Zoom: Enable, View, and Access a Meeting/Webinar Transcript

Environment

U-M Zoom

Issue

How do I view the meeting/webinar transcript during the meeting/webinar? How do I view it after it ends?

Resolution

You must enable the Meeting transcript setting in your Zoom account settings before the Transcript button will appear in the meetings you host. (This setting controls transcription for both meetings and webinars, despite its name.) If you do not enable it before joining the meeting/webinar, you will need to end the meeting/webinar, enable the setting in your account, and restart the meeting/webinar.

Enable meeting transcript in your settings

• You can access your meeting transcript settings in the following way:
  1. Go to your U-M Zoom account settings.
  2. Click the Meeting tab and then click In Meeting (Advanced) to the left.
  3. Toggle Meeting transcript on.
• You can enable transcriptions to start automatically for all meetings/webinars you host by checking the Automatically generate transcripts for box and selecting either All meetings or Meetings with meeting summaries. (Meeting summaries refer to the related AI Companion feature/setting.)
  • If Automatically generate transcripts for is turned OFF in your account settings, you must manually save the transcript before ending/leaving the meeting/webinar. You cannot access it after the meeting/webinar ends.
• If Allow all meeting participants to view transcripts during the meeting is turned OFF, hosts/co-hosts, in addition to participants, won’t be able to view the transcript during the meeting/webinar.
  • Checking the Allow saving transcripts to computer by box and selecting an audience will allow that set of individuals (e.g., all meeting participants) to use the Save transcript button to save it locally to their computer during the meeting/webinar.

View transcript during meeting/webinar

• Important: You must update your Zoom desktop app to version 7.0.5 for the new in-meeting/webinar transcript experience to appear. (This applies to all hosts and participants/attendees.)
  • If a participant/attendee's app is not updated, they won't be able to interact with the transcript during the meeting/webinar (if enabled).
• Click the Transcript button from your bottom toolbar (it may be hidden under the More button/menu). The meeting/webinar transcript will open in a side panel attached to your meeting/webinar window.
  • The transcript will update in real time with both the speaker's name and timestamp (if allowed by the host).
  • The language currently set for the automated captions also affects the meeting/webinar transcript's language, so ensure the correct language is selected during your meeting/webinar.
• Participants/attendees can request the host to start/stop the transcript recording by hovering over the blinking Transcript icon at the top of their meeting/webinar window and clicking Ask host to [start/stop] transcription.
  • This option is available regardless of whether participants/attendees can view the live transcript.
  • A request is sent to the host, and a notification appears in their meeting/webinar window with the option to approve or decline.
    • If approved, the meeting/webinar transcript will immediately start/stop. The host can delete the transcript upon approving a stop request (if desired).
    • If denied, the requester will receive a denial notification.
• You can manually save the transcript by clicking Save transcript at the bottom of the Transcript panel; it will be saved locally on your computer (not in the cloud). (You should do this at the end of the meeting/webinar to ensure you capture the entire transcript history.)
  • After clicking the button, you will be asked to name the file and whether you'd like Zoom to "polish" the transcript. (Polishing removes filler words and corrects minor grammatical errors to improve readability without changing the original meaning.) Click Save when done.
    • If you check Polish transcript, it may take some time for Zoom to edit it before its saved. If polishing fails, the original transcript will be saved.
  • If you end the meeting/webinar or leave before it ends, ensure you click Save transcript. The transcript will not be saved and cannot be accessed after the meeting/webinar ends/you leave (unless automatic transcript generation is turned on by the host).

Access transcript after meeting/webinar

• Only meeting/webinar transcripts that have been automatically generated (following the Automatically generate transcripts for account setting) will be saved to the cloud and downloadable in the Zoom web portal.
• You can download your automatically generated transcripts from your account’s Recordings and Transcripts page, under the Transcripts tab.
  • Click Download next to the transcript you'd like to save. It will download as a TXT file.
  • You cannot currently view the transcript in the Zoom web portal (unlike meeting summaries or cloud recordings).
  • Meeting/webinar transcripts do not currently appear in your Zoom Hub.
• Meeting/webinar transcripts saved to the cloud (i.e., automatically recorded ones) follow the U-M Zoom asset retention policy of 150 days, with 30 days in the trash before permanent deletion. You cannot change this.

Additional Information

• The Meeting transcript setting replaced the Full transcript and Save Captions settings in May 2026.
• Refer to Zoom Support | Using Meeting transcripts for more information.
• Audio transcription for cloud recordings is a separate setting that adds closed captioning to cloud recordings. You must enable that setting before recording starts.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.