Meetings are vital for effective collaboration. And notes make sure you don’t miss a beat. But focusing on the conversation while writing things down can lead you to miss bits of the conversation — both in real time and in your notes. It gets worse in virtual calls when DM and email notifications pop up in the corner.
Luckily, you can record your meetings regardless of what platform you use. And for Microsoft Teams, it’s particularly easy. Here’s how to record a Microsoft Teams meeting to maximize your productivity and capture every word.
Once you enable recording in Microsoft Teams, you’re ready to capture meaningful discussions, presentations, and discussions.
But you don’t just need to use the Teams app. Here are the four best methods to record a meeting in Microsoft Teams.
The easiest and most common way to record a meeting in Teams is by using its built-in recording features. You can capture both video and audio, including screen shares.
But you have to have a Microsoft Office license, have IT or admins enable recordings, and not be a guest from an organization other than the one hosting the call. You also can record a Teams meeting on a Mac, just like a PC, if you have an Office license. But if you only have a free Teams account, you likely can’t record within the platform.
Here’s how to record in Teams if you do have the permissions:
If you’re wondering whether Teams records your screen or just the meeting, note that it won’t record multiple video streams, any whiteboards, shared notes, or videos or animations from PowerPoint presentations.
Microsoft Stream is a video management tool that integrates with Teams to store meeting recordings. It also offers a screen recording feature, meaning you can capture virtual meetings from the Stream app. Note that the app has a limit of 15 minutes, so it’s not the best option for longer calls.
Like the in-Teams recording feature, you can’t access Stream without a Microsoft 365 business or Enterprise plan. But if you do, here’s how to record:
Teams now stores recordings directly in OneDrive or SharePoint (but it used to use Stream). Stream is still helpful for short calls or organizing and editing past recordings. Just keep in mind it won’t alert meeting attendees about the recording, so make sure you ask for verbal consent from participants.
Sometimes, you may need to record meetings without using the built-in Teams tool, whether you don’t have permission or just prefer different software. Third-party tools like OBS Studio, Snagit, or Camtasia can record your screen. Instructions vary by platform, but here’s a general guide:
This method won’t inform attendees that you’re recording, so make sure you ask permission and check that the app complies with your organization's policies.
If you're presenting during the meeting, you can use PowerPoint’s recording feature to capture both your slides and the meeting audio:
This method is great if you just need to record the presentation portion of the meeting, or if you’re using PowerPoint as a teaching tool. There will be a hiccup between slides, so make sure you pause for the transition.
Not every participant in a Microsoft Teams meeting can record. The meeting organizer or the organization’s admin settings control permissions. Here’s a quick guide to these meeting roles:
If you need to record a meeting, communicate beforehand to make sure you have permission. And being aware of when and how you’re logged into your organization's Microsoft account avoids many frustrating recording errors.
If you’re looking to record meeting audio with seamless software, we have an easier option for you: Otter, the AI-powered transcription tool. It captures every word, taking notes and pulling insights while you focus on participating in the conversation.
You can either integrate Otter directly with Microsoft Teams, or open Otter in another tab or another device. Here’s how.
Connect your Microsoft Account to our AI meeting assistant, Otter, to have Otter join and record meeting audio for you. You can add Otter to your meetings in two ways:
Although Otter integrates directly with Teams, you might prefer to keep your AI agent out of the meeting. If that’s the case, you can follow these steps:
Recording meetings in Microsoft Teams provides valuable documentation of important conversations, action items, and learnings — but only if the recording is reliable. With Otter, you can make sure that you capture every word, without anyone scrambling to transcribe on the spot.
Plus, Microsoft Teams and Otter were made to work together, making it easy for you to reap the benefits of Otter’s AI-powered transcription without a second thought. Just connect your accounts and get ready to review your meeting summary after the call ends.
Ready to record? Let’s talk.