Can Wave record remote user interviews on Zoom without a bot?

Yes. The Wave desktop app for Mac and Windows records Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams sessions by capturing your microphone and system audio, so no bot joins and participants see only the researcher. Wave then transcribes the session with speaker labels.

How does Wave help with UX research synthesis?

Wave summarizes each user interview into themes, pain points, and quotes, and Wave Assistant answers questions across all your sessions with links to the transcript lines. Researchers can also query sessions from Claude or ChatGPT through Wave's MCP connector.

Can I transcribe user interviews recorded in another tool?

Yes. Import the audio or video file into Wave on the web, desktop, or mobile, and Wave returns a speaker-labeled transcript and an AI summary, the same as for sessions recorded in Wave.

Is user research data secure in Wave?

Wave is SOC 2 Type 1 compliant for the Security criteria. Recordings, transcripts, and summaries are encrypted in transit and at rest, are never used to train AI models, and belong to the researcher, who can permanently delete any session.

Can I record in-person usability sessions with Wave?

Yes. Use the Wave mobile app on iPhone or Android to record in-person and field sessions; it keeps recording with the screen off. Wave transcribes the session with speaker labels once it uploads.

User Interview Transcription Built for UX Research

Last updated: November 3, 2026

Wave AI does user interview transcription for UX researchers: it records remote sessions on your computer without a bot and in-person sessions on your phone, then produces speaker-labeled transcripts in 76 languages and AI summaries of each interview. It works on Mac, Windows, the web, iPhone, and Android, and is free for 30 minutes a month.

How UX researchers use Wave

How do I transcribe user interviews with Wave?

Record the session with the Wave desktop app for remote interviews or the Wave mobile app for in-person ones, or import an existing recording. Wave transcribes it with moderator and participant labeled, summarizes themes and quotes, and keeps every session in a folder for the study.

Remote sessions: record with the Wave desktop app for Mac or Windows; no bot joins, so participants see only you.
In-person and field sessions: tap record on the Wave mobile app.
Recordings from other tools: import the audio or video file.
Synthesis: ask Wave which participants struggled with a step, with links to each quote.

Can I synthesize a study with Claude or ChatGPT?

Yes. Connect Wave to Claude or ChatGPT (it's listed as Wave AI Note Taker in both directories) or any MCP client through Wave's hosted MCP server. The assistant can search your sessions, read full transcripts, and quote participants with speaker attribution while you build the affinity map.

Wave for ChatGPT

What should I tell participants?

Get consent to record as part of your study's consent form; recording-consent laws vary by state and country. Wave keeps recordings in your account, never uses them to train AI models, and lets you permanently delete a session at any time.

How Wave handles your data

The problems you know too well

Typing Notes Breaks Rapport

Looking down to type pulls you away from the participant. Recording lets you watch for hesitation and follow up.

Synthesis Starts With Hours of Re-Listening

Going back through every session by hand is slow. Transcripts and per-session summaries give you a head start.

Key Quotes Get Lost in Hour-Long Sessions

The line that makes your case is somewhere in minute 42. Search finds it, with the speaker attached.

Features

Everything you need to capture every conversation

Bot-Free Remote Sessions

The Wave desktop app records Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and other calls from your side, so no bot joins the session.

Speaker Labels in 76 Languages

Moderator and participant labeled in every transcript, in 76 languages, with translation for multilingual studies.

Research Summary Templates

Use the built-in interview template or save your own with sections for tasks, pain points, and quotes.

Custom Vocabulary

Teach Wave your product's feature names and jargon so they're spelled right in every transcript.

Ask Across a Study

Wave Assistant answers questions across your sessions with links to the exact transcript line; folders keep each study together.

MCP and API Access

Query sessions from Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor through Wave's MCP server, or pull transcripts into your repository with the Developer API.

Perfect for

Moderated user interviewsUsability testing sessionsStakeholder research interviewsGuerrilla research sessionsRemote video call researchExpert interviews and discovery

FAQs

Common questions

Wave Is Now Native in Claude and ChatGPT

Wave AI Note Taker is live in the Claude connector directory and the ChatGPT app directory. Connect in one click and ask either assistant about any meeting you have recorded.

Introducing the Wave API

The Wave API gives you programmatic access to your sessions, transcripts, and summaries. Build integrations, sync to your CRM, search recordings with natural language, and get real-time webhooks.

Introducing Voice ID: Wave Learns Who’s Talking

Voice ID creates a mathematical fingerprint of each speaker’s voice, then automatically identifies them in every future recording — making transcripts and summaries more useful without any manual labeling.