# Meeting transcript

> The written, word-for-word record of a Teams meeting, with each speaker's name and a timestamp, which Copilot draws on to summarise the meeting and answer questions about it.

**Category:** Copilot

**A meeting transcript is the raw text Copilot works from in a Teams meeting.** When transcription is on, each line carries the speaker's name and a timestamp, and all participants see a notice that the meeting is being transcribed. Afterwards you find it in the meeting chat under Recap, then Transcript. Copilot draws on the transcript and the meeting chat, and **cites its sources**, so you can click through to the moment something was said.

A meeting generally needs to be transcribed for full Copilot support, unless the organiser enables Copilot without transcription. In a recurring series, switching transcription on or off removes Copilot's earlier conversation history for that series. A transcript holds everything that was said, so for a confidential meeting decide deliberately whether it stays on.

## At work

A team lead asks Copilot what was agreed about the budget in an internal project meeting, then follows the citation to the exact line in the transcript before passing the decision on.

## Often confused with

Intelligent Recap. The transcript is the word-for-word record; [Intelligent Recap](/glossary#intelligent-recap) is the summary, tasks and markers Copilot builds on top of it.

## Related terms

- Intelligent Recap
- Grounding
- Microsoft 365 Copilot

## See it in a lesson

[Copilot in your everyday apps, deeper](/en/learn/copilot/advanced/everyday-apps-deeper)

## Further reading

- [Start, stop, and download live transcripts in Microsoft Teams meetings (Microsoft Support)](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/view-live-transcription-in-microsoft-teams-meetings-dc1a8f23-2e20-4684-885e-2152e06a4a8b): Who can start transcription and where to find the transcript afterwards.
- [Use Copilot in Microsoft Teams meetings (Microsoft Support)](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-copilot-in-microsoft-teams-meetings-0bf9dd3c-96f7-44e2-8bb8-790bedf066b1): What Copilot can do during and after a Teams meeting, and what it needs.

---

Last updated: 14/10/2026  
Source: Rollo Academy glossary
