The Gemini Live API supports low-latency, real-time speech-to-text transcription using the gemini-3.5-transcribe-live model. By connecting to the Live API over WebSockets or using the Google Gen AI SDK, you can stream continuous audio input and receive incremental, real-time text transcriptions as speech occurs.
By leveraging the Gemini Live API, developer platforms such as Agora, Fishjam, LiveKit, Pipecat, Vercel, and Vision Agents enable developers to build and deploy high-performance voice-driven interfaces with ease. These platforms manage complex real-time media streaming infrastructure behind the scenes, allowing developers to focus entirely on crafting the user experience.
Live agent versus live Transcription
While both use the Live API bidirectional streaming connection, Live Transcription operates as a dedicated, low-latency speech recognition pipeline rather than a conversational agent.
| Feature | Live Agent | Live Transcription |
|---|---|---|
| Primary role | Conversational assistant that listens, reasons, and speaks back. | Real-time speech-to-text pipeline that transcribes incoming audio. |
| Response modality | Spoken audio and text (response_modalities=["AUDIO"]). |
Streaming text transcriptions (response_modalities=["TEXT"]). |
| Interaction style | Turn-based dialogue with pause detection and interruptions. | Continuous stream processing as the speaker talks. |
| Supported features | Function calling, Google Search, system instructions. | Speech biasing (custom_vocabulary), language detection, manual & hybrid VAD, Smart transcription. |
| Input stream | Multimodal: audio, video, images, text. | Audio input (raw 16-bit PCM). |
Get started
The following examples demonstrate how to open a bidirectional streaming session with gemini-3.5-transcribe-live and receive real-time transcriptions.
Python
import asyncio
from google