Transcribe a Microsoft Teams Recording on Your Own Computer

How to turn on transcription in Teams

1. In the meeting, open More actions (···).
2. Choose Record and transcribe, then Start transcription (or start a recording, which can include a transcript).
3. After the meeting, the transcript appears in the meeting chat and the Recap tab.

If the option is missing or greyed out, transcription is switched off in your organisation's Teams meeting policy, or your Microsoft 365 licence does not include it. Only an admin can change that. The transcript is created and stored in Microsoft's cloud. If that is the problem, or the option is not available, use one of the two local methods below.

Method 1: transcribe the Teams recording file

1. After the meeting, open the recording from the chat or channel. It's stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.
2. Choose Download. You get an MP4 file.
3. Drop the MP4 into Scrieb. It extracts the audio and transcribes it on your computer, with speaker identification.
4. Export DOCX or PDF, or use the local summary for the minutes.

The download itself is a copy from your organisation's own Microsoft 365 storage to your managed device; no third party is added.

Method 2: record the call with Scrieb

1. Start Record from App in Scrieb, which captures the call audio and your microphone.
2. Join the Teams meeting. No bot, no extra participant, no Copilot.
3. Tell the other participants you are recording.
4. Stop when the call ends. If the other side played through your speakers, the echo is removed; transcription then runs offline.

Teams transcription, Copilot, or local?

Windows requirements and speeds: Offline transcription for Windows.

Pricing

Free plan: 1 hour of recording per day. Pro: no minute limits, one licence for Windows and Mac.

Try it on your own recordings

Frequently asked questions

Where are Teams meeting recordings stored?

In OneDrive for the person who started the recording, or in SharePoint for channel meetings, as an MP4 file. Open the recording, choose Download, and you have a local file to transcribe.

Is Teams transcription done locally or in the cloud?

In Microsoft's cloud. Teams has its own transcription, but it is not processed on your computer. It needs the right Microsoft 365 licence, must be enabled by the admin, and the transcript is stored in Microsoft's services. Scrieb transcribes the downloaded file on your computer instead.

Can I transcribe a Teams meeting I didn't record?

If the organiser recorded it, ask for the MP4. If nobody recorded it, the only way is to have recorded it yourself: Scrieb can record the system audio of a Teams call on your computer, without any bot joining.

Does Teams tell participants when I record with Scrieb?

No. Scrieb records on your computer; Teams sees nothing. That means you must tell participants yourself. The recording notice Teams shows applies only to its own recording feature.

How do I turn on transcription in Teams?

In the meeting, open More actions (···), choose Record and transcribe, then Start transcription. If the option is missing, your admin has disabled it in the meeting policy or your licence lacks it. The transcript is stored in Microsoft 365; for a local transcript, download the recording or record the call with Scrieb.

Can I get a Teams transcript without recording the meeting?

In Teams, yes: on licences that include transcription, Start transcription works without Start recording, and everyone in the meeting is notified. The transcript is stored in Microsoft 365, not on your computer. Locally, any transcript needs the audio, so Scrieb records it on your own computer with “Record from App” and transcribes it there; tell participants you are recording.

Teams saved an MP4 to OneDrive. How do I get the text out of it?

The MP4 contains only audio and video, not the text. Teams keeps its own transcript separately, in the meeting's Recap tab, where it can be downloaded as .docx or .vtt if the organiser and your admin allow it. Without that, or without Microsoft Graph, download the MP4 from OneDrive and drop it into Scrieb: it transcribes the audio locally with speaker labels.

What is a .vtt file?

WebVTT (.vtt) is a plain-text subtitle format: each line of speech with its start and end time. Teams offers its transcript as .vtt, and video players use it for captions. Open it in any text editor; for a readable document, the .docx download or a Scrieb DOCX export is easier.

Can I search across my Teams and Zoom transcripts?

Yes. Scrieb's library search looks inside every transcript and summary, not just titles, and shows the matching passage. The AI chat can also answer questions across all recordings or one folder.

Will the transcript separate speakers?

Yes. Scrieb identifies speakers locally by voice. Teams' own transcript uses participant names, which is convenient but only exists in the cloud.

Is this allowed under my company's policy?

That is for your IT and compliance teams. Many organisations prefer local transcription for confidential meetings precisely because nothing leaves the managed device, but check before recording.

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