aibot88 Sonix Platform Help
Step 1 — Gather context
If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.
What's your primary goal?
- A) Transcribe audio/video files (batch transcription)
- B) Translate existing transcripts into other languages
- C) Generate subtitles/captions for video
- D) Integrate Sonix API into a pipeline
- E) Compare Sonix to alternatives for my use case
- F) Troubleshoot a specific issue (upload, accuracy, speaker labels)
What type of content are you transcribing?
- A) Meetings / calls
- B) Interviews / podcasts
- C) Legal / compliance recordings
- D) Media production (film, TV, marketing videos)
- E) Research / academic
- F) Mixed / high volume
What plan are you on (or considering)?
- A) Free trial (30 min)
- B) Standard ($10/hr pay-as-you-go)
- C) Premium ($22/seat/mo + $5/hr)
- D) Enterprise (custom)
- E) Not sure yet
Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2.
Step 2 — Route or answer directly
| Problem domain | Route to |
|---|---|
| Choosing a live meeting recorder or note-taker | /sales-note-taker {user's question} |
| Building a coaching program from call recordings | /sales-coaching {user's question} |
| General CRM-to-tool integration (Zapier, webhooks, iPaaS) | /sales-integration {user's question} |
| Email deliverability or outbound sequences | /sales-deliverability {user's question} |
When routing, provide the exact command: "This is a {problem domain} question — run: /sales-{skill} {user's original question}"
Otherwise, answer directly below.
Step 3 — Sonix platform reference
Read references/platform-guide.md for the full platform reference — modules, pricing, integrations, data model, workflows.
If the question involves the API, also read references/sonix-api-reference.md.
Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.
Step 4 — Actionable guidance
You no longer need the platform guide — focus on the user's specific situation.
Plan selection framework:
- One-off or infrequent transcription → Standard ($10/hr, no monthly fee)
- Regular transcription with API/custom dictionary needs → Premium ($22/seat/mo + $5/hr)
- Team with compliance needs (SSO, audit logs, HIPAA BAA) → Enterprise
- Cost comparison: A team transcribing 20 hrs/mo pays $200/mo on Standard vs $122/mo on Premium ($22 + $100). Premium breaks even at ~4.4 hrs/mo.
Accuracy optimization:
- Upload the highest quality audio possible (minimize background noise)
- Use custom dictionary (Premium+) for domain-specific terms
- Review and correct speaker labels immediately after transcription
- Use the in-browser editor for corrections — edits sync with audio timestamps
If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.
Gotchas
Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and integration gotchas that may be outdated.
- No live/real-time transcription. Sonix is upload-only — you must upload a recorded file. It does not join meetings or capture audio live. For live transcription, use Fathom, Fireflies, or Otter.
- API requires Premium or Enterprise. Standard plan users cannot access the API. If you need programmatic access, factor in the $22/mo base seat cost.
- Speaker diarization is imperfect. Multiple speakers may be split into extra labels or merged. Review speaker labels after every transcription and merge/rename in the editor.
- Custom dictionary is Premium-only. If you transcribe domain-specific content (legal, medical, technical), you need Premium for custom vocabulary.
- AI Analysis is a $5/mo add-on on Premium. Summaries, chapters, and sentiment analysis are not included in the base Premium price.
- Upload size limit is 100 MB direct. For larger files, use a URL upload (no size limit). Slow uploads are usually caused by file size — compress or convert to a smaller format first.
- Hybrid pricing can be confusing. Premium charges both a per-seat monthly fee AND a per-hour transcription fee. Calculate total cost for your volume before committing.
- No mobile app for recording. Sonix Recorder exists but is separate from the main transcription workflow. Sonix is primarily a post-recording processing tool.
Related skills
/sales-note-taker— Comparing AI meeting note-takers and conversation intelligence platforms (Fathom, Fireflies, Gong, etc.). Sonix is a backend transcription option, not a live meeting tool./sales-integration— General tool integration patterns (Zapier, webhooks, iPaaS)/sales-do— Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do
Examples
Example 1: Choosing Sonix vs Otter for podcast transcription
User says: "I produce a weekly podcast and need accurate transcripts in English and Spanish. Should I use Sonix or Otter?" Skill does:
- Notes Sonix handles file uploads with translation to 53+ languages — upload the recording, get English transcript, then translate to Spanish
- Compares: Otter is better for live recording but weaker on translation; Sonix is better for post-production with multi-language needs
- Recommends Sonix Standard ($10/hr) for occasional use or Premium if the user needs API automation Result: Clear recommendation based on the podcast workflow with translation needs.
Example 2: Building a Sonix API pipeline
User says: "I want to auto-transcribe every sales call recording from our S3 bucket using the Sonix API." Skill does:
- Reads the API reference for endpoint details
- Sketches the pipeline: S3 event → Lambda →
POST /mediawith S3 presigned URL → poll status or use webhook →GET /media/{id}/transcript→ write to warehouse - Notes API is Premium+ only, Bearer token auth, 100 MB direct upload limit (use URL upload for larger files)
- Flags: no webhook for transcription completion documented in REST API — poll
GET /media/{id}for status Result: Working pipeline architecture with Sonix-specific constraints.
Example 3: Speaker labels wrong after transcription
User says: "Sonix keeps labeling my speakers wrong — it shows 7 speakers when there were only 3 in the meeting." Skill does:
- Explains this is the most common Sonix complaint — the AI over-segments speakers, especially with similar voices or audio quality issues
- Recommends: merge duplicate speakers in the editor, rename to real names, upload higher quality audio next time
- Notes custom dictionary (Premium) can help with names but won't fix diarization directly Result: Practical fix for the immediate issue plus prevention tips.
Troubleshooting
Speaker diarization creates too many speakers
Symptom: Sonix labels 5-7 speakers when the recording only had 2-3 Cause: Similar voices, cross-talk, or poor audio quality cause the AI to split one speaker into multiple labels Solution: After transcription, use the editor to merge duplicate speaker labels. Upload the highest quality audio possible. If recording via conference call, ensure each participant has a separate audio channel if possible.
Upload fails or takes hours
Symptom: File upload hangs, times out, or takes 2+ hours for a 30-minute recording Cause: Large file size (>100 MB) or slow connection Solution: Compress the file (convert video to audio-only MP3/M4A, reduce bitrate). For files over 100 MB, use URL upload instead of direct upload — host on S3/Google Drive and provide the URL. Check the Sonix status page for service issues.
Transcript has excessive filler words and wrong punctuation
Symptom: "Um", "uh", "like" appear everywhere; sentences run together or break in wrong places Cause: Sonix transcribes verbatim by default, including hesitations; punctuation AI struggles with conversational speech Solution: Use the Sonix editor's clean-up tools to remove filler words. For future transcriptions, consider whether verbatim mode is necessary — some workflows only need clean transcripts. Custom dictionary (Premium) can help with domain terms but won't fix filler word over-capture.