What is Transcripts?
Podcast transcripts are text versions of your episode audio, available as plain text, SRT subtitles, VTT captions, or JSON formats. The podcast:transcript tag links transcripts in your RSS feed, making them accessible in supporting apps.
Transcript Formats
| Format | Extension | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Plain text | .txt |
Simple reading |
| SRT | .srt |
Timed subtitles |
| VTT | .vtt |
Web video standard |
| JSON | .json |
Rich, interactive transcripts |
RSS Integration
<podcast:transcript
url="https://example.com/ep42.vtt"
type="text/vtt"
language="en" />
<podcast:transcript
url="https://example.com/ep42.txt"
type="text/plain"
language="en" />
Multiple formats can be provided for the same episode.
Transcript Quality Levels
| Quality | Source | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | Human transcription | 99%+ |
| AI + Human review | AI-generated, human edited | 95-99% |
| AI-only | Automated transcription | 85-95% |
App Support
| Platform | Transcript Display |
|---|---|
| Apple Podcasts | In-app transcript viewer |
| Spotify | Lyrics-style scrolling |
| Pocket Casts | Searchable transcript |
| Fountain | Full transcript support |
| Podverse | Transcript integration |
| Web players | Varies by implementation |
Transcript Benefits Summary
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Accessibility | Deaf/hard-of-hearing inclusion |
| SEO | Text content for search indexing |
| Searchability | Find specific moments |
| Translation | Base for multi-language versions |
| Content repurposing | Blog posts, quotes, clips |
Why It Matters
Transcripts expand your podcast's reach and utility far beyond audio listeners. They're increasingly expected by audiences and platforms alike.
Why transcripts matter:
-
Accessibility: 15% of the global population has hearing difficulties. Transcripts include them.
-
SEO impact: Search engines can't listen to audio. Transcripts make your content searchable.
-
Content discovery: Listeners can search within episodes for specific topics or quotes.
-
Multilingual reach: Transcripts are the foundation for translation and international audiences.
-
Platform compliance: Apple and Spotify increasingly expect (or reward) transcribed content.
Transcript impact data:
| Metric | Without Transcript | With Transcript |
|---|---|---|
| Search visibility | Audio only | Text-searchable |
| Audience reach | Hearing listeners | All potential listeners |
| Content repurposing | Manual extraction | Ready for reuse |
| Study/reference use | Rewind to find | Search and scan |
Cost-benefit analysis:
| Approach | Cost | Quality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional human | $1-2/minute | 99% | 24-48hr turnaround |
| AI + review | $0.10-0.50/min | 95-98% | Minutes + review time |
| AI-only | ~Free-$0.10/min | 85-95% | Minutes |
For most podcasters, AI transcription with light review offers the best balance.
How to Use This in Dispatch
Enable automatic transcription or upload your own transcript files:
Automatic transcription:
- Enable in Show Settings → Transcripts
- Transcripts generate automatically for new episodes
- Review and edit transcripts in the episode editor
- Multiple formats (TXT, VTT) provided automatically
Manual upload:
- Open episode in the editor
- Upload your transcript file
- We'll process and make it available in your RSS feed
Supported formats:
- Plain text (.txt)
- VTT (.vtt) - recommended for timed captions
- SRT (.srt)
- JSON transcripts
Editing transcripts:
- Review AI-generated transcripts for accuracy
- Fix speaker names and technical terms
- Correct timestamps if needed
- Transcripts update in your feed immediately
Multi-language support: Upload transcripts in multiple languages—each is tagged with appropriate language code in your RSS feed.