Read a meeting transcript

Open the word-for-word transcript of a recorded meeting, see who said what and when, and check how long your organisation keeps it.

Before you start

A transcript exists only when the meeting was recorded, by Operator, on your device or from an uploaded file. See Have Operator take notes and Record or upload a meeting.

Open a transcript

Open the meeting. See Find your meetings.
Scroll to Recordings. Each recording has its own row, with how long it runs.

Enlarge screenshot:
Select View transcript on the recording you want.

The transcript opens in a panel. Each passage shows who spoke, when, and what they said.

The transcript of the Gallagher annual review, with passages from Sarah Mulholland, Grace Gallagher and Priya Raman and the time each one started

Elapsed shows how far into the recording each passage starts, for example 1:09. This is the default.
Absolute shows the time of day each passage was spoken. The switch appears only when Alcova knows those times.

If Alcova cannot name a speaker, the passage shows Speaker.

To close the transcript, select the X at the top right.

Recordings and their labels

A meeting can have more than one recording, for example an Operator recording and a file you uploaded. Each has its own transcript.

Recording	Where it came from
Operator recording	Operator joined the online meeting and recorded it.
Device recording	Someone recorded the meeting with their device's microphone. You means you recorded it.
Recording and a date	Someone uploaded an audio file. While the file uploads, the row shows the file name.

The Recordings section of the Sorensen SMSF strategy session with one device recording, marked You and 45 minutes 10 seconds

When the transcript is not ready

After a meeting, Alcova needs some time to transcribe the recording. While it works, the recording shows Transcribing… and the meeting notes show Processing recording…. On the Meetings page, the meeting shows Processing....

The Sorensen & Tanaka fact find, with Meeting Notes showing Processing recording… and the Operator recording showing Transcribing…

The transcript and the notes appear when it finishes. You do not need to reload the page.

If a recording could not be transcribed, it shows Failed.

How long transcripts are kept

Your organisation can delete transcripts automatically after a set time. When that applies, a line below the recordings says when, for example Transcript will be deleted in 86 days (14 Jan 2027). After the date, it says Transcript deleted on and the date, and the meeting shows Transcript deleted on the Meetings page.

You cannot change this for one meeting. Organisation admins set it for everyone. See Set how long transcripts are kept.

If something goes wrong

Transcript is still processing…: wait for Alcova to finish, then open the transcript again.
Transcript unavailable for this recording.: the recording has no transcript to show.
Couldn't load this transcript. Try reopening the sheet.: close the panel and select View transcript again.