Highlights
The AI transcription market is expected to grow at a 15.6% CAGR, reaching $19.2 billion by 2034, indicating a strong trend toward AI adoption in various industries, including market research.
AI transcription tools offer advantages like faster production times, lower costs, and efficiency for bulk transcription needs, but they struggle with accuracy, speaker identification, and data privacy risks.
Despite AI's potential, human transcriptionists are still essential in market research due to the need for accurate, reliable transcripts and protection of sensitive data.
Artificial intelligence is a tool that many industries have been leveraging since its meteoric rise in popularity. The transcription industry is no exception to this, and in fact, AI-generated transcripts have also seen a rise in prevalence in recent years. According to market.us, the 2025 CAGR of the AI Transcription market is 15.6% with an expected revenue of $19.2 billion by 2034.
In the realm of market research, this raises an important question: can AI replace human transcriptionists in the future? Uncover the answer to whether or not AI can replace human transcriptionists in this informative blog.
AI in Market Research Transcription: Pros and Cons
Pros
Near Instantaneous Production - One of the advantages that AI tools have over human transcribers is that their production time is near instantaneous. After all, within a minute or so, an AI tool can produce the necessary transcripts. This makes AI a more appealing option for market researchers who are rushing to meet their deadlines.
Lower Cost - Market researchers often have a set budget for the rest of their project. Careful allocation of the funds is necessary, or they risk running out of money before the project is completed. This is why AI tools for transcription can be an attractive alternative for researchers.
As there’s no human element involved in the creation of the transcripts, transcriptions done by AI tend to have a lower cost. As a result, researchers can save significant amounts of the funding that could be allocated to other, equally essential parts of the project.
Best for Bulk Transcription Needs - When conducting focus group discussions and in-depth interviews for market research, researchers often end up with a large volume of recordings. To obtain the necessary data, these audio and video files must be converted into transcripts. With AI tools, large volumes of transcriptions can be completed in a faster and more efficient manner, making them a better option for researchers who have bulk recordings that need to be converted into transcripts.
Cons
Accuracy Issues - It’s no secret that using AI tools for transcriptions doesn’t always result in the most accurate transcripts. This is a problem for market researchers, whose reputation and credibility heavily rely on accuracy. As such, when conducting research projects, using AI transcription tools may not be the best solution to consider.
Inability to Identify Speakers - Another glaring problem of AI transcriptions is that the tools used sometimes have difficulty identifying who said what in the recording. AI-powered transcription tools often misidentify speakers, particularly when multiple speakers overlap in focus group discussions or in-depth interviews. This could pose a problem for market researchers if the project requires them to be specific about speakers.
Data Privacy Risks - Data privacy risks are a common issue often associated with AI tools for transcription. Remember, focus group discussions and in-depth interview recordings may contain sensitive information about the participants at times. This sensitive information could be exposed to the AI platforms, which may be susceptible to data leaks and breaches.
With data privacy and security at stake,s AI tools are a less-than-ideal alternative to human transcribers. As such, if market researchers are concerned about data privacy, it’s best that they still opt for human transcriptionists to attend to their transcription needs.
Can AI Replace Human Transcriptionists in Market Research?
Now that you’re aware of the pros and cons of AI transcription tools, you’re likely wondering if they can replace human transcriptionists. The short answer is no, they can’t replace humans in transcription.
While it cannot be denied that AI tools for transcription have numerous benefits, such as faster production times and lower costs, disadvantages like data privacy risks and inaccuracies significantly outweigh the benefits they offer. Accurate findings and data privacy are crucial to an industry like market research. As such, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and opt for human transcriptionists instead. By doing so, researchers can avoid any risks or mistakes that AI tools can cause.
AI is a valuable tool for many industries nowadays. However, for transcriptions, opting for human transcriptionists is still the best option to consider. But when you’re looking for human transcription services to cater to your needs, you shouldn’t hire the first ones you find. Instead, you should turn to experienced professionals in the field, such as TranscriptionWing.
TranscriptionWing has 25 years of experience in the transcription industry. We provide precise and accurate transcripts for a variety of industries, such as market research, legal, finance, and biotechnology. In addition, we offer various turnaround time options and reasonable rates, starting at $1.29 per minute. Learn more about our transcription services and order high-quality transcriptions today!
