Meeting transcription turns spoken words from a meeting into written text—during the call (real-time) or after (post-meeting). Modern tools add speaker labels, timestamps, and often AI summaries and action items. If you're comparing options, the main choices are real-time vs post-meeting, and whether the tool joins as a bot or runs in the background. This guide explains what meeting transcription is, when to use it, and how to choose the right tool for your team.
What is meeting transcription?
Meeting transcription is the process of converting speech from a meeting—whether it's on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or in person—into written text. AI meeting transcription tools use speech recognition to do this automatically. The output is usually a transcript: a time-stamped, searchable record of who said what.
Beyond the raw text, many tools now offer:
- Speaker identification – Who said what
- Timestamps – Jump to any moment in the conversation
- AI summaries – Short overviews and key points
- Action items – Extracted next steps and owners
- Export – To Notion, Slack, email, or PDF
So when people ask "what is meeting transcription?", they often mean both the basic conversion (speech to text) and the fuller package: transcript plus structure and summaries. That fuller package is what most teams use when they say they want "meeting notes" or "AI meeting notes."
Why use meeting transcription?
Teams use meeting transcription for a few clear reasons:
- Compliance and record-keeping – Regulated industries and legal teams need an accurate record of what was said. A transcript is searchable and auditable in a way that handwritten notes are not.
- Async and inclusion – People who couldn't attend can read the transcript or watch with captions. Non-native speakers and anyone who processes better in writing benefit from having the text.
- Search and reuse – Once you have transcripts, you can search across meetings for topics, decisions, or commitments. Some teams repurpose transcripts into blogs, social posts, and knowledge-base articles.
- Less note-taking in the room – When the tool captures everything, participants can focus on the conversation instead of scribbling. Follow-ups are easier because nothing gets lost.
The right meeting transcription tool fits your platforms (Meet, Zoom, Teams), your need for real-time vs post-meeting output, and whether you're okay with a bot joining the call or prefer something that runs in the background.
Real-time vs post-meeting transcription
Real-time meeting transcription produces text as people speak. You see the transcript update live during the call. Use it when you want captions, live reference, or immediate sharing during the meeting.
Post-meeting transcription runs after the call. The tool processes the recording and delivers the transcript (and often a summary) when the meeting is over. Use it when you care more about a clean, reviewed record and don't need live captions.
| Real-time | Post-meeting | |
|---|---|---|
| When you get the transcript | During the call | After the call |
| Best for | Captions, live reference, accessibility | Clean record, summaries, action items |
| Typical accuracy | Good; can vary with latency | Often slightly higher (full context) |
Both approaches can be done with or without a bot in the call. Some tools offer real-time transcription via a browser extension that captures audio from your side—no extra participant—so you get live text without anyone else seeing a bot. For a deeper comparison, see real-time vs post-meeting transcription.
Bot vs no-bot: what to look for
A critical differentiator is whether the tool joins the meeting as a participant (bot) or captures from your device or browser (no-bot).
- Bot-based: The tool joins the call as a third party. Everyone sees it in the participant list. That can trigger "who's that?" moments, compliance concerns, and in sales, lost trust. Research shows that visible recording can change how prospects behave; 47% of sales professionals report losing deals because of meeting bot concerns.
- No-bot: The tool runs on your side—e.g. a Chrome extension or local recorder—and never joins the call. No extra attendee, no new cloud participant. You still get a full transcript, speaker labels, and AI summaries. Compliance and legal teams often prefer this model because there's no third party in the meeting.
When you're choosing a meeting transcription tool, ask: Does it join the call, or does it run in the background? If you're in sales, legal, healthcare, or any context where a visible bot hurts trust or policy, prioritize meeting notes without a bot—tools that capture from your browser or device and don't appear in the roster.
How to choose the right meeting transcription tool
Use a short checklist so you don't miss the dimensions that actually matter:
- Accuracy – How well does it capture speech in your environment? Look for benchmarks or trials in conditions like yours (e.g. sales calls, internal standups). Accuracy often sits in the high 80s to mid 90s (%). Plan for review when the record must be exact.
- Platforms – Does it work with your video platform? (Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams.) If you use the browser for meetings, a single extension that supports all three can simplify things.
- Real-time vs post-meeting – Do you need live captions and a live transcript, or is a post-call transcript and summary enough? Your answer narrows the options.
- Bot vs no-bot – If trust, compliance, or policy is a concern, prefer tools that don't join the call. Check the vendor's description: "no bot," "runs in the background," or "captures from your device" are good signals.
- Export and integrations – Can you export to Notion, Slack, CRM, or email? Does it fit your existing workflow?
- Privacy and compliance – For regulated or sensitive use, look for SOC 2, GDPR, or other certifications, and clear data residency and retention. No-bot tools that process on your side or in a compliant cloud are often easier to get approved.
For a side-by-side on accuracy, pricing, and no-bot options, see our AI meeting transcription comparison.
Key takeaways
- Meeting transcription is speech-to-text for meetings—often with speaker IDs, timestamps, and AI summaries.
- Use it for compliance, async access, search, and to reduce in-room note-taking.
- Real-time gives you text during the call; post-meeting gives you a transcript and summary after. Both can be done with or without a bot.
- No-bot tools capture from your browser or device and don't join the call—better for trust and compliance when a visible bot is a problem.
- When choosing a tool, check accuracy, platforms, real-time vs post-meeting, bot vs no-bot, export options, and compliance.
If you want AI meeting transcription and summaries without a bot in the call, try a tool that works in the background for Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams. You get the same outcomes—transcript, summary, action items—without an extra participant in the room.