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How to transcribe a Microsoft Teams meeting.

There are three ways to walk out of a Teams meeting with a transcript in hand: Teams' own native transcript (when the organizer starts it), taking notes yourself, or installing an extension like Ata, which reads Teams live captions in your browser with no bot joining the call. Here are the steps and the real limits of each option.

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Overview

3 ways to transcribe a Teams meeting

Each one fits a different situation. Details for each are just below.

Option 1

Teams native transcript

Started by the organizer or by whoever they allow. The file is saved in the organizer's OneDrive. See details

Option 2

Taking manual notes

Free and always available, but it costs you your attention and misses details. See details

Option 3

Ata extension

Free, no bot in the call, reads Teams live captions in your browser and hands you ready minutes. See details

Option 1

The native Microsoft Teams transcript

How to start it, inside the meeting itself.

  1. 1

    Open More actions

    During the meeting, in the Teams controls, click More actions (the three dots).

  2. 2

    Choose Record and transcribe

    Select Start transcription and confirm the language spoken in the meeting. The option only shows up for people allowed to start it.

  3. 3

    Find it afterwards

    When the meeting ends, the transcript is available in the meeting chat and on the Recap tab, and can be downloaded as .docx or .vtt.

Who can start it and where the file goes: organizers and co-organizers can start the transcript. The organizer can also allow presenters or choose that no one can start it. For meetings with recording or transcription, the file is saved in the organizer's OneDrive for Business and stays available from the meeting chat and the Recap tab until it is deleted. All participants see a notice that the meeting is being transcribed. It downloads as .docx or .vtt.

Source: Microsoft Support, "View live transcription in Microsoft Teams meetings", accessed on October 4, 2026: support.microsoft.com
Option 2

Taking manual notes

It always works, but it has a cost: your attention.

Pros
  • It does not depend on any plan, or on installing anything.
  • It works in any meeting, even outside Teams, Meet or Zoom.
  • It forces the note taker to focus on what matters.
Cons
  • The note taker takes less part in the conversation.
  • It is easy to miss details, especially in long meetings.
  • There is no word-for-word record of what was said, only the note taker's interpretation.

If you decide to take notes by hand, use a ready-made template so you do not skip any field: see the meeting minutes template.

Option 3

Install the Ata extension

Ata turns on Teams live captions in your browser (it also works on Google Meet and Zoom, in the browser) and transcribes each line with a speaker name and timestamp, in real time. No bot joins the call and nobody gets an invite. It does not record audio or video: it only processes the caption text.

  1. 1

    Install the extension

    From the Chrome Web Store, free, with no invite or waitlist. It works on Chrome, Edge and Brave.

  2. 2

    Sign in

    With email and password, Google or Microsoft. No AI key and no setup needed.

  3. 3

    Join the meeting through Teams in your browser

    Open the meeting in Chrome, Edge or Brave. Ata turns on the captions by itself, as long as they are available in the meeting. A floating panel shows the live transcript.

It works with Teams open in the browser. The Teams desktop app is not covered.
When the meeting ends, it already hands you formal minutes, an executive summary and action items with an owner and a due date.
Free plan forever, with unlimited transcription; the Pro plan at $3.99 a month unlocks all AI kits (follow-up, topics, saved prompts), unlimited AI chat per meeting, PDF and Word (.docx) export and priority support.
Let participants know the meeting is being transcribed: Ata does not send that notice for you.
Install Ata for free
No guesswork

Which option to choose

Native

Teams native transcript

  • Makes sense if your meeting organizer is willing to start the transcript.
  • Anyone who is not the organizer depends on the permission the organizer set.
  • The file is saved in the organizer's OneDrive, not in your account.
Manual

Taking notes by hand

  • Makes sense for quick, informal meetings with no need for a word-for-word record.
  • It takes the note taker's attention.
  • It does not work well in long meetings or with many people talking.
Ata extension

Install Ata

  • Makes sense if you want a transcript and minutes in your own account, without waiting for the organizer to start a transcript.
  • It works on a personal account, free forever on the basic plan.
  • It only works on Chrome, Edge or Brave, with Teams in the browser, and the meeting must have captions available.

On another platform? See also how to transcribe Google Meet and how to transcribe Zoom. Want to know what Ata hands you after the meeting? Read about AI meeting minutes.

Questions

Questions about transcribing Microsoft Teams

Yes. Ata reads Teams live captions in your browser and transcribes in real time, with no bot and no invite. It reads only the caption text, with no audio or video recording. Let participants know the meeting is being transcribed.
According to Microsoft Support, organizers and co-organizers can start the transcript. The organizer decides whether presenters can too or whether no one can, and other participants depend on that setting.
For meetings with recording or transcription, the file is saved in the organizer's OneDrive for Business and can be opened from the meeting chat and the Recap tab. It downloads as .docx or .vtt.
No. Ata is a browser extension and works with Teams open in Chrome, Edge or Brave. To use it, join the meeting through Teams in your browser.
Yes. Ata has a free plan forever, with unlimited transcription and basic AI included. Pro, at $3.99 a month, unlocks all AI kits, unlimited AI chat per meeting, PDF and Word (.docx) export and priority support.
No. Teams shows everyone a notice when its native transcript is on, but Ata sends no notice at all. Tell participants yourself and follow the rules that apply to your meeting.

Transcribe your next Teams meeting, with no bot.

Free to install, works on a personal account, no setup needed.

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