Zoom Live Transcription

Live Transcription provides robot transcription services, which enables speech to text transcription in Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars. This feature is enabled by the host of the meeting or webinar once it begins. Participants will not see the Live Transcript option unless the host enables it.

Red-coloured isometric illustration of an exclamation mark This feature is not available in Breakout Rooms.

Enable Live Transcription

Once the host has logged into the Zoom meeting:

  1. Click Live Transcript on the Zoom toolbar.
  2. Click Enable Auto-Transcription.
    Screenshot showing how to enable auto-transcription in Zoom
    Red-coloured isometric illustration of an exclamation mark If the meeting is being recorded, and you have enabled Live Transcript, you will receive a copy of the transcript in the same location of your recorded meeting.
  3. To turn off Live Transcription, click Disable Auto-Transcription in the Live Transcript menu.
    Screenshot highlighting the disable auto-transcription button in Zoom
  4. Hosts also have the ability to disable Save Transcript. Login to https://macquarie.zoom.us and access Settings --> Meeting --> In Meeting (Advanced).  To disable, click to toggle off Save Captions.
    Screenshot highlighting the save captions toggle in Zoom settings

Participants in a Zoom meeting

Once Live Transcription has been enabled by the host, participants have the option to choose how they want to view the robot transcription feature.

  1. Click Live Transcription to choose a transcript option.
    Screenshot highlighting live transcript options in Zoom
    Show Subtitles displays subtitles on the screen.
    View Full Transcript displays subtitles in real time with both the speaker's name and a time-stamp within the transcript window. This is the recommended setting.
    Subtitle Settings will open a window where you can adjust the font size of both the subtitles and the chat window.
  2. Click View Full Transcript to view the subtitle and speaker.
  3. If you would like a copy of the transcript, click View Full Transcript and Save Transcript. A copy of the transcript will be downloaded to your machine.
    Red-coloured isometric illustration of an exclamation mark The transcript saves up to the moment of clicking Save Transcript. We recommend you click Save Transcript just before the meeting ends to ensure you have the transcript from the entire meeting. Also note that this option may not be available if the host has disabled this feature.

Tips for using Live Transcription with Zoom

  • Use an External Microphone: An external microphone/headset provides better audio quality and, therefore, more accurately matches what is being said verbally.
  • Speak Slowly: Speaking slowly enables a more accurate match to what is being said verbally and allows others to follow the automatic transcript or subtitles.
  • Take Turns/Pause Before Speaking: Zoom's active speaker tracking is used to identify the speaker. When another individual begins speaking, it can take a second or two before Zoom updates the transcript to identify the new speaker.
  • Monitor the Participants Panel for the Go Slower function: Zoom's Participants panel displays all attendees and shows any nonverbal feedback the attendees provide. When using automatic live transcription, consider keeping the Participants panel open to see if attendees are indicating they need speakers to Go Slower.
    Screenshot highlighting the go slower icon in Zoom