Transcript Upload

Don't have a video or audio file? No problem. Deck lets you upload a raw interview transcript and get the same AI-powered synthesis, themes, and insights as a full video interview — in seconds.

Supported Formats

Deck automatically detects and parses transcript formats:

You can also paste the transcript text directly — Deck handles format detection automatically.

Tip: If Deck picks the wrong format, the speaker segments shown in the Review step will look off. Use the manual format selector in the transcript input step to correct it before proceeding.

How to Upload a Transcript

1. Navigate to Manage → User Interviews
2. Click Add Interview — a guided upload wizard opens
3. Select Interview Transcript as the input type
4. Choose how you want to add your transcript:
   • Upload a file — drag and drop a .vtt, .txt, or .docx file onto the drop zone
   • Manual Entry — paste the transcript directly into the text area
5. Deck automatically detects the format and shows you the segment count and detected format
6. Click Next to proceed to Interview Details
7. Fill in the interview metadata (name, date, and optionally a customer email)
8. Click Next to proceed to the Review step
9. Edit speaker assignments and segment text as needed directly in the transcript editor
10. Click Upload Interview to start AI processing

Interview Details

In the Interview Details step, fill in your interview metadata:

The Interview Name and Interview Date must be provided before you can advance to the Review step.

Editing the Transcript

Once parsed, you can edit the transcript directly in the Review step before submitting:

• Rename a speaker — click any speaker badge and type directly to rename it inline; all segments attributed to that speaker update automatically
• Edit segment text — click any segment's text area to correct transcription errors
• Delete a segment — remove any segment that doesn't belong in the interview

This is especially useful with Plain Text transcripts, where all content is initially assigned to a single speaker. You can rename speaker badges and re-attribute segments to the correct participants before processing.

Note: Edits apply only to what Deck processes — your original file is not modified.

What Happens Next

Once you submit, Deck's AI agents process the transcript the same way they process video interviews:

1. Insight extraction — key themes and pain points are identified
2. Quote mapping — verbatim quotes are linked to each insight
3. Theme tagging — insights are grouped into your existing themes or new ones are created
4. Summary generation — a narrative summary of the interview is produced

Processing typically completes in under 2 minutes.

Tips for Best Results

• Minimum length: Transcripts must be at least 100 words and 10 lines. Very short excerpts won't be processed.
• Maximum length: Up to 50,000 words are supported.
• Speaker labels: Make sure speaker names are consistent throughout the transcript (e.g., always "Jane Smith" not sometimes "Jane" and sometimes "Interviewer").
• Clean transcripts: Remove any introductory notes or boilerplate that isn't part of the conversation itself.

Transcript vs. Video — What's Different?