A voice interviewer follows a simple loop: it asks a question aloud, captures an answer, turns the answer into text, decides what to ask next, and speaks again. You can prototype that loop with browser speech features without a direct speech-API fee, or combine hosted transcription and text-to-speech services. “Free” does not mean unlimited, uniformly supported, or necessarily processed only on the device; check browser behavior and any provider’s current pricing and limits before choosing.
Choose an implementation path
Pick the speech workflow to match the interview: browser features can be quick to prototype, while hosted APIs provide separate options for completed recordings and incoming audio streams.
| Approach | Audio workflow | Cost and trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Browser-first with the Web Speech API | Use browser speech recognition for input and speech synthesis for spoken prompts. | May avoid a direct speech-API charge for a demo. Behavior, language quality, offline support, and compatibility vary; verify on the browsers and devices your participants use. Web Speech API draft |
| Hosted transcription after recording | Capture a complete answer as an audio file, then submit it to a transcription endpoint. | Usage may be billed. OpenAI recommends gpt-transcribe as a general-purpose starting point for recorded speech; check the model-specific limits before designing long recordings. OpenAI file transcription guide |
| Hosted real-time transcription | Send audio as it arrives from a microphone, call, or media stream. | Useful for a more immediate interaction, but requires explicit streaming and turn handling. OpenAI file transcription guide |
Build the interview loop
- Define the interview state. Track the current question, transcript history, whether the interview is complete, and any branching rules. Make the rules explicit so a transcription error cannot silently move the participant to the wrong question.
- Request microphone access and show the recording state. Provide visible start, stop, and cancel controls. Also offer a text-entry alternative and, where useful, a way to replay the question.
- Capture one answer at a time. For a first prototype, wait until the participant finishes before transcribing. This makes turn boundaries easier to manage than continuous streaming, at the cost of added delay.
- Show and confirm the transcript. Display the recognized words and let the participant correct them before treating the response as final. Then pass the confirmed text to the interview logic.
- Select the next question. A fixed questionnaire can use deterministic branching. If you later add a generative model, constrain it to the interview’s goals and provide a recovery path for irrelevant questions.
- Speak the prompt and keep it visible. Send the selected prompt to speech synthesis, play the result, and show the same wording on screen. Let participants replay it.
- Save only what you need. Tell participants what is recorded, where it is processed, and how long it is retained. Requirements for a consequential interview depend on the jurisdiction and use; obtain appropriate local review.
Connect transcription and speech generation
Transcribe a completed recording
OpenAI’s file transcription guide lists MP3, MP4, MPEG, MPGA, M4A, WAV, and WebM as supported formats, with a documented maximum file size of 25 MB. Treat this as a limit documented by that guide, not as proof that every model or route accepts every file under every condition. Confirm the applicable model-specific documentation and plan how to handle longer recordings.
For audio that is still arriving from a microphone, call, or media stream, the guide points to Realtime transcription rather than a completed-file workflow. A file-based prototype is generally simpler to reason about; streaming needs deliberate session, turn-detection, and interruption handling.
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Generate spoken prompts
OpenAI’s audio reference documents the /v1/audio/speech endpoint, built-in voice choices, MP3, Opus, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and PCM output formats, and audio or streamed-audio responses. It also documents a maximum input of 4,096 characters. These are OpenAI-specific details, not requirements for other speech services. See the OpenAI audio reference.
For hosted services, put authenticated API calls behind a server-side component rather than exposing credentials in browser code. The browser should send the answer or prompt to your application’s server, which can call the relevant provider and return the transcript or audio.
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Understand what “free” means
The Web Speech API is a browser platform surface that can let a simple demo avoid a direct speech-provider API fee. The Web Incubator Community Group describes its aim as enabling speech input and text-to-speech output in a browser. Its draft does not establish a uniform browser support matrix, consistent language quality, or offline behavior, so do not promise those properties without checking the actual target setup. Read the Web Speech API draft.
Hosted speech services can charge for usage even when a separate rate-limit tier is described as free. OpenAI’s current Whisper model page lists transcription at $0.006 per minute and a free rate-limit tier of 3 requests per minute and 200 requests per day; the tier is not an unlimited, universally cost-free service. These are figures on OpenAI’s model documentation accessed in 2026 and may change, so verify the live Whisper model page before deployment. That page is relevant to Whisper pricing; it does not establish the price of every transcription or speech-generation option.
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OpenAI’s speech-to-text guide says Whisper supports 98 languages, but language coverage is not a guarantee of equal accuracy. Test with speech representative of your participants and interview setting, including accents, speaking pace, proper names, acronyms, background noise, microphone distance, interruptions, and the actual mix of languages. The guide describes prompting Whisper with uncommon words and acronyms; for new general-purpose recorded speech, it recommends starting with gpt-transcribe. See the speech-to-text guide.
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- Delay: A completed-file workflow waits for an answer to finish before transcription; streaming can feel more immediate but needs session and turn management.
- Compatibility: Test the browser, operating system, and microphone combinations participants will actually use.
- Recognition: Evaluate representative voices and noisy or interrupted answers, and allow correction when the transcript matters.
- Cost and limits: Check the current pricing, request limits, file limits, and applicable model or route.
- Processing and privacy: Verify what is sent off-device and how the selected browser or provider handles it; do not infer local or offline processing from a browser API alone.
- Access alternatives: Keep the question visible, offer replay, and provide a non-voice way to answer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a no-cost demo?
Yes. Browser speech features can support a prototype without a direct speech-API fee, but that does not establish universal browser support, offline operation, or unlimited use. Test the target devices before relying on it.
Should I transcribe each answer as a file or in real time?
Use a completed recording when a simpler turn-by-turn workflow is acceptable. Use real-time transcription when incoming audio needs to be handled while it arrives, and account for the extra session and turn logic.
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