversation.