How to transcribe a Google Meet recording

Do you find it hard to keep on top of note-taking while also staying focused and engaged during meetings? If your company or academic institution uses Google Meet for virtual meetings or lectures and seminars, then Google Meet transcriptions could be the solution you've been looking for.

By letting transcription software do the hard work for you, you can step away from the stresses of note-taking and minute-taking, and stay focused and engaged, without distraction. All safe in the knowledge that you'll have clear and accurate notes to refer back to once the call has ended.

In this guide you'll learn the main benefits of Google Meet transcription, explore the different tools available for transcribing your recording, and find step-by-step instructions for how to transcribe Google Meet.

Jump to:

• Why transcribe a Google Meet call?

• Tools for transcribing a Google Meet recording

• How to transcribe a Google Meet recording using Transcribe

• How to transcribe a Google Meet recording for free

• How to use your Google Meet transcription

Why transcribe a Google Meet call?

Here are some of the main benefits of Google Meet transcription:

• Stay focused in important meetings

Getting transcripts from your Google Meet calls saves you from having to take notes as you go along. Which means that you can focus on what's going on in the meeting and stay engaged without distraction.

• Get searchable, shareable notes just minutes after the meeting has ended

Thanks to advanced AI-powered software, you'll receive searchable, shareable notes within minutes of the call ending. Search for key points, edit the transcript to remove unnecessary sections, then share with colleagues and peers for reference.

• Increase accountability and improve follow-ups

By transcribing meetings conducted on Google Meet and then sharing the minutes, you can ensure that everyone - including those who couldn't attend - is on the same page about decisions and next steps.

Read more: How to take meeting minutes

• Improve accessibility

Transcriptions of Google Meet recordings enhance accessibility for a range of audiences, including individuals that are deaf or hard of hearing, people in noisy places, and those who are more comfortable reading than listening, especially in languages they're less fluent in.

Tools for transcribing a Google Meet recording

• Google Meet's Transcripts feature

Google Meet has a built-in transcription feature, however it has limited functionality. The feature is only available for users on a computer or laptop (not for those using a mobile device). And Google itself warns that meeting transcripts of languages other than English aren't accurate.

What's more, you can only record meeting transcripts if there's enough free space in both your Workspace organization's Google Drive, and the meeting host's Drive.

• Human transcription services

Transcription services using real-life humans promise accuracy, but these services tend to be far slower and far more expensive than automated services. An hour of audio takes approximately four hours for a professional to transcribe, and the average price is 75 cents to $1.50 per minute. That works out as $45-$90 per hour of audio transcription.

• Automated transcription services

Automatic transcription services like Transcribe offer a faster and more affordable alternative. Since the process is powered by AI, you'll get a transcription of your Google Meet recording within minutes. Depending on the quality of the audio, you may need to make small tweaks to the text, but this is quick and easy to do in our app or online editor.

Check out our guide on how to edit a transcript for more information.

How to transcribe a Google Meet recording using Transcribe

1. Record your Google Meet meeting

To record your Google Meet meeting, recording needs to be enabled by one of your organization's admins. Once that's happened, anyone can record a meeting.

To record, click the 'Activities' icon (a triangle, square, and circle) in the bottom right of the meeting screen. Select 'Recording', then click 'Start Recording'. To end the recording, go to the same place and click 'Stop Recording'. Recordings are saved in the meeting organizer's Google Drive, and an email with the recording link is sent to the meeting organizer and the person who started the recording.

2. Download the Transcribe app or launch the online editor

3. Import your recording to Transcribe

You can import directly from Google Drive, or download the file and upload it in one of the following formats: m4v, mp4, mov or avi.

4. Choose your language

Select the language of your video recording from more than 120 languages and dialects.

5. Start the transcription process

Your Google Meet transcription will be ready within minutes! Make yourself a cup of tea, have a stretch, pet your dog (just enjoy a couple of minutes of free time on us), and we'll send you a notification when your transcription is complete.

6. Your transcription is ready!

Now that your Google Meet transcript is ready, you can proofread and polish the text in the app, online or in your preferred file format - in a fraction of the time it would have taken you to write it yourself.

With our standard version you can export your transcribed text to TXT, or upgrade to our PRO service to export to PDF, DOCX, JPG and SRT.

Find out more about how to transcribe video using Transcribe.

How to get a Google Meet transcription for free

With Transcribe, you can enjoy the first 15 minutes of transcription time for free, so if your Google Meet recording is on the shorter side then this could work out as an entirely free option.

Once you've used up your free credit and seen for yourself whether our service meets your needs, you can buy additional credit for just $5 an hour, or get 10 hours for just $30. Better yet, upgrade to our PRO service for $14.99 a month and you'll receive an additional 5 hours of transcription time each month.

How to use your Google Meet transcription

There are a wide range of things you can do once you've got your transcription. Here are some ideas:

• Create concise notes to share with your colleagues, clients, and classmates

• Turn the transcription into subtitles to make your video content more accessible

• Repurpose the meeting into other educational or training materials, or into reports and articles to support your business' marketing activities. You can find out more about content repurposing here!

Ready to transcribe your Google Meet recordings?

Download the Transcribe app or launch the online editor to get started.