A strategic partnership focused on accuracy and inclusion
Today we are thrilled to announce that Barometer has selected Speechmatics as its official speech technology partner.
Barometer, a leading omnichannel AI-powered contextual engine with best-in-class, brand suitability, and contextual targeting solutions, has teamed up with Speechmatics, a global leader in speech technology, to help unlock the value of the human voice for advertisers and publishers.
Inclusion and accuracy are core values of Barometer as we work to most accurately analyze and represent content from thousands of premium publishers around the world. In order to do so, the ability to understand all voices is imperative, across accents, dialects, and demographics.
For these reasons, we are so excited to partner with Speechmatics and join them in their mission to ‘Understand Every Voice’. Next, we will go deeper into the specific ways our partnership maximizes our shared values of accuracy and inclusion.
Garbage in, garbage out
Accurate transcription is vital to enable and ensure Barometer’s AI can properly analyze content. Barometer’s clients depend on our ability to exceed simply the words being used but understand nuances about the conversation like speaker changes, utterance breaks, and other important metadata.
Despite the rise of LLM-powered transcription vendors, Barometer selected Speechmatics for its proprietary dataset – trained on millions of hours of manually transcribed text – resulting in unmatched accuracy across all accents, dialects, and speaker demographics. This unique advantage places Speechmatics ahead of competitors based on non-proprietary, open-sourced data.
As the adage goes, ‘garbage in, garbage out.’ High-quality transcription reduces errors, improving contextual targeting accuracy and driving better business decisions for advertisers and publishers.
“The decision was influenced by several factors,” explained the Barometer team.
“We found that Speechmatics’ transcription had a lower word error rate compared to other suppliers. Specifically, we considered the accuracy of transcriptions involving voices with accents, older adult voices, and voices from diverse backgrounds. Fewer errors result in better analysis, allowing Barometer to more accurately interpret the context of content.”
Barometer’s decision was also driven by Speechmatics’ unparalleled international language support, including the world’s first bilingual model for Spanglish. This linguistic breadth ensures Barometer can provide highly accurate transcription and contextual analysis across global markets.
This linguistic breadth ensures Barometer can provide highly accurate transcription and contextual analysis across global markets – an essential consideration for the nuanced and individual world of podcasting, where realistic speech and diverse voices must be accurately captured.
Grant Nelson, Barometer’s CTO, remarked, “This partnership allows Barometer to continue delivering best-in-class brand suitability and contextual targeting data for the podcast advertising ecosystem.” CEO Dr. Tamara Zubatiy Nelson added, “With Speechmatics’ technology, Barometer is now expanding beyond podcasting into new media channels, including YouTube, digital platforms, and broader omnichannel content analysis.”
Data-Driven Inclusion
Barometer partnered with the ALIVE Network to launch the MOSIAC Collective, a groundbreaking initiative to transform the audio industry by driving equity through transparency. Barometer strives to provide a platform to elevate diverse voices in audio, with transparency and inclusion being core pillars of Barometer. and Barometer strives to provide a platform for diverse voices in audio. Additionally, their membership in the ALIVE Network supports black creatives in the media space through the ALIVE podcast network.
By integrating Speechmatics’ advanced speech technology, Barometer will expand across global markets – enhancing both the accuracy and inclusivity of its platform to better serve diverse voices worldwide.
Promoting inclusivity across all media forms, Barometer will leverage Speechmatics speech technology to expand across geographies, enhancing both the accuracy and inclusivity of the platform.
Lauren King, Chief Marketing Officer at Speechmatics commented, “We’re excited to partner with Barometer, a company that shares our commitment to accuracy and inclusion. By combining Speechmatics’ advanced speech recognition with Barometer’s AI, we’re ensuring diverse voices are accurately represented across global media. We’re proud to support CEO Tamara Zubatiy’s bold vision for transforming the podcast industry.”
