AssemblyAI Launches Dictation API and Open-Source Dictation App Blurt
On September 18, AssemblyAI launched the Dictation API and open-sourced Blurt, a free Mac push-to-talk app. The API aims to replace lengthy form-filling with a short voice prompt—claimed to be 3x faster than typing—while Blurt drops clean, ready-to-use text at the cursor in any input field. It marks a shift from verbatim transcription toward producing directly usable text.
Confirmed
- The Dictation API supports 19 languages, returns transcription in 150ms, completes cleanup within 1 second, and costs $0.62/hour.
- Blurt runs on the Universal-3.5 Pro model and outputs finished text: filler words (um, so, like) and false starts are removed; the official demo converts "um so like can you send me the uh the Q3 numbers" into "Can you send me the Q3 numbers", with keyword-based term correction.
- Blurt can format dictation into notes, commit messages, customer-support replies, and more; the app is free and open source.
- AssemblyAI claims 30% fewer hallucinations than Whisper.
Why it matters
- The product moves speech-to-text from verbatim transcription to producing usable text directly, with filler removal, term correction, and formatting built into the pipeline—lowering the barrier for voice input in forms, development, and support workflows.
- Blurt serves both as a usable tool and a demo of the Dictation API, helping developers assess cost and quality versus Whisper; the 30%-fewer-hallucinations claim is vendor-supplied and awaits independent verification.
2026-09-18 ~ 2026-09-19 · 6 related posts
Primary sources
- AssemblyAI demos Dictation API: custom key terms fix vocabulary, sub-second transcription in 19 languages — AssemblyAI · 2026-09-18
- [source] AssemblyAI launches Dictation API, claiming voice input is 3x faster than typing — AssemblyAI · 2026-09-18
- AssemblyAI open-sources Blurt, a 150ms voice-to-text Mac app claiming 30% fewer hallucinations than Whisper — AssemblyAI · 2026-09-18
- [source] AssemblyAI Launches Blurt: Push-to-Talk Dictation at $0.62/hr in 19 Languages — AssemblyAI · 2026-09-18
2 near-duplicate retellings: AssemblyAI · AssemblyAI