How to Transcribe a Zoom Recording After the Call

You recorded a Zoom call and now you need a transcript. Zoom offers a built-in option, but there are also third-party and local approaches that offer better privacy or more flexible output formats.

Method 1: Zoom's built-in transcript

Zoom Business and Pro plans with cloud recording enabled automatically generate a transcript (VTT or TXT format) when the recording is saved to Zoom's cloud. Find it in the Zoom web portal under Recordings. The transcript is also editable in the portal. Downside: it only works with cloud recordings; local MP4 files from local recordings do not get a transcript automatically. Zoom AI Companion (included with most paid Zoom plans) also provides summaries of cloud recordings.

Method 2: Upload the recording to a transcription service

If you have a local MP4 file, you can upload it to Otter.ai, Fireflies, AssemblyAI, or similar services for transcription. Upload, wait a few minutes, and download the transcript. This is fast and produces good results, but it sends the audio file to a third-party server — consider whether your meeting content is appropriate for that.

Method 3: Transcribe the recording locally

ParleyNotes and similar tools can transcribe a local video or audio file directly in your browser using the Whisper model. Drop the MP4 or M4A onto the tool and the audio is decoded and transcribed on-device, with no upload. This is ideal for sensitive recordings or where you want to avoid third-party data sharing. Speed depends on your GPU; a 1-hour recording typically transcribes in 5–15 minutes on a modern laptop.

Which format should you export?

Most tools offer SRT (for video subtitles), VTT (similar to SRT), TXT (plain text) and sometimes JSON. For meeting minutes, plain TXT is easiest to paste and edit. For sharing video with captions, SRT is the standard. If you need speaker identification (diarization), look for services that offer that specifically — basic Whisper transcription does not separate speakers.