How to Transcribe a Microsoft Teams Meeting and Recording
Saving time and effort with Notta, starting from today!
If you've ever considered transcribing a Microsoft Teams meeting by hand, it can seem like a daunting task. You can end up with a fruitless endeavor if you constantly have to rewind the video repeatedly.
A better alternative is to have the meetings transcribed in real-time by AI, and that's What Microsoft did. In 2021, Teams took things to another level with the introduction of live transcription.
This article will explain effective ways to take live transcription in Microsoft Teams as well as to transcribe a Teams meeting recording. Let's get into it!
How to enable live transcription in Microsoft Teams
Transcribing a meeting using Teams is simple but not without limits, as conditions are attached.
You need to possess any of these approved licenses to transcribe Teams meetings.
Office 365 E1, Office 365 A1, Office 365/Microsoft 365 A3, Office 365/Microsoft 365 A5, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 F1, Office 365/Microsoft 365 F3, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium SKUs.
You can only use Teams transcription on the desktop app.
GCC-High and DoD users aren’t qualified to use the feature.
The IT admin of an organization needs to enable the feature for you to make it work by visiting the Microsoft Teams admin center, going to the Meeting policies, and allowing transcription.
If you do not have an eligible license, we’ll look at other ways to get a transcript of your meeting below. If you are qualified, here’s how to enable it.
How to use live transcription in a Teams meeting?
Step 1: While your meeting is in progress, click ‘More’ (‘...’) in the top meeting toolbar.
Step 2: Click ‘Start transcription’ to begin the live transcription for your meeting. All participants will see a notice.
Step 3: To stop the live transcription later, follow the same process and select the 'Stop transcription' option instead.
Note that if you do not stop the transcription manually, it will stop automatically when no more participants are in the conference.
How to change the transcription language?
The transcript language must be the same as the language spoken in the meeting. Currently, Microsoft Teams supports 34 transcription languages, and the default one is English. But you can change it easily:
At the top right corner of the live transcription window, select 'Transcript settings'.
Hover over Spoken language and select your preferred language from the options displayed.
Finally, click the Confirm button to save the changes. The transcript will be displayed in this language now.
How to download and view the transcripts?
Microsoft Teams meeting transcripts are immediately available for download in the meeting event on the calendar after the meeting.
Select the Calendar option on the left pane.
Go to the meeting event you just attended and choose the transcript.
Click the Download option above the transcript and choose a file type. The transcript is available in .docx or .vtt.
Live transcribe Teams meetings with Notta
Notta is an AI-powered transcription tool that converts any audio/video to text, including meetings.
Unlike other tools that only transcribe from recordings after the completion of the meeting, Notta offers an accurate live transcription with auto speaker detection and supports 58 languages. You can also review, edit, and share the transcripts to keep everyone informed.
Follow the steps below to transcribe a live Team meeting:
Sign up for Notta and log in to the dashboard.
Click ‘Transcribe Live Meeting’ on the right-side toolbar.
Select your transcription language and paste the Teams meeting invite link, then click 'Trancribe Now'. The Notta bot will join the meeting and start transcription.
How to transcribe a recorded Teams meeting with Notta
If you have recorded a Teams meeting and now intend to get a transcript from it, Notta can also help you.
This tool will generate a high-accuracy transcript from either imported files or cloud files. Here is what to do:
Step 1: Log in to your Notta Dashboard.
Step 2: On the toolbar to the right, click ‘Import Files’.
Step 3: Upload your file or directly enter the file link if your recording is stored in Google Drive or Dropbox.
Step 4: Close the upload window after your video is done uploading. Once it’s done transcribing, open your transcript and edit it to your liking.
Experience the power of Notta's AI technology that automatically converts spoken words into written text, enabling you to focus on the conversation without missing important details.
Comparing Notta and Microsoft Teams transcription services
Naturally, you’ll want to know what’s the best way to transcribe Microsoft Teams meetings—Notta or Microsoft’s transcription service?
The answer is, it depends. But you'll make an informed decision with the comparison below.
Accuracy: According to a benchmark report published in 2020, Microsoft Teams has a 78% accuracy rate. While the accuracy depends on several factors such as input audio quality and accent, we found that Notta's transcripts were more accurate (up to 98%).
Transcript export: With Notta, you can export the transcripts in various formats, including TXT, PDF, and Docx. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams only provides transcripts in Docx and VTT formats.
Platform support: Notta records and transcribes video meetings from Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex—allowing you to organize all meeting notes together.
Devices support: Notta is available as a Web app, Android & iOS app, and also a Chrome extension, so you can use it anywhere and sync all your data.
FAQ
Q. Where does Microsoft Teams save recordings?
A. Teams saves the recording in two locations, depending on the type of meeting. Teams will save recordings to Sharepoint by default if it's a Channel meet. Teams will send all other recordings to OneDrive.
Q. How accurate is Microsoft Teams transcription?
A. Microsoft claims its live transcription has high accuracy thanks to cutting-edge technology. While this is true, there is a slight delay in displaying the transcription text after the speaker has spoken.
But it makes up for this with the auto speaker detection, which displays the speaker's name next to the written text. So, in general terms, you can always rely on Microsoft Teams transcription.
Q. Does Teams offer free transcription?
A. No, Teams does not offer transcription for free. You will need an Enterprise or Business account to record or transcribe a meeting. These accounts come with a monthly fee which is dependent on your company size.
Q. Why is my start transcription greyed out in Teams?
A. To use the "Start transcription" option on Microsoft Teams, you must either be the admin or have the same access as set by the IT admin.
Now, if you are the admin and still experience this issue, make sure you have one of the licenses listed by Microsoft.
If this issue persists despite these licenses, log in to the Microsoft Teams admin center and check if the live transcription is allowed. And if you just turned on the feature, know there is a 48-to-72-hour sync period before you can start using the feature.
Q. Can Teams transcribe without recording?
A. Yes, recording and transcription are two separate features in Microsoft Teams; you can record a Teams meeting without generating a transcription, and vice versa.
Final thoughts
Whether transcribing recordings or doing live transcription, you'll need the right tools. We hope this guide helps you get set up and transcribe like a pro. With the power of Microsoft Teams and Notta, your meetings can be more productive than ever.
Notta's AI-powered transcription ensures that every word spoken during your Teams meetings is accurately transcribed. No more struggling to keep up with fast-paced discussions or searching for missed information.
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