What Is Automatic Transcription?
If your podcast host doesn't include transcripts in your RSS feed, Podpage can transcribe your episodes for you. This feature is available to all Elite members and runs automatically whenever a new episode is imported without a transcript.
Transcripts are one of the best ways to improve your episode pages for search engines. Every episode adds thousands of searchable words to your site, helping you rank for topics you discuss, questions you answer, and names you mention.
How It Works
When Podpage imports a new episode from your feed, we check whether a transcript is already included. If there's no transcript and you're on the Elite plan, we transcribe it for you automatically. Here's what happens:
- Your episode audio is transcribed with speaker diarization, so we can tell who said what.
- Speakers are identified by name — instead of "Speaker 1" and "Speaker 2," we analyze the conversation to figure out who's talking.
- The transcript is formatted into clean paragraphs with timestamps and speaker labels, so it reads like a document — not a wall of text.
The whole process happens in the background. You don't need to set anything up or connect any external tools.
Reviewing and Publishing a Transcript
By default, auto-generated transcripts are not published immediately. When a transcript is ready, you'll see two things:
- A notification banner on your episode edit page in the Transcript section
- A "Needs review" indicator in the Episode Page Optimization panel
You'll also receive an email with a direct link to the review page.
On the review page, you can read through the full transcript, fix any speaker names, and publish it when you're happy with the result. Once published, the transcript appears on your public episode page and you can make further edits from the episode edit page.
Fixing Speaker Names
The speaker name editor appears at the top of the transcript review page. Each unique speaker detected in the transcript is shown with an editable name field.
If a name is wrong — for example, if your guest's name is misspelled or attributed to the wrong person — just type the correct name and click Update Names. The change applies to every occurrence in the transcript at once.
Turning On Auto-Publish
If you'd rather not review every transcript manually, you can turn on auto-publish. When auto-publish is enabled, new transcripts are published to your episode pages automatically as soon as they're processed.
You can turn on auto-publish from:
- The transcript review page (there's an option at the bottom)
- Your Episode Settings page in the dashboard
Even with auto-publish on, you can always edit or remove a transcript from the episode edit page after it's been published.
Monthly Quota
Elite members get 6 automatic transcriptions per month. This quota resets on a rolling 30-day basis. Transcripts that are imported from your podcast feed (rather than generated by Podpage) do not count toward this limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my podcast host already includes transcripts?
If your feed includes transcripts, Podpage imports those directly. Automatic transcription only runs when there's no transcript in the feed — we won't generate a duplicate.
Can I edit the transcript after publishing?
Yes. Once published, the transcript is available in the Transcript field on your episode edit page. You can edit it just like your show notes.
Is this available on Pro or Basic plans?
Automatic transcription is an Elite-only feature. Pro and Basic users can still add transcripts manually or have them imported from their podcast feed.
What languages are supported?
Automatic transcription currently supports English-language episodes.
Tip: If you're not sure whether this feature is working for your show, check the Episode Page Optimization panel on any episode edit page. If a transcript is waiting for review, you'll see a "Needs review" indicator in the Transcript row.