Can Gemini analyze audio?
Yes. Gemini can answer questions about recordings and produce summaries and transcripts. Google documents speaker labels and timestamped analysis through the Gemini API; the Gemini app also accepts audio uploads. Those capabilities help us inspect a recording. They do not establish that every word, speaker or timestamp is correct.
The We Are So Done take
We recorded the meeting so we would not have to remember it. Then we stopped finding time to listen to the recording. Now we can ask software what happened while we were there. This is a magnificent improvement to a situation we created ourselves.
Of course we want the transcript. We want the useful minute extracted from the other fifty-nine. Our remaining contribution is checking whether the useful minute actually happened. We are calling that editorial oversight.
The app: start with one recording
Sign in to the Gemini web app, attach your audio with Add files and ask a question about it. Google currently lists a total audio allowance of 10 minutes, extended to 3 hours with Google AI Pro or Ultra, and a 100 MB limit per supported non-video file. Availability and usage limits apply; check the linked help page before planning a large upload.
The API: build it into a workflow
The Gemini API is the developer route: send audio and instructions, then handle the response in your own application. Its documentation includes MP3, WAV and other formats, file-upload examples and timestamped transcripts. App upload allowances are separate from API limits. An API key and integration are required; check model availability and billing before scaling up.
A useful first task
Give it two minutes. Keep your ears.
Try this on a short recording you can check: “Summarise this recording in three points. Then give a transcript with MM:SS timestamps at speaker changes. Label speakers A and B; do not guess their names. Mark unclear words as [unclear]. List anything you are unsure about.” This is a suggested prompt, not a tested result.
How to start
- Choose a short, non-sensitive recording you have permission to upload. Two minutes is enough for a useful first comparison.
- For a browser trial, attach it in Gemini and use the prompt above. For an automated job, follow the linked API audio example and begin with the same short file.
- Replay several passages, including unclear speech and speaker changes. Check names, numbers and timestamps against the recording before using the output.
Where it falls short
A proposed transcript or timestamp is something to verify. Locating advertisement boundaries is a custom use of audio analysis, not a guaranteed ad-cutting feature. Producing an edited file requires an audio editor or a separate cutting workflow. We have not measured transcription or boundary accuracy.
What remains your job
Decide what the recording is for, check the output against the audio and make the final edits. Keep the original available so an attractive summary does not become the only account of what was said.