Zoom Transcript

This is the classic Zoom transcript. Zoom listens to your cloud recording after the meeting and saves the text as a VTT file next to the video. It needs a Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise account with cloud recording turned on.

Turn it on (one time)

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. Click your profile picture or initials in the top-right corner, then click Settings.
3. In the side menu, click Recording.
4. Under General, check that cloud recording is on.
5. Under Advanced cloud recording settings, select Create audio transcript.
6. Click Save.

Admins can turn this on for a whole account or group from Admin Center > Settings > Recording & Transcript, and lock it so users cannot change it.

You cannot switch this setting on during a meeting. Turn it on first, then record. It also only works for cloud recordings. A recording saved to your computer will not get an audio transcript.

Record and wait

Start a cloud recording in the meeting. When the meeting ends, Zoom processes the video first. The transcript can take a little longer than the recording to appear.

Find, read and download it

1. In the web portal, click Recordings & Transcripts.
2. Open the Cloud recordings tab and click the meeting.
3. The transcript shows next to the video. Click the CC icon on the player to show it as captions.
4. To save it, click Download. You get the video plus the VTT transcript. To get only the text, hover over Audio transcript and click its download button.

A VTT file is plain text with timestamps. You can open it in any text editor or word processor.

Fix mistakes and change the language

Hover over a line and click the pencil icon to edit it. Hover over Unknown Speaker to add a name. Click the check box to save. Zoom does not add capitals or punctuation by default, so you may want to tidy those up. The transcript is in English by default. On the recording page you can pick Change Language, choose a language and click Save, and Zoom will build the transcript again.

Recordings started by a co-host show up in the host's list, not the co-host's.

A meeting transcript is written while people talk. You do not need to record the meeting. It needs a Pro, Business or Enterprise account, and it is off until a host or admin turns it on.

Turn it on

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal and click your profile picture, then Settings.
2. Click Meeting.
3. Under In Meeting (Advanced), turn on Meeting transcript. Click Enable if Zoom asks you to confirm.
4. Pick the extra options you want, then click Save.

The extra options include:

• Automatically generate transcripts for all meetings, or only meetings that have a summary.
• Allow all meeting participants to view transcripts during the meeting.
• Allow saving of transcripts to computer by the host only, host and co-hosts, non-guest participants, people on set IP addresses, or everyone.
• Admins can also delete transcripts after a set number of days and decide if hosts can view and manage transcripts after the meeting.

Start it in the meeting

1. As host, click More in the meeting toolbar, then Transcript. The transcript panel opens on the right and fills in as people speak.
2. To stop, hover over the Transcript icon at the top right and click Stop transcription. You can also choose to delete the transcript.
3. If you are not the host, click More > Transcript > Request transcription. The host can start it or decline.

Keep a copy

Click Save transcript at the bottom of the panel before you leave. Zoom saves a TXT file in the Zoom folder inside your Documents folder (for example, C:\Users\[name]\Documents\Zoom on Windows). If your admin allows hosts to manage transcripts after the meeting, the host can also view, delete and download them as VTT files from Recordings & Transcripts. Transcripts from meetings that have a meeting summary cannot be shared straight from Zoom.

Captions are text that shows at the bottom of the screen as people speak. Zoom's pricing page lists automated captions on the free Basic plan as well as paid plans. On paid accounts, Automated captions is on by default. A host can check it in Settings > Meeting > In Meeting (Advanced).

• Desktop: click Show captions in the meeting toolbar. If you do not see it, look under More.
• Phone or tablet: tap More, then Show CC.
• Web app: click Show Captions in the toolbar.
• If the host only lets some people turn captions on, you will see Request captions instead.

Captions are not a transcript. Since a Zoom change between May 24 and May 26, 2026, you can scroll back only about 3 minutes, and captions cannot be saved after the meeting. Zoom also warns that automated captions may not be accurate. If you need a record, use Option 1 or Option 2.

On the free plan, the closest you can get is a computer recording made with the Zoom desktop app. By default it is saved in the Zoom folder inside your Documents folder. Zoom will not transcribe that file. To turn it into text, upload it to a transcription app that accepts audio or video files, and check that app's own page for its limits and privacy terms first.

If you use Zoom through work or school, your account is often a paid one. Look in Settings > Recording for Create audio transcript. If you cannot find it or it is grayed out, ask your Zoom admin.

My Notes is Zoom's private note-taking feature. It can add a transcript of the meeting to each person's own notes. It needs a Pro, Business or Enterprise account, or a standalone My Notes plan.

1. Each person turns it on in the web portal: profile picture > Settings > Notes > Enable My Notes. The setting that lets them transcribe meetings with My Notes must also be on.
2. As host on desktop, open Host tools > Participants during the meeting. Under Allow all participants to, turn on the My Notes transcription option.
3. As host on a phone, tap More > Host tools > Participants, and turn on the toggle that lets everyone use the meeting transcript in My Notes.

The exact wording of this toggle changes between Zoom app versions. Notes stay private to each person and are not shared with the host. A host can stop My Notes transcription for one person or for everyone.