Microsoft Teams is a superb platform with excellent tools to make virtual meetings productive. In 2021, Teams took things to another level with the introduction of live transcription.
This is a more than welcomed development, as the video transcript improves clarity and makes it easy to catch up on missed points. What’s more, the transcripts are available for download, giving you something to fall back on after the meeting for reference.
This guide will discuss two effective ways of taking live transcription of a Microsoft Teams meeting to ensure you can always take advantage of the superb feature.
Transcribing a meeting using Teams is simple but not straightforward, as conditions are attached. This section will highlight the criteria for using the transcription feature and explain the steps involved.
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.
Below are the steps to follow to use live transcription in a Teams meeting:
That’s how to transcribe a Teams meeting and end it. Note that if you do not stop the transcription, it will stop automatically when no more participants are in the conference.
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:
Microsoft Teams meeting transcripts are immediately available for download in the meeting event on the calendar after the meeting.
Airgram is a top-notch tool designed to improve productivity in meetings exponentially.
Unlike other tools that only transcribe from recordings after the completion of the meeting, Airgram offers an accurate live transcription with auto speaker detection.
Besides, it automates the whole process from joining meetings and recording to note-taking and transcription.
In terms of meeting transcription, Airgram just ticks all the right boxes.
For an instant Teams meeting:
With this, the Airgram bot will join your meeting and start transcribing in real-time!
To transcribe a Teams meeting that you have already scheduled on your calendar:
Meanwhile Airgram provides a built-in meeting agenda template, where your team can take and co-edit meeting notes, as well as assign action items to keep every team member aligned.
After the recording has ended, you can now go ahead to your workplace and review it. Feel free to edit, clip and share the transcript and meeting notes with others.
Q. How accurate is Microsoft Teams transcription?
A. Microsoft claims its live transcription has high accuracy thanks to the 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. 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 hours 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.
Live transcription in Teams meetings aids clarity and, in turn, productivity. Also, the transcripts available for download after the meeting can be seen as automated meeting notes.
This article has covered everything live transcription in Teams meetings, discussing two methods of doing it effectively. We recommend using the automatic transcriber in Airgram because it eases the task and ensures you never miss a bit due to forgetting to activate the transcription. This program is a complete tool that automates everything in a virtual meeting.
