4 Things Event Organizers Need to Know About AI Session Transcription

AI-powered transcription has become an essential tool in our professional lives, helping us overcome the “forgetting curve” so we don’t lose important details from calls and meetings.

If you’ve ever used an AI notetaker, it’s easy to see why attendees and smart event organizers are adopting this technology to transform their session experience - increased engagement, time savings, efficiency, and better knowledge retention are just a few of the powerful benefits.

In its simplest form, AI transcription converts spoken language (audio) into written text. But it doesn’t stop there. It can also convert visual presentation content. During sessions, speakers don’t read slides verbatim; they tell stories and share insights. Relying solely on audio transcription would cause attendees to miss half of your session's most important and valuable content - the visuals!

Today, the power of AI has expanded “transcription” to include notetaking, captioning, translation, insights, and summaries - making it a versatile tool for enhancing every aspect of the session experience. Here’s how each element can help organizers stand out, attract more attendees, and keep them coming back.

1. Note-taking

High-value sessions often move quickly, making it tough for attendees to keep up with handwritten notes. We’ve all seen attendees take photos of slides to fill in the gaps later, even when handouts and recordings are available. Combining AI note-taking transcription with audio and visual recordings ensures nothing is missed and makes it easy for attendees to search and revisit key takeaways after the event.

2. Captioning and Translation

Captioning is a real-time form of transcription that provides accessibility and ADA compliance for attendees who are hard of hearing or when room acoustics aren’t ideal. Multilingual captioning can also attract international audiences and make content more inclusive.

Beyond accessibility, captions have become a popular and powerful way to add valuable context and help all attendees follow along more easily (we all know someone who watches their Netflix with subtitles). Just be cautious: avoid systems that rely on predefined glossaries for accuracy. Choose an AI solution that has been thoroughly tested with complex scientific, medical, or industry-specific terms.

3. Insights and Key Takeaways

Attendees can’t be everywhere at once. AI-generated insights and key takeaways allow them to catch up on sessions they missed and engage with content on their own time. However, it’s important to ensure these insights convey the full and true original message. Brief takeaways from transcribing only the audio can feel more like glorified session descriptions than real measurable value.

4. Summaries

AI can transcribe detailed summaries from both audio and visual content, providing a more accurate and comprehensive overview of each session. When paired with searchable recordings, these summaries help attendees find exactly what they need without wading through hours of video - reducing “content fatigue” and increasing engagement. Measuring this engagement gives organizers valuable data to evaluate and improve programming and marketing efforts.

Want to Transcribe your Sessions?

There are several standalone solutions that can help you to implement the benefits of these functions. Bringing them all together with event-engage by NoteAffect delivers a comprehensive session experience to maximize attendee value and engagement, so they choose your event and keep coming back.