Use Custom Radio Vocabulary to Improve Transcription Accuracy

Product: Assistive Dispatch

Audience: Call Takers, Dispatchers, Supervisors, Administrators
Last Updated: 04/14/2026
Support: Support@prepared911.com

By the end of this guide, you will be able to:

• Improve radio transcription accuracy using Custom Vocabulary

• Add agency-specific terms that the system recognizes correctly

• Reduce common transcription errors for local names, codes, and acronyms

Radio transcription accuracy can vary due to:

• Poor audio quality

• Heavy radio traffic

• Use of local terminology, codes, and proper nouns

Agencies reported that street names, landmarks, and internal terminology were being misinterpreted by the transcription engine.

Custom Radio Vocabulary solves this by allowing you to define words and phrases unique to your agency so the system can recognize them correctly in real time.

This feature is especially effective for:

• Proper nouns (towns, streets, landmarks)

• Agency-specific language (10-codes, unit terminology)

• Acronyms spoken as words

When you add a word or phrase:

• The transcription engine prioritizes that term during processing

• Matching audio is more likely to be transcribed correctly

• Accuracy improves over time for repeated use cases

This directly addresses known transcription gaps identified through customer feedback and error reporting workflows

1. Go to Settings

2. Select Radio

3. Navigate to Custom Vocabulary

4. Enter a word or phrase

5. Click Add

Focus on terms that are commonly mis-transcribed:

• Local street names (e.g., Puyallup, Okmulgee)

• Landmarks or neighborhoods

• Unit identifiers or call signs

• Acronyms spoken as words (e.g., PECO)

• After noticing repeated transcription errors

• During onboarding or kickoff setup

• When reviewing reported transcription feedback

Avoid unnecessary entries:

• Common English words (e.g., “fire”, “stop”)

• Words are already transcribing correctly

• Rarely used terms

Adding low-value entries reduces signal quality and does not improve performance.

• Maximum 200 entries

• Maximum 400 total words

• English only
  (Each word in a phrase counts toward the total)

• Start with your top 10–20 known problem terms

• Use customer-reported transcription errors as your source of truth

• Review and update periodically as new issues are identified

• Combine with:

  • Unit ID aliasing

  • Channel naming

  • Keyword flagging

These configurations work together to improve overall radio clarity and usability

Custom Vocabulary is part of your broader radio configuration:

• Before: Misinterpreted radio traffic → manual clarification

• After: Accurate transcription → faster comprehension and decision-making

This is particularly valuable during:

• High-volume incidents

• Multi-agency coordination

• Fast-moving events where clarity matters

• Support: Support@prepared911.com