Enabling Inclusive Data Collection Through AI-Powered Audio Transcription

Poket’s data collection software is built to make community-based insights and field data collection both simple and accessible. It includes two core tools: the Mobile Survey App, which lets participants submit data, and the Portal, where survey admins manage, analyze, and export data. Together, these tools form a streamlined end-to-end workflow from submission to insight.

Voice recordings are a powerful way to capture responses, especially for people who may face literacy barriers or who prefer speaking to writing. It also improves accessibility in situations where typing or using a keyboard is difficult in the field.

That’s why we’ve been exploring how Poket can enable audio questions, enhanced with AI capabilities. With audio questions, participants using the Mobile Survey App can record and upload audio as part of a submission. Once the survey is submitted, each submission immediately appears in the customizable Portal for survey admins to review alongside other responses.

We understand that a problem survey admins face when reviewing is that going through many recordings becomes tedious. Audio can be unstructured, time-consuming to play back, and may require manual transcription and analysis before it can be used. That’s why we set out to keep all the benefits of audio while making responses significantly easier to process.

Our solution was to add AI-powered, built-in audio transcription using OpenAI’s Whisper model. With this integration, each submitted audio file is automatically transcribed into English, regardless of the input language. In our tests, reviewing transcriptions is up to 90% faster than listening to recordings, while maintaining over 95% accuracy. This makes analysis more efficient without sacrificing quality for your team.

We see this feature as the first step in bringing AI-powered tools into Poket’s data collection workflows, making community-based and self-reported data collection even more accessible.

If your project involves field data collection, self-reported inputs, citizen-generated insights, or a participatory, community-led approach, Poket can help. Our customizable platform offers mobile surveys, offline data collection, and real-time dashboards tailored to your needs.