Google Meet has allowed users to add closed captions (time-based audio transcriptions that appear as text on background visual content) to live meetings for a while. However, when the same meeting was recorded, the captions would be absent, making it difficult for individuals who were not present in real time to follow the session.
In a recent Google Workspace update, Google added caption support for Meet video recordings to improve accessibility, especially for people with hearing disabilities. To help you maximize one of thebest video calling appson your Android, PC, ortop-of-the-line Chromebook, we explain the steps to include captions with a Google Meet recording.
Adding captions to your Google Meet recordings
Google Meet’s new feature to add captions to recorded meetings is only available for Google Workspace customers. Plus, the G Suite account must support recording in meetings in the first place.
Once your admin enables the recording feature, you can turn it on for specific meetings, provided you’re a host or co-host. If you are not a member of the meeting host’s organization, you must be promoted to a co-host to add captions to the Google Meet meeting. And if the meeting is created through Google Classroom, you must be the teacher or co-teacher.
If you meet any of the above criteria, you can add captions to a Google Meet recording by following these steps:
Your meeting recording now displays captions in the selected language during playback.
The Closed Captions button only controls live video meetings but is not required for recordings. Hence, you don’t see subtitles if it’s off during a session. However, following the steps above, you can see captions in the recorded video.
Accessing the Google Meet recording
After the meeting, follow these steps to access your recording:
If you open the recording when it enters your inbox or Google Drive, the captions may not appear immediately on playback as they take some time to process. If you don’t see them right away, close and open the recording after a while.
Adjusting captions in your Google Meet recordings
The captions in the recording appear at the bottom of the screen like live captions. You can also turn them on and off by clicking the Closed Captions icon, as you would with a live meeting. However, there are a few options to customize the captions and increase the recording’s accessibility.
The options available for customizing Google Meet captions include the following:
To make adjustments, follow these steps:
On the Options screen, you can change the captions' font and background colors to contrast that of the video so that the text stands out more. You can also use the auto-translate feature in the Subtitle/CC screen to translate English captions into several languages, including French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Increase your recording’s accessibility with captions
With captions in Google Meet recordings, you can ensure your audience comprehends your meeting videos better, whether hearing-impaired or in a noise-sensitive environment. This increases engagement and ensures no one is left out. Check out ourGoogle Meet tips and tricksfor more ways to get the most out of Google Meet.
