sales-skills/sales-sonix

Sonix Platform Help

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

1. What's your primary goal?

   • A) Transcribe audio/video files (batch transcription)
   • B) Translate existing transcripts into other languages
   • C) Generate subtitles/captions for video
   • D) Integrate Sonix API into a pipeline
   • E) Compare Sonix to alternatives for my use case
   • F) Troubleshoot a specific issue (upload, accuracy, speaker labels)

2. What type of content are you transcribing?

   • A) Meetings / calls
   • B) Interviews / podcasts
   • C) Legal / compliance recordings
   • D) Media production (film, TV, marketing videos)
   • E) Research / academic
   • F) Mixed / high volume

3. What plan are you on (or considering)?

   • A) Free trial (30 min)
   • B) Pay As You Go ($10/hr, no subscription — no API)
   • C) Core ($25/mo, 5 hrs) / Advanced ($50/mo, 20 hrs) / Pro ($80/mo, 40 hrs) — subscription tiers, API included
   • D) Enterprise (custom — SSO, audit logs, dashboard webhooks, HIPAA BAA)
   • E) Not sure yet

Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2.

Step 2 — Route or answer directly

| Problem domain | Route to | |---|---| | Choosing a live meeting recorder or note-taker | /sales-note-taker {user's question} | | Building a coaching program from call recordings | /sales-coaching {user's question} | | General CRM-to-tool integration (Zapier, webhooks, iPaaS) | /sales-integration {user's question} | | Email deliverability or outbound sequences | /sales-deliverability {user's question} |

When routing, provide the exact command: "This is a {problem domain} question — run: /sales-{skill} {user's original question}"

Otherwise, answer directly below.

Step 3 — Sonix platform reference

Read references/platform-guide.md for the full platform reference — modules, pricing, integrations, data model, workflows.

If the question involves the API, also read references/sonix-api-reference.md.

Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

You no longer need the platform guide — focus on the user's specific situation.

Plan selection framework (2026 pricing):

• One-off or infrequent transcription, no API → Pay As You Go ($10/hr, no subscription)
• Need the API or custom dictionary, low volume → Core ($25/mo, 5 hrs included)
• Regular volume (~20 hrs/mo) → Advanced ($50/mo, 20 hrs included) — Most Popular
• Heavy volume (~40 hrs/mo) or lots of AI summaries → Pro ($80/mo, 40 hrs transcription + 100 AI-workspace hrs)
• Team with compliance needs (SSO, audit logs, dashboard webhooks, HIPAA BAA) → Enterprise
• Key gates: API access starts at Core (any paid subscription); Pay-As-You-Go has NO API. Overage on any subscription is $10/hr, so pick the tier whose included hours cover your volume.

Accuracy optimization:

1. Upload the highest quality audio possible (minimize background noise)
2. Use custom dictionary (any subscription tier) for domain-specific terms
3. Review and correct speaker labels immediately after transcription
4. Use the in-browser editor for corrections — edits sync with audio timestamps

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.

Gotchas

Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and integration gotchas that may be outdated.

• No live/real-time transcription. Sonix is upload-only — you must upload a recorded file. It does not join meetings or capture audio live. For live transcription, use Fathom, Fireflies, or Otter.
• API requires a paid subscription (Core and up). Pay-As-You-Go users cannot access the API — the 403 error says "upgrade to Core or higher." Any subscription tier (Core $25/mo, Advanced, Pro, Enterprise) unlocks it; you do NOT need a top tier.
• Two different "webhook" mechanisms. Per-request callback_url on POST /media (Sonix POSTs you on completion) works on ALL API plans — no polling needed. The separate dashboard Webhooks (workspace event subscriptions: Transcription/Translation finished, Label/Folder change, HMAC-SHA256 signed via X-Webhook-Signature) are Enterprise-only. Don't conflate them.
• Speaker diarization is imperfect. Multiple speakers may be split into extra labels or merged. Review speaker labels after every transcription and merge/rename in the editor.
• Custom dictionary is on every subscription tier. Included on Core and up; only Pay-As-You-Go lacks it.
• AI workspace hours are metered per tier. Summaries, chapters, and sentiment consume the included AI-workspace allowance (Core 5/mo, Advanced 25/mo, Pro 100/mo); overage is billed.
• Upload size limit is 100 MB direct. For larger files, use a URL upload (no size limit). Slow uploads are usually caused by file size — compress or convert to a smaller format first.
• Hybrid pricing can be confusing. Premium charges both a per-seat monthly fee AND a per-hour transcription fee. Calculate total cost for your volume before committing.
• No mobile app for recording. Sonix Recorder exists but is separate from the main transcription workflow. Sonix is primarily a post-recording processing tool.

Related skills

• /sales-note-taker — Comparing AI meeting note-takers and conversation intelligence platforms (Fathom, Fireflies, Gong, etc.). Sonix is a backend transcription option, not a live meeting tool.
• /sales-integration — General tool integration patterns (Zapier, webhooks, iPaaS)
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do

Examples

Example 1: Choosing Sonix vs Otter for podcast transcription

User says: "I produce a weekly podcast and need accurate transcripts in English and Spanish. Should I use Sonix or Otter?" Skill does:

1. Notes Sonix handles file uploads with translation to 53+ languages — upload the recording, get English transcript, then translate to Spanish
2. Compares: Otter is better for live recording but weaker on translation; Sonix is better for post-production with multi-language needs
3. Recommends Pay-As-You-Go ($10/hr) for occasional use, or a subscription tier (Core/Advanced/Pro) if the user needs API automation or regular volume Result: Clear recommendation based on the podcast workflow with translation needs.

Example 2: Building a Sonix API pipeline

User says: "I want to auto-transcribe every sales call recording from our S3 bucket using the Sonix API." Skill does:

1. Reads the API reference for endpoint details
2. Sketches the pipeline: S3 event → Lambda → POST /media with S3 presigned URL + callback_url → Sonix POSTs the Lambda on completion → GET /media/{id}/transcript.json → write to warehouse
3. Notes API needs any paid subscription (Core+; Pay-As-You-Go has none), Bearer token auth, 100 MB direct upload limit (use file_url for larger files)
4. Recommends the per-request callback_url parameter for completion notification (works on all API plans) instead of polling GET /media/{id} Result: Working pipeline architecture with Sonix-specific constraints.

Example 3: Speaker labels wrong after transcription

User says: "Sonix keeps labeling my speakers wrong — it shows 7 speakers when there were only 3 in the meeting." Skill does:

1. Explains this is the most common Sonix complaint — the AI over-segments speakers, especially with similar voices or audio quality issues
2. Recommends: merge duplicate speakers in the editor, rename to real names, upload higher quality audio next time
3. Notes custom dictionary (Premium) can help with names but won't fix diarization directly Result: Practical fix for the immediate issue plus prevention tips.

Troubleshooting

Speaker diarization creates too many speakers

Symptom: Sonix labels 5-7 speakers when the recording only had 2-3 Cause: Similar voices, cross-talk, or poor audio quality cause the AI to split one speaker into multiple labels Solution: After transcription, use the editor to merge duplicate speaker labels. Upload the highest quality audio possible. If recording via conference call, ensure each participant has a separate audio channel if possible.

Upload fails or takes hours

Symptom: File upload hangs, times out, or takes 2+ hours for a 30-minute recording Cause: Large file size (>100 MB) or slow connection Solution: Compress the file (convert video to audio-only MP3/M4A, reduce bitrate). For files over 100 MB, use URL upload instead of direct upload — host on S3/Google Drive and provide the URL. Check the Sonix status page for service issues.

Transcript has excessive filler words and wrong punctuation

Symptom: "Um", "uh", "like" appear everywhere; sentences run together or break in wrong places Cause: Sonix transcribes verbatim by default, including hesitations; punctuation AI struggles with conversational speech Solution: Use the Sonix editor's clean-up tools to remove filler words. For future transcriptions, consider whether verbatim mode is necessary — some workflows only need clean transcripts. Custom dictionary (Premium) can help with domain terms but won't fix filler word over-capture.