Home
/
Blogging
/
Business
/
Tutorials & Tips
/
Real-Time Collaboration Using Microsoft Teams Transcripts

Real-Time Collaboration Using Microsoft Teams Transcripts

Daniel Mantere / May 12th, 2025

Ever been on a Microsoft Team meeting and found yourself scrambling to jot down every great idea? You probably missed something important, anyway. You didn’t know what to focus on: listening and reasoning, or writing. You’re not alone. That’s exactly why everyone should learn how to transcribe Teams meeting.

Here’s what you can do with real-time collaboration powered by automatic transcripts:

Stay fully engaged in the conversation instead of playing catch-up with your notes
Ensure every voice is heard, including those that are hard of hearing or joining in a non-native language
Create a searchable record of decisions, action items, and key insights

Let’s see how you can do that! We’ll talk about the best practices for using Microsoft Teams transcription on the fly, and integrate those transcripts in your post-meeting workflow.

How to Enable Transcription in Teams

Before you jump into your next meeting, make sure you’ve got the right setup to capture every word. First, you’ll need the right setup:

Live transcription is included with most Business Standard, Business Premium, and Enterprise plans.
Only the meeting host can enable transcription, so you can ask for their permission before the meeting.
Your IT admin must turn on “Allow transcription” under Teams meeting policies.

If you’re looking for extra functionality, like exporting clean, timestamped transcripts to text files, you can check out an extension. It will automatically detect when a Microsoft Teams transcript starts, and you’ll get a one-click download option for the full transcript at the end of the session. The extension integrates with Teams and requires no paid add-on.

When everything is ready, here’s how you can turn on transcription Teams:

Start or join a meeting. To do that, open Microsoft Teams and click Calendar. You can join a scheduled meeting or select Meet now. Make sure to sign in with the account that has transcription enabled.
Turn on Live transcription. You’ll find the function in the meetings controls toolbar, under More actions. Choose Start transcription. You’ll see a notification that transcription has begun. Everyone in the meeting will be notified.
You can choose the language under Device settings in the toolbar. There, you can choose the language that’s spoken in the meeting.

Benefits of Microsoft Teams Live Transcription

Real-time transcription does more than just convert speech to text. It transforms the way your team collaborates. Here’s how:

Instant accessibility for all participants

From the moment you click “Start transcription,” every attendee sees live captions on their screen. No one has to wait for meeting minutes or summaries. Everyone can read along in real time. That’s very valuable for remote participants, who may face audio delays or connectivity hiccups.

Better focus with no frantic note-taking

Instead of scribbling notes, you can stay present in the discussion. Knowing that Teams is capturing every word lets you focus on ideas, questions, and problem-solving. After the meeting, you can revisit the transcript to pull out key points. No guessing required!

Inclusive collaboration

Once you figure out how to record Teams meeting, you will support hearing-impaired and non-native speakers. Live captions break down communication barriers. Everyone can read the transcript to ensure they catch every nuance. The result is a more equitable meeting environment, where every voice truly counts.

Searchable record for follow-up

Post-meeting, your transcript is fully searchable. Are you looking for that one action item or important decision? All you need to do is search keywords. There’s no need to skim through pages of notes. You can also highlight, copy, and export specific sections for sharing in Teams chat, project trackers, and documents.

Best Practices for Using Transcripts to Collaborate

Getting live transcription turned on is just the start. To get the most out of team collaboration, you can adopt a few simple habits:

Assign a Transcript Moderator

The project lead or scrum master can get another responsibility: to watch the live transcript feed. Their role is to flag key decisions and action items as they appear. They will also clarify speaker labels if Teams misattributed someone’s comments. Finally, they can prompt quieter team members to contribute when gaps appear.

To keep everyone engaged and accountable, you can rotate the Transcript Moderator role each meeting.

Use timestamps to reference action items

When the moderator spots an action item, they can note the timestamp. For example: “00:12:45 — Sarah to draft the campaign outline.” You can paste these timestamped notes into the meeting chat or shared OneNote page. If you use a project board, you can link each timestamp to a task in it. The link creates a direct path from discussion to execution.

Encourage all participants to speak clearly

Accurate transcripts are only possible with clear speech. Remind your team to mute when not speaking, so the background noise will be minimal. Everyone should briefly pause between points, so the transcription can keep up. Also, team members should state their names before speaking, especially if multiple voices join in quickly.

Make transcripts part of your everyday tools

You can use @mentions in the transcript to assign tasks on the spot. When the transcript is finished, post it in the relevant Teams channel, so it will be visible to everyone in the group. You can use OneNote to send important snippets!

Final Thoughts

Transcriptions in Microsoft Teams are a collaboration powerhouse! They are instantly available, so every participant can follow along live, no matter where they join from. They free your team from note-taking, so everyone can engage in the discussion. The records are searchable, so you’ll easily find the action items and decisions you’re looking for.

Try this functionality in your next Teams meeting and we guarantee: you’ll never give it up!