Audio transcription for cloud recordings


Audio transcription automatically transcribes the audio of a meeting or webinar that you record to the cloud. After this transcript is processed, it appears as a separate VTT file in the list of recorded meetings. In addition, you have the option to display the transcript text within the video itself, similar to a closed caption display. When sharing a cloud recording, you can enable or disable if viewers can see the transcript.

The transcript is divided into sections, each with a timestamp that shows how far into the recording that portion of the text was recorded. You can edit the text to more accurately capture the words, or to add capitalization and punctuation, which are not captured by the transcript.

Notes:

This article includes:

Prerequisites for using audio transcription

Note: If you meet the prerequisites above, but do not see the option, submit a request to Zoom Support to have this feature enabled.

How to generate an audio transcript

To generate a transcript, start a cloud recording.

After the meeting ends, you will receive an email that lets you know that your cloud recording is available. A short time later, you also receive a separate email letting you know that the audio transcript for the recording is available. These emails include links to view your recordings and transcript.

Note: The audio transcript may take additional time to process after the cloud recording video/audio has processed.

How to view or edit the audio transcript

Audio transcripts are saved in VTT format. If you download the VTT file, you can open it with a text editor  or word processing application. You can also view or edit transcripts in the web portal.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Recordings.
  3. Click the name of the recorded meeting.
    You will see a list of recording files.
  4. Click the play icon.
    The text of the transcript displays on the right-hand side of the video. 
  5. Hover over a phrase you want to edit and click the pencil icon.
    Note: If a phrase belongs to an unknown speaker, you can also hover over Unknown Speaker and click the pencil icon to edit the name.
  6. Make any changes to the text, then click the check mark.  
    The updated version of the text is displayed when you play the audio or video file.

How to display the transcript as closed captions

The transcript is automatically embedded within the audio and video file, but is hidden by default. To see the transcript in the audio or video file:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Recordings.
  3. Click the name of the recorded meeting.
    You will see a list of recording files.
  4. Click the play icon.
  5. Click the CC icon at the bottom right of the screen.     
    The text displays on top of the video, similar to closed captioning.

How to search for text in audio transcripts

You can search for text within the audio transcripts for your own cloud recordings. If you're an admin, you can also search all audio transcripts in the account.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Recordings to search your own audio transcripts.
    If you're an admin, click Account Management then Recording Management.
  3. In the Search text in audio transcript text box, enter a word or phrase.
  4. (Optional) In the Storage Location drop-down menu, select a location to only display audio transcripts from a specific Communications Content storage location.
  5. Click Search.
    Matching text will be highlighted.
  6. Click View Detail to view the full transcript.
    The text of the transcript displays on the right-hand side. 
  7. Click the Audio Transcript tab on the right.
    Matching text will be highlighted.