Transcribe a Teams meeting recording to text
From the .mp4 Teams left in OneDrive or SharePoint, with no Copilot and nothing to ask the admin for. The .txt comes with the prompt for the minutes.
Updated: October 2026 · 6 min read
To transcribe a Teams meeting you already recorded: open the recording from the meeting chat and click Download (an .mp4, stored in OneDrive or SharePoint), then open AppGrabbit › Download › Transcribe with AI, drop it in and click Transcribe. The AI engine runs on your PC: out comes a .txt with the prompt for the minutes and an .srt with timing. You need neither Copilot nor an admin turning anything on. 1 credit · 5 free a month
What Teams does and does not do
Teams can transcribe live, but only if your organization's admin allows it in the meeting policy; in many companies the option is simply not there. Summaries and AI notes belong to Copilot, a separate license. And if the meeting ended without a transcript, no button brings it back: you have the video and nothing else. The video is enough.
Where your recording is
When someone records a Teams meeting, the file goes to the organizer's OneDrive (Recordings folder) for a regular meeting, or to the team's SharePoint for a channel meeting. From the meeting chat you open it and download it as .mp4, unless the admin has blocked downloads. Mind the date: by default recordings expire after 120 days.
What you get and how long it takes
- A 1-hour meeting — about 3 minutes with an NVIDIA card; about 12 on CPU only (Fast model).
- The .txt — with “Summarize” or “Key ideas” on top: paste it into your AI and you have the minutes and the decisions.
- The .srt — to quote the exact minute of a decision.
- No cap — a 4-hour training session transcribes the same.
AppGrabbit against the other ways
| AppGrabbit | Teams transcription | Copilot | Meeting bots | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works with a meeting that is over | ✓ Yes, with the .mp4 | ✗ Only if turned on live | ~ If there was a transcript | ✗ They had to be there |
| Depends on the admin | ✓ No | ✗ Yes, by policy | ✗ Yes, a license | ~ Sometimes blocked |
| Your meeting never leaves your PC | ✓ Never | ✗ Goes to Microsoft | ✗ Goes to Microsoft | ✗ Goes to their cloud |
| Separates speakers | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Cost | 1 credit per transcript (5 free a month) · Pro $8.99/mo · 7-day pass $3.99 | Included if allowed | Copilot license per user | Free minutes, then a subscription |
Step by step
- 1Install AppGrabbit for Windows — Download the free installer (everything included). Windows will say it protected your PC because the installer is not code-signed: click More info, then Run anyway.
- 2Download the Teams recording — Teams saves it to the organizer's OneDrive (Recordings folder) or, for channel meetings, to the team's SharePoint. Open it from the meeting chat and click Download: it is an .mp4.
- 3Drop it onto Download › Transcribe with AI — The app reads the .mp4 where it is, pulls the audio out and transcribes it on your PC.
- 4Pick the prompt and click Transcribe — Summarize, Key ideas, Study questions or no prompt: it goes at the top of the .txt so you can paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. The first time, the app gets the AI engine ready on your PC (a one-time download) and carries on by itself.
- 5Open the .txt and the .srt — They land in the Transcripts folder inside your downloads folder, and in the Library. The .txt pastes into Word or into your AI; the .srt carries the minute of every sentence.
Frequently asked questions
It can, but only if your organization's admin allows it in the meeting policy, and AI summaries belong to Copilot, a separate license. If the option is missing in your Teams, or the meeting is over with no transcript, this guide is the way out.
The admin can block downloading recordings; then they only play in the browser. In that case ask the organizer for the file, or record the screen with the Windows Game Bar (Win + G) next time.
No. The transcript is running text. Teams' own transcript puts names; ours puts minutes in the .srt, which is usually enough for meeting minutes.
Yes: by default Teams deletes recordings after 120 days, depending on company policy. Transcribing it in time leaves you the text even after the video is gone.
1 credit per transcript. Free comes with 5 credits a month and, at 0, you can claim 1 more every 48 hours. The 7-day pass (USD 3.99, no renewal) removes credits for a week; Pro removes them for good at USD 8.99 a month. No minute cap and no file-length cap.
Nothing. The audio is transcribed by Whisper (whisper.cpp) running on your computer, on your NVIDIA card if you have one or on the CPU if not. You can unplug the internet and it keeps working. Only the first time does it download the engine and the model.
Sources (Microsoft Learn): Where Teams recordings are stored · Recording and transcription policies
Related guides
Transcribe your Teams meeting, on your PC
Windows 10/11 · 1 credit per transcript, 5 free a month · No Copilot, nothing uploaded