Google Meet Transcript: Captions vs Transcripts vs Take Notes for Me

Here's what trips people up. Meet can make three different text records, and they aren't the same thing. Live captions are subtitles only you can see. A transcript is a file of the spoken words. Take notes for me writes an AI summary in Google Docs. A transcript doesn't include chat messages either: to keep those, you record the meeting.

Captions, transcripts and notes side by side

As of October 2026	Live captions	Transcripts	Take notes for me
What you get	Subtitles on your screen as people speak	A file of the spoken words	A summary, decisions and next steps in Google Docs
Who sees it	Only you	Host, co-hosts, the person who started it and internal invitees	Whoever the host picks under Send notes to
Where it's saved	Not saved; scroll back while you're in the call	Organiser's Drive, Google Meet folder	Organiser's Drive, Google Meet folder
Who can use it	All users	Eligible Workspace editions	Eligible Workspace edition or Google AI plan
Languages	Dozens, many in beta	8 languages	One language at a time
How you start it	Press c, or use Captions and translation	Meeting tools, then Transcribe, on a computer, laptop or Android	From Calendar, the pre-meeting screen or the call

Which plans include transcripts

As of October 2026, Transcripts is available on Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Plus and Workspace Individual. It's on by default for all Workspace editions except Google Workspace for Education with a student licence, where it's off. Transcripts work in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.

There's a storage condition too. You can only record a transcript if there's enough space in both your Workspace organisation's Google Drive and the meeting host's Drive.

Starting and stopping a transcript

1. On your computer, join or start a meeting in Google Meet.
2. At the bottom right, click Meeting tools, then Transcribe, then Start transcription.
3. In the pop-up, click Start. A Transcripts icon appears at the top right for everyone in the meeting.
4. To stop, click Meeting tools, Transcribing, Stop transcription, or click Stop transcribing, then Stop in the pop-up.

Who's allowed to press Start depends on Host management. If it's off, anyone from the host's domain can turn on Transcripts. If it's on, only the host and co-hosts can. You can't pause a transcript, but you can stop it and start a new one in the same meeting, and each start gives you a separate file. When everyone leaves, it stops automatically.

Hosts can also set it to run on its own: when creating the meeting, click Video call options, then Meeting records, and select Transcribe the meeting. It still won't start until the host or a co-host joins on the web, and people who join get an on-screen warning. Some admins also require everyone to give consent before Transcribe, Record or Take notes for me starts, which is off by default.

Finding the file after the call

After the meeting, an email with a link to the transcript goes to the host, any co-hosts and the person who turned it on. Longer meetings take longer to process, so give it time. The transcript is also attached to the Google Calendar event, where every invitee in the host's organisation can open it, unless there are more than 200 invitees in that organisation, in which case only the host, co-hosts and the person who started it can.

In Drive, look in the Google Meet folder, where each meeting gets its own sub-folder. Your older Meet Recordings folder is renamed Legacy Meet Recordings and moved inside it, so old transcripts don't disappear. If you want video as well as text, here's my guide on how to record a Google Meet.

Live captions: free, private and one key away

Captions are the quickest option and they're turned on only for you. Join a meeting, hover over Captions and translation at the bottom and click Turn on captions, or just press c, or Shift and c, on your keyboard. Change the language from the drop-down on the left of the caption tray. Under More options, Settings, Captions, you can pick live captions in each speaker's original language or translated captions, and change the font, font size, font colour and background colour. Your settings save automatically.

You can scroll back through earlier captions, but only for the parts of the call where you were there with captions on. If you need captions in another language, my guide to Google Meet translation covers the translated options.

Take notes for me: the AI version

Take notes for me needs an account set up through your work or school, or an eligible Google AI plan. It's recommended for meetings of 15 minutes up to a maximum of 8 hours. Turn it on from Google Calendar under Video call options, Meeting records, from the pre-meeting screen, or by clicking Take notes for me at the top right once you're in the call.

Before you click Start taking notes, the settings let you choose who gets the notes (all invited guests, invited guests in your organisation, or hosts and co-hosts only), set Standard or Longer notes, and change the meeting language. A pencil icon shows on everyone's screen while it runs. If a different language is spoken for at least 30 seconds, you'll be offered the option to change the notes language. Presentations on screen for at least 10 seconds can be added to the notes as screenshots.

The finished document has two tabs: Quick notes, with the key takeaways and action items, and Full notes, with the summary, decisions, action items and details. It's saved in the organiser's Drive and attached to the Calendar event. If you're weighing up other tools, I've compared the best AI note takers too.

When notes or transcripts don't appear

• The organiser's Workspace edition doesn't include the feature.
• Your admin hasn't turned Take notes for me on, or smart features are disabled.
• The meeting was shorter than the recommended 15 minutes, or there were connection problems.
• Notes went to a group email, so each member has to request access to the doc individually.
• If a summary won't generate in Google Docs, reload your browser.

My verdict on Meet transcripts

I'd use captions when I just need to follow along, because they're free, private and on with a single key. I'd turn on a transcript when I need a word-for-word record and the organiser has an eligible edition. And I'd use Take notes for me when what I want is the decisions and next steps, not every word. Just don't expect the chat in any of them: record the meeting if you need that.

Frequently asked questions

Where is my Google Meet transcript saved?

Meeting transcripts are saved in the meeting organiser's Google Drive in the Google Meet folder, with a sub-folder for each meeting. The transcript is also attached to the Google Calendar event.

Who gets the Google Meet transcript email?

After your meeting ends, an automated email with a link to the transcript is sent to the host, any co-hosts and the person who turned on Transcripts.

Can I get a Google Meet transcript on my phone?

You can only use the Transcripts feature on a computer, laptop or Android device.

Does a Google Meet transcript include the chat?

No. Only the spoken words in a meeting are included in transcripts. To get a transcript of chat messages, record your video meeting.

Can other people see my Google Meet captions?

No. When you turn on live captions, the captions are turned on only for you.