Live Transcription

What it is

Live Transcription turns what is being said on a browser call into text while the call is still going. The text shows up in a small Live Transcript window that you can drag around the screen, resize, and keep open while you work in another part of Joby.

Each line is labelled so you can tell who said what. Lines that came from your side of the call start with Agent: and lines from the person you are speaking to start with Caller:. Words that are still being worked out appear in grey italics and then settle into the normal text a moment later.

When to use it

• Noisy or hard-to-hear callers — read the address or the phone number back off the screen instead of asking three times.
• Long detail-heavy calls — model numbers, gate codes, cross streets, insurance details.
• Training a new office agent — a manager can follow along on the same screen without listening in.
• Writing notes while the caller is still talking — scroll back a few lines instead of interrupting.

It is not the right tool for record-keeping, quality review after the fact, or anything you need to look up next week. For that, generate the saved transcript and summary from the Calls page.

Before you start

• You are taking calls in the browser. The transcript button lives inside the Joby Phone window.
• Your browser has microphone permission. If your microphone is blocked, the call itself will not work either.
• An admin has turned the feature on under Settings›Live Transcription.
• Your account has transcription set up. The settings card notes that keys for the transcription service are managed on the Integrations page (Settings›Integrations). If the feature is switched on but the transcript button never appears on a call, this is almost always the missing piece — contact Joby support to have it set up.
• Admin access is needed to change the setting. Only admins can open Settings›Live Transcription; everyone else simply uses the button on the call.
• On a trial account, live transcription minutes are limited. When the trial allowance runs out you will see a Live Transcription Limit Reached message with an upgrade option.

Step-by-step

1. Turn the feature on (admin, once)

1. Go to Settings›Live Transcription.
2. On the Live Transcription (Deepgram) card, switch on Enable Live Transcription.
3. Click Save Settings.
4. Check that the badge at the top right of the card now reads Enabled.

That switch is the whole setup. There is no language picker, no accuracy setting, and no place to paste a key on this page. The card also shows an Estimated Cost note so you can see roughly what heavy use costs per minute.

2. Open the transcript during a call

1. Answer or place a call in the Joby Phone window as usual.
2. Once the call is connected, click the page icon in the call controls. Hovering it shows Show transcript.
3. The Live Transcript window opens and the badge in its title bar moves from Connecting to Live.
4. Text starts appearing as soon as somebody speaks.

3. Arrange the window to suit you

• Move it — drag the title bar where it says Live Transcript.
• Resize it — drag the small handle in the bottom-right corner.
• Shrink it — click the minus button to collapse it to a slim bar, and the expand button to bring it back.
• Empty it — click Clear at the bottom to wipe the text and start fresh, for example between two back-to-back calls.
• Close it — click the X. This stops transcribing and clears the text.

Joby remembers the position and size you chose, so the window comes back in the same place on your next call.

4. When the call ends

Transcription stops on its own when the call ends, but the window stays open with the text still in it so you can finish reading and copy anything into your notes. The status badge changes to Offline. Nothing is saved once you close the window.

How to check it worked

If the badge stays on Connecting, or a red message appears in the window instead of text, the transcription service could not be reached. Close the window, reopen it, and if it still fails contact Joby support.

Common mistakes

"I ended the call and the transcript is gone"

Expected behaviour. The live transcript is never written to the call record. Closing the window, clicking Clear, or refreshing the page all wipe it. Copy what you need before you close it, or generate the saved transcript from the Calls page afterwards.

"There is no transcript button on my call"

• The button only appears once an admin has switched the feature on and your account has transcription set up. Check Settings›Live Transcription first.
• Look inside the Phone window, not on the Calls page — it sits in the same row as the mute, speaker, hang-up and transfer buttons.
• It only shows during a live browser call, not before you dial and not on the mobile app.

"Everything is labelled Caller, or everything is labelled Agent"

Speaker labels come from which side of the call the sound arrived on. If you and the caller are in the same room, or the call is on speakerphone next to your microphone, both voices reach the same side and the labels blur together. Use a headset.

"The text is behind what people are actually saying"

Grey italic text is Joby's first guess and gets replaced a moment later with the settled version. Read the black text, not the grey.

"We hit a limit mid-call"

Trial accounts have a capped number of live transcription minutes. When you run out, the window closes and a Live Transcription Limit Reached message appears. Upgrading from Billing removes the cap.

"I turned it on but nothing saved to the lead"

Live Transcription does not write to leads, clients, or the call timeline. Only the saved transcript generated from a recording does that.