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How to Turn a Teams, Zoom or Google Meet Meeting into Text

Where each platform saves the recording, how to transcribe it even without built-in transcription enabled, and how to turn the text into useful meeting minutes.

Sonorarium Team 3 min read

Short answer: download the meeting recording (in Zoom, the audio-only M4A; in Teams, the MP4 from OneDrive or SharePoint; in Meet, the video in the "Meet Recordings" folder in Google Drive), upload it to a transcription tool, and within minutes you'll have timestamped text to write the minutes.

All three platforms have their own transcription, but it depends on your plan, on the admin enabling it and on someone starting it during the meeting. When that didn't happen, or you need the text in another language or as a clean document, this is the way.

Where the recording is

Zoom

  • Local recording: on your computer, in Documents → Zoom, inside a folder named with the date and meeting name. You'll find an .mp4 video and an audio-only file, audio_only.m4a.
  • Cloud recording (paid plans): at zoom.us → Recordings.

Upload the M4A: it's 10 to 20 times smaller than the video and the transcript is identical. More in Zoom recordings to text.

Microsoft Teams

  • Regular meetings: in the OneDrive of whoever started the recording, Recordings folder. It also shows up in the meeting chat.
  • Channel meetings: in the team's SharePoint, channel folder → Recordings.

If you can't download it, only the organizer probably has permission: ask them. Full guide in Teams recordings to text.

Google Meet

The recording (available depending on your Google Workspace plan) is saved in the organizer's Google Drive, in the "Meet Recordings" folder, and the link arrives by email. Download it from Drive with right-click → Download.

In-person meetings

Put your phone in the middle of the table and record with the voice memo app, or use the Record button in the tool straight from the browser.

How to transcribe it

  1. Open the tool and upload the file (audio or video, up to 5 hours and 2 GB).
  2. Choose the meeting language.
  3. Press Transcribe. A one-hour meeting is usually ready in a few minutes; you can close the page and find it in your dashboard.
  4. Review with the synced audio: client names, products and internal acronyms are what's most worth checking.
  5. Download as Word.

From transcript to minutes

Nobody wants to read an hour of transcript. Use the text to write short minutes with this structure:

  1. Details: date, attendees and purpose.
  2. Decisions: one line each, with the timestamp in case someone wants to hear the context.
  3. Action items: what, who and by when.
  4. Open topics for the next meeting.
  5. Appendix: the full transcript.

A trick: search the text for phrases like "so", "we agreed", "let's go with", "I'll take care of" or "by Friday". They usually mark decisions and action items.

Tips so the next one comes out better

  • Ask people to take turns: crosstalk transcribes worst.
  • Remotely, have everyone use a headset instead of the laptop microphone.
  • In a room, avoid noisy projectors and open windows.
  • Announce at the start that the meeting will be recorded and transcribed.

FAQ

Is each participant identified? Not yet: the transcript has timestamps per segment but doesn't label speakers. For minutes, attributing decisions and action items while reviewing is usually enough.

Can I transcribe a meeting held in another language? Yes. Choose the language that was spoken; more than 60 are supported.

Is it legal? It depends on the country and context, but the general rule is to inform attendees and follow your organization's policy. More in the meeting transcription guide.