How many times has someone said, “Can you repeat that?” during a meeting?

That’s where real-time transcription comes in.

In this article, you’ll learn how to set up live transcription anywhere.

How to get Real-Time Meeting Transcription in Zoom, Google Meet, Teams...

Several video conferencing platforms offer built-in features to transcribe meetings live. Here's how to enable them:

Zoom

Zoom provides live transcription to display real-time captions during meetings.

To enable live transcription:

1. Sign in to your Zoom account on the web.
2. Navigate to Settings > Meeting > In Meeting (Advanced).
3. Toggle on Closed Captioning and check Enable live transcription service to show transcript on the side panel in-meeting.
4. During a meeting, click on Live Transcript in the meeting controls and select Enable Auto-Transcription.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams offers live transcription with speaker attribution during meetings.

To enable live transcription:

1. During a meeting, click on More actions (three dots) in the meeting controls.
2. Select Start transcription.
3. The transcript will appear in real-time with speaker names and timestamps. ‍

Note: Admins can enable transcription organization-wide via the Teams admin center under Meeting policies by setting Transcription to On.

Google Meet

Google Meet provides live captions to display real-time subtitles during meetings.

To enable live captions:

1. Join a Google Meet meeting.
2. Click on Turn on captions at the bottom of the screen.
3. Captions will appear at the bottom, showing real-time speech-to-text. ‍

Note: Captions are visible only to the individual who enables them and are not saved after the meeting.

Zoho Meeting

Zoho Meeting offers real-time transcription through integrations with Rev AI and Zia.

To enable live transcription:

1. Navigate to the Integrations tab in Zoho Meeting settings.
2. Select Rev AI and click Install.
3. On the Rev AI website, log in and copy your API access token.
4. Paste the token into Zoho Meeting's Rev AI integration page and click Save.

Custom Real-Time Meeting Transcription Method

There are flexible ways to get real-time transcription in any meeting tool—even if it doesn’t have built-in features.

Use a Dedicated Transcription Assistant

One of the most practical approaches is using a browser-based transcription assistant. These tools work across any platform that runs in a browser—no integration needed.

Install a browser extension or app that can:

• Join or monitor your calls directly.
• Capture the audio in real time.
• Transcribe speech into structured text live during the meeting.

This method works with:

• Zoom (in browser or desktop app)
• Google Meet
• Microsoft Teams
• Skype
• Webex
• Any other web-based platform

What’s useful here is that you’re not dependent on the conferencing tool’s built-in features. You can get transcription anywhere, at any time.

Combine Meeting Tool + Speech-to-Text API

For technical teams or those with developer resources, there’s a more advanced option. You can create your own real-time transcription pipeline using a speech-to-text API.

Here’s how:

1. Capture the Audio
   Use your system audio or a virtual microphone to route the meeting sound to your app or script.
2. Send to a Real-Time API
   Services like Deepgram, AssemblyAI, or Google Cloud Speech-to-Text let you send audio data and receive real-time transcriptions back.
   These APIs return near-instant text, often with speaker labels and confidence scores.
3. Display or Save the Transcript
   Output the transcription live in a local app, dashboard, or file.
   This setup gives full control over formatting, keyword tracking, and storage.

This method is more technical, but also more customizable—ideal for teams with unique needs, privacy concerns, or industry-specific workflows.

Use Voice-to-Text Software Locally

Another option is to use voice recognition software installed on your device. These tools can listen to any meeting through your microphone or system audio and convert speech to text on the fly.

Examples include:

• Microsoft Dictate (Windows)
• macOS Voice Control
• Dragon Professional

Simply run the meeting on one side of your screen, and have the voice-to-text software record on the other. For small teams or individual use, this method is simple and effective.

Real-Time Meeting Transcription Everywhere: Noota

Switching between tools shouldn’t mean losing access to great meeting notes. That’s where Noota chrome extension makes a big difference :

• Platform-Agnostic Transcription : Noota works with all major video conferencing tools.
  Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex. You can even record face-to-face with Noota mobile app.
• Customizable Templates and Smart Notes : Noota goes beyond just transcription. It structures meeting content automatically with predefined templates.
• One-Click Sharing and Export: At the end of the meeting, the transcript is ready to use. It can be reviewed, edited if needed, and shared with one click.
• Security and Accuracy : Transcripts are stored securely in the cloud, and access is limited to the meeting owner and invitees.

Want to benefit from real-time transcription? Try Noota for free.