What is AI Enhancement?
AI Enhancement helps MacTranscribe clean up your transcript using what is on your screen.
When it is on, your transcript is much more accurate, especially for names, technical terms, and custom words.
We highly recommend turning this feature on. It's the difference between a rough transcription and a polished, ready-to-use one.
Why You Need Your Own API Key
MacTranscribe is a one-time purchase: no subscriptions, no recurring fees, and no bundled cloud service. Because of that, AI Enhancement connects directly to an AI provider of your choice.
To make that connection, you need an API key. Think of it as a personal password that lets MacTranscribe communicate with the AI on your behalf. Your key stays on your device and is never shared with us.
Choosing a Provider
You can get an API key from multiple platforms. Each has different strengths, so pick the one that fits your needs best. If you want maximum model choice, start with OpenRouter. If you want speed with a free tier, start with Groq.
1. OpenRouter — Recommended for Most Users
You need a one-time top-up (minimum $5 per transaction) to get started.
OpenRouter gives you access to a huge range of state-of-the-art AI models from many different providers — all through a single API key. The trade-off is that larger, more powerful models tend to have higher latency.
The best part of OpenRouter is flexibility. Instead of managing separate billing for providers like OpenAI and Anthropic, you buy credits once and pay only for what you use. You can mix and match models and switch as better options are released.
How to get your OpenRouter API key:
- Go to openrouter.ai and sign up
- Go to Keys in your account settings
- Click Create Key
- Copy the key and paste it into MacTranscribe's AI Enhancement settings
- Set the Base URL to
https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 - In Model, start with
google/gemini-3-flash-preview(our default recommendation) - In Connection, click Ready to Test
- Confirm the status changes to green Connected
That's it — your transcriptions will now be enhanced with AI-powered accuracy.
2. Groq - Fast with Free Tier
Groq has a generous free tier with no credit card required. Model selection is mostly open-source models. They are still very capable, but generally not as strong as top proprietary models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and others.
How to get your Groq API key:
- Go to console.groq.com
- Sign up with your preferred provider
- Click Create API Key
- Copy the key and paste it into MacTranscribe's AI Enhancement settings
- Set the Base URL to
https://api.groq.com/openai/v1 - Choose a model from the dropdown. We currently recommend
openai/gpt-oss-120bfor a strong speed/quality balance, though this may change as better models are released. - In Connection, click Ready to Test
- Confirm the status changes to green Connected