How Easy Is it to Get a Google Meet Transcription?

With remote meetings continuing to be how many of us hold workplace discussions, interviews, and debriefs, utilising tools like Google Meet or Microsoft Teams has never been more convenient.

Thanks to the instant connectivity this software brings, people worldwide can be quickly pulled together to tackle a task or work through a project remotely. Often, the content of such virtual meetings is valuable and may need to be used again, whether for training purposes, evidence, or review. With such meetings varying in length, transcription provides a handy way to find relevant information quickly when you next need it.

In this blog, we look at Google Meet and how you can acquire a meeting transcription when using it.

Does Google Meet have transcription options?

Yes, transcription is available from a host of Google account types, but you won’t be able to get a transcription from the more entry-level tools. In this instance, the only way to receive an accurate transcription of your Google Meet recording would be via a transcription specialist who provides high-quality audio-to-text transcription.

At the time of writing, the following editions of Google Workspace offer transcription within Google Meet:

• Business Standard
• Business Plus
• Enterprise Starter
• Enterprise Standard
• Enterprise Plus
• Teaching & Learning Upgrade
• Education Plus
• Workspace Individual

How do I get a transcript from Google Meet?

For the time being, we’ll assume you have one of the versions listed above to demonstrate how you can pull a transcription from Google Meet. A little further on, we’ll answer some of the more frequent questions asked about Google Meet transcriptions.

Double-check that your version of Google Meet supports transcription

This may sound obvious, but before launching a meeting, ensure your software version supports transcriptions. We’ve listed these above if you need to run through them again.

Turn on Drive and Docs

Transcripts will sit in a Meet Recordings folder in Google Drive, but in order to access them, you’ll need to turn Drive on and create new files there. For the transcriptions to be saved in this location, you’ll need to ensure that both the user and the organisation have suitable storage space for the files to be held first.

In most cases, Google Drive will already be switched on by default, but it is worth double-checking before you proceed.

Turn transcriptions on

Using your admin account, sign into the admin console. From here, you can find options to adjust settings for your Google Meet.

In the Admin console, head to the menu and select Apps. From here, go to Google Workspace and then Google Meet.

Select Meet video settings, click Meeting transcripts, and switch them on and save your selection.

This now means that transcriptions are enabled, but you’ll still need to activate them for each individual meeting when you enter it.

Start or join a meeting on Google Meet

On your laptop or desktop PC, start or join a meeting in Google Meet.

Access the activities panel

In the bottom right of the screen, you should see the “activities” icon. Click it and select Transcripts.

Start your transcription

Click Start transcription and confirm by hitting Start. Your transcription will now begin.
If host management has been enabled, only a host or co-host can begin the transcribing process, but should this be disabled, anybody in the meeting can start it.

Stopping the transcription

In some cases, you may not need the full meeting to be transcribed, or you may know exactly when the transcribing needs to end. This can be manually done by heading back to the activities button, selecting Transcripts, and then Stop transcription. Confirm this by hitting Stop.

This will end the transcribing of your Google Meet. However, you can keep the transcription feature running and allow it to stop by itself. Once all participants have left the meeting, transcription stops automatically. This could mean you pick up some additional conversation at the end that is not needed, so it might be best to manually stop the transcription when you feel it’s suitable.

It is also worth noting that you can start and stop transcriptions at any stage of the meeting. This will create individual files for each transcription, though, and may not always be ideal.

How do I access a transcription from a Google Meet?

Once the meeting is ended, an email is automatically sent to the host, co-host, and whoever started the transcription for the meeting. Within this email will be a link to the transcription, so all attendees can also see the transcription if they wish. It is also attached to the event on Google Calendar. In addition, the file for the transcription will be made available in Google Drive under the Meet Recordings folder. Transcripts are normally available quite quickly, but it can take up to 24 hours if the file is particularly large.

Can I edit a transcription from Google Meet?

Once the transcription is ready, the host, co-host and person who initiated the meeting are automatically given edit access to the file. If needed, they can move, rename, or share it.

How can I get a transcription from Google Meet on a free plan?

If you don’t have the appropriate Google Meet version to benefit from transcriptions, you would be best off hiring a professional transcription service to do this for you.

All you would need to do in this case is to simply record the meeting and then send it to your chosen transcription specialist for them to do the rest.

Before you proceed, make sure you are on a desktop and have received permission from all attendees to record. Then, click the three dots you see on the meeting screen, and choose Record meeting.

Once you have finished, you’ll find the recording in Drive under the Meet Recordings folder. You can then share this with your chosen transcription service for an accurate transcription.

Are transcriptions from Google Meet accurate?

The jury is still out, with many questioning just how accurate the service is. Background noise, multiple speakers and the fact that Google Meet uses artificial speech recognition (ASR) could mean that sections of dialogue are missed or misunderstood, resulting in a variable level of quality from each transcription. Google itself even states that meeting transcripts in languages other than English are not accurate.

Studies have shown that the ASR tech used by Google is typically 79-86% accurate, which can fall short of expectations. For instance, in educational meetings, a full and clear understanding is vital to help further the knowledge of the students. In team meetings, essential communications may need to be relayed to enhance productivity, and in interviews, every answer could determine the success or failure of an applicant. With a lack of accuracy, decisions could be made or actions taken that are not fully aligned with what was actually said.

With transcripts stored on Google Drive, there are potential security issues, especially if the meetings contain sensitive information. Without robust IT security in place, you could find that your valued information is compromised.

This is where we come in. At McGowan Transcriptions, we have spent more than 30 years delivering high-quality, fast and accurate transcriptions to individuals and businesses from a host of working environments. Whether there is a need for legal transcriptions, market research transcriptions, complex medical transcriptions and more, you can rely on us. With speed, accuracy, and compliance as standard, our fully human transcription service delivers a standard unreachable by AI and undeliverable by Google Meet. Contact us today to find out more.