Zoom can produce a transcript on its own, but only for cloud recordings and only on plans that include them. Here is how the built-in option works, where it runs out, and how to get a searchable, speaker-labelled transcript of every Zoom call regardless of which plan you are on.
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The Henderson renewal slipped to next quarter — legal is still reviewing.
I'll get their counsel on a call this week and report back Friday.
Good. Everything else in the top ten is tracking to close.
Which one you want depends on whether you need a raw record of what was said, or the decisions and follow-ups that came out of it.
Record the meeting to the Zoom cloud and Zoom generates an audio transcript you can view and download beside the recording. Requires a plan with cloud recording, and the setting has to be switched on before the call.
Laxis transcribes the conversation as it happens, labels who said what, and turns the call into a summary with next steps — on any Zoom plan, including free, and without the meeting being recorded to Zoom's cloud.
Zoom's audio transcript is a by-product of cloud recording: no cloud recording, no transcript. The exact steps and availability depend on your plan and on what your account admin allows, so check your settings before you rely on it for an important call.
In your Zoom web portal settings, enable cloud recording and the audio transcript option. On a managed account an admin may need to unlock these first.
Start the recording during the call and choose the cloud, not your computer. Local recordings are not transcribed automatically.
Zoom processes the recording and emails you when it is ready. The transcript appears beside the recording in the web portal, where you can read, edit speaker labels, or download it.
Laxis captures the audio itself, so the transcript does not depend on Zoom's recording plan. You can record from the Laxis desktop app with no bot in the meeting, or invite the Laxis assistant to join the call — whichever your team is comfortable with.
Run the desktop app for a bot-free recording, or connect your calendar so the Laxis assistant joins scheduled Zoom calls for you.
Text appears as people speak, attributed by speaker, in over 100 languages. Nothing to process afterwards and no waiting on an email.
By the time the call ends you have a structured summary, a list of action items, and a transcript you can search months later.
Both give you the words. They differ on what it takes to get them and what you can do with them afterwards.
| Zoom cloud transcript | Laxis | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan requirement | Needs a plan that includes cloud recording | Works on any Zoom plan, free included |
| When you get it | After Zoom finishes processing the recording | Live, as the meeting happens |
| Summary and action items | Not included — raw transcript only | Written automatically before the call ends |
| Search across past calls | One recording at a time in the Zoom portal | Full-text search across every meeting you have had |
| Beyond Zoom | Zoom meetings only | Same workflow for Google Meet, Teams, Webex, and in-person |
| Where it ends up | Stays in Zoom until storage runs out | Syncs to your CRM and the tools your team already uses |
A transcript is the starting point. The work after the call is where the time actually goes.
Every line tied to who said it, so you can quote a commitment without re-listening to the recording.
Apply a template per meeting type — discovery, standup, customer call — and get the same structure every time.
Next steps are extracted as a list you can share with attendees the moment the call ends.
Find the call where pricing came up, months later, without knowing which meeting it was.
Push notes and next steps into HubSpot or Salesforce so the record lives where your pipeline does.
The desktop app records locally, so nothing joins the call as a visible participant.
Only under specific conditions. Zoom generates an audio transcript for meetings recorded to the Zoom cloud, on plans that include cloud recording, and with the transcript setting enabled beforehand. Local recordings and free accounts do not get one automatically.
If it was a cloud recording with transcripts enabled, open the recording in your Zoom web portal and the transcript is listed beside it. If it was recorded locally, or transcripts were off, Zoom will not produce one retroactively — but you can upload the recording file to Laxis and transcribe it after the fact.
Not with Zoom's own transcript, which depends on cloud recording. Laxis captures audio independently of Zoom's recording features, so it transcribes calls on any Zoom plan including the free tier.
Sign in to the Zoom web portal, open Recordings, and select the cloud recording. The audio transcript appears alongside it and can be viewed, edited for speaker names, or downloaded as a caption file.
It does not have to. The Laxis desktop app records the conversation from your own machine, so nothing appears in the participant list. If you would rather have an assistant join scheduled calls automatically, that option exists too.
Accuracy on any automated transcript depends on audio quality, accents, crosstalk, and how much domain-specific vocabulary comes up. Clear microphones and one speaker at a time make the largest difference, whichever tool is doing the transcribing.
It only exists for meetings recorded to the Zoom cloud, so it needs a plan that includes cloud recording and someone who remembered to record there rather than locally. What you get is the raw text: decisions and next steps still have to be pulled out by hand. Cloud storage is also capped by plan, so older recordings and their transcripts eventually age out, and a transcript sitting in Zoom is not in your CRM, your notes, or your team's search.
Live transcription, a written summary, and the action items — on whichever Zoom plan you already have.
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