Never Miss a Word – A Guide to Teams Transcription and Accessibility

These days the use of Microsoft Teams has become quite common. Microsoft Teams has evolved from a simple communication tool to a powerful platform for meetings, collaboration teaching and more.

Microsoft Teams has made significant strides in accessibility and inclusivity by introducing transcription and live captioning features. These features are particularly beneficial for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, those with language barriers, or anyone who simply prefers to follow along visually – helping to avoid information shared during the Teams call from being missed.

In this article, I will guide you through how to enable and use transcription and Live Captions in Microsoft Teams, including key technical details, accessibility features, and what to do if you forget to start transcription but have recorded the meeting.

What is Transcription in Microsoft Teams?

Transcription in Microsoft Teams allows meeting content, especially the audio, to be converted into text in real-time. This is beneficial for people with hearing impairments, those who prefer reading to listening, or those who simply want to refer to meeting details at a later time. Teams can transcribe spoken content and display it alongside the meeting video feed, allowing people to follow the conversation in both audio and text formats. The meeting transcription can also be downloaded or shared after the meeting.   

How to Enable Transcription in Microsoft Teams

For Microsoft 365 Admins

Before users can take advantage of transcription in Microsoft Teams, there are several steps a Microsoft 365 administrator needs to follow to enable this feature.

• Ensure Microsoft Teams is Up to Date: The transcription feature is available to users with an up-to-date version of Teams. Admins should ensure that all users are on the latest version of Microsoft Teams.
• Verify Licensing: Transcription in Teams is part of Microsoft 365 enterprise plans (such as Business Standard, Business Premium, or Enterprise E3/E5). Admins need to verify that the organisation has the necessary licenses to access this feature.
• Enable Cloud Recording: Transcription works with cloud-based recording. Admins should ensure that cloud recording is enabled in the Teams Admin Center:
  • Go to the Teams Admin Center (https://admin.teams.microsoft.com)
  • Navigate to Meetings > Meeting Policies.
  • Under Recording & transcription, ensure that the “Allow transcription” option is turned on.
    Note: Recording & transcription is typically found within the “Global (Org-wide default)” policy.
    Tip: Provided you have sufficient permissions, this can also be enabled in the Teams app under Admin> Settings > Meeting “Allow transcription” toggled to On.
    
• Set Up Permissions for Recording and Transcription: Ensure that the appropriate permissions are granted to users who need to record meetings. The “Allow Cloud Recording” setting must be enabled for users to record meetings and access transcription features.
• Activate Live Captions and Transcription: In the Teams Admin Center, make sure the live captions and transcription setting is enabled globally or for specific user groups.
• Go to Teams Admin Center > Meetings >Meeting Policies> Live Captions.
• Set the default language for captions and transcriptions.
• Ensure “Allow transcription” is toggled to On.
• Compliance Considerations: If your organisation is subject to legal or privacy regulations or policies, please review and consider the compliance implications of transcription. Transcriptions are stored in the Microsoft 365 cloud, and sensitive information might be captured. Admins should communicate any relevant privacy policies to users.

Please note that exact location and name of setting may differ slightly depending on your Microsoft Tenancy and version of interface being used.

Enable Microsoft Teams Transcription with PowerShell

For those who prefer, transcription in Microsoft Teams, can be enabled using PowerShell commands. For those unfamiliar with PowerShell, see Microsoft’s guide to enabling transcriptions and captions using the PowerShell commands.

Basically, you’ll need to use the parameter “-AllowTranscription”, in the Set-CSTeamsMeetingPolicy section to enable transcription.

You can also find more detailed instructions for configuring Teams options using PowerShell and other options in the Microsoft Teams admin documentation.

For Users: How to Enable and Use Transcription

Once the feature is enabled by your Microsoft 365 administrator, people can easily enable and use transcription during meetings. Similar to recording the meeting, it is good practice at the start of the meeting to inform the meeting participants that a transcription will be automatically generated.  

Starting Transcription in a Meeting

• Schedule or Join a Meeting: You can either schedule a Teams meeting in advance or join an existing meeting.
• Start Transcription:
  • Once in the meeting, click the three dots (More options) in the meeting control bar.
  • Select Start transcription. This will immediately begin transcribing the conversation in real-time. The transcription will appear in a side panel (for desktop and web clients) or as captions for mobile devices.
  • Note: You can transcribe the meeting without needing to record it. However, if transcriptions have been enabled by the admin and you start recording your meeting, transcriptions are typically automatically created too.
    
• Review Transcription: After the meeting, the transcription will be available in the meeting chat or under the meeting details, and typically accessible to all participants depending on the settings. Users can download the transcript as a text file in either Microsoft Word document (.docx) or a Video Text Tracks (.vtt) format or review it directly in Teams.
  Note: as transcripts are automatically generated, they may not be 100% accurate so you may wish to edit the document before sharing it.
• Stopping Transcription: To stop the transcription, click the three dots (More options) again and select Stop transcription. The transcript will automatically save once the meeting ends. You can also stop and restart the transcription if you wish not to have a part of the meeting included in the transcription, e.g. discussing a data sensitive topic.

What if You Forgot to Start Transcription, But Recorded the Meeting?

If you forgot to start transcription during a meeting but recorded the meeting, all is not lost! Microsoft Teams automatically saves a recording of the meeting, and, in some cases, you may be able to generate a transcript post-meeting.

• For Cloud Recordings: When the meeting is recorded, the video and audio are stored in Microsoft Stream or OneDrive/SharePoint (depending on the organisation’s settings). Once the recording is processed, Teams may automatically generate a transcription of the meeting if the transcription feature was previously enabled.

• Manually Start Post-Meeting Transcription: If transcription was not enabled during the meeting but the recording is available, the meeting organiser can start transcription manually after the meeting ends by accessing the recording in the meeting chat. From there, the organiser can turn on transcription if the organisation settings allow it.

Note: This feature may take a few minutes to process after the meeting ends, so users should be patient while the transcription is generated.

If you find however that the transcription option is not showing when accessing the recording of the meeting, contact your Microsoft 365 administrator as they may be able to access the recording directly and generate a transcription for you.  

Live Captions in Microsoft Teams

Live captions in Microsoft Teams is another accessibility feature designed to improve the meeting experience for people who are hard of hearing or in noisy environments. Similar to transcriptions Live captions display real-time transcriptions of spoken content as the participants speak. However, unlike transcriptions, Live Captions are not saved and will disappear after the meeting.  

How to Use Live Captions

• Enable Live Captions in a Meeting:
  • During a meeting, click the three dots (More options) in the meeting control bar.
  • Select Turn on live captions. This will display captions for all spoken content in the meeting, including the speaker’s name and their dialogue.
• Language Options: Currently, Microsoft Teams supports live captions in several languages. The meeting organiser can set the preferred language for captions in the Teams settings (see the Teams Admin section for this). Participants can also select a preferred language for captions during the meeting.
• Editing Captions: In some cases, users may be able to edit captions for accuracy. However, this is typically done at the admin level, and users should follow the compliance guidelines in place for their organisation.
• Viewing Captions on Different Devices: Live captions are supported across desktop, web, and mobile devices, allowing participants to view captions wherever they are.
• Customising Captions: You can customise the appearance of the caption bar, including font size, colour, and background

Accessibility Benefits of Transcription and Live Captions

Transcription and live captions in Microsoft Teams are essential tools for ensuring meetings are accessible to everyone, regardless of hearing ability or language proficiency. These features help:

• Individuals with Hearing Impairments: Transcriptions and captions provide equal access to meeting content for people with hearing loss, allowing them to follow along with the discussion.
• Non-Native Language Speakers: By enabling captions in multiple languages, Teams helps bridge language barriers during international meetings.
• Meeting Recording and Reference: Transcriptions can be referenced later, making it easier for participants to recall key points or follow up on action items discussed during the meeting.

Conclusion

Transcription and live captions in Microsoft Teams are transformative features that improve accessibility, productivity, and collaboration for all users. With a few simple steps, both Microsoft 365 admins and individual users can unlock the power of these features to enhance the meeting experience. Whether you’re using it for note-taking, accessibility, or record-keeping, transcription and captions ensure that everyone has the opportunity to fully participate and benefit from the meeting, no matter their hearing abilities or language skills.

By leveraging these tools, organisations can create more inclusive and efficient virtual meeting environments, ensuring no one misses out on important discussions.

As always, I am keen to hear about how you are using mobile, and other technology, and AI too. If you would like to have a particular topic covered in the next newsletter, please let me know. Finally, please feel free to contact me if you have a question or need technical help and support.

Martin Pistorius

Karten Network Technology Advisor