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Guide · 2 October 2026

Transcribe Teams and Google Meet calls on a Mac, on-device.

Teams and Meet can both transcribe a meeting themselves, if your plan and the organiser allow it, and the transcript is kept with the organiser. Here's what each needs, and how to get your own transcript on your Mac, with no bot in the call and nothing uploaded.

I make Quern; Quern for Mac is coming soon. What Teams and Meet do is from Microsoft's and Google's own help pages, read on 2 October 2026.

What Teams and Meet do themselves.

Both work well when your organisation's plan includes them. Both are run by the meeting's organiser and its settings, and both keep the transcript in the organiser's cloud storage.

Microsoft Teams

Who controls it
The meeting’s organiser, co-organisers and presenters can stop and restart transcription.
Who is told
Everyone in the meeting sees that it’s being transcribed.
Where it’s kept
In the organiser’s OneDrive for Business, and in the meeting’s chat and Recap.
Who can download it
By default, the organiser and co-organisers, as a .docx or .vtt file.

Source: Microsoft Support, 2 October 2026

Google Meet

Which plans
Google Workspace Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise, some Education editions, and Workspace Individual.
Who controls it
The host and co-hosts, or anyone in the host’s organisation, depending on the host’s settings.
Where it’s kept
In the meeting organiser’s Google Drive, and attached to the calendar event.
Who is told
The host, co-hosts and whoever started it get an email with a link to the transcript.

Source: Google Meet Help, 2 October 2026

Your own transcript, on your Mac.

Quern for Mac records the call from your side: the sound Teams or your browser plays, and your microphone. It transcribes and summarises on the Mac, whoever organised the meeting.

1

A Teams call

  1. Join the call in the Teams app. Quern asks “Microsoft Teams is using the microphone. Record this call?”
  2. Click Record, and copy Quern's line into the meeting chat so everyone knows.
  3. Words appear as people speak; open the live transcript in a small window above the call.
  4. Click Stop when the call ends, or when Quern asks whether to stop.

2

A Google Meet call

  1. Join the Meet in your browser. Quern asks when the browser starts using your microphone.
  2. Click Record. Quern records the browser's sound, so close other tabs that are playing.
  3. Copy Quern's line into the Meet chat so everyone knows.
  4. Click Stop. The transcript and summary are ready on your Mac.

3

Afterwards

  1. Your side reads as You; name the other voices once.
  2. Read the summary: decisions, open questions and actions with owners, each with its time.
  3. Click a time to hear it said before you act on it.
  4. Export Markdown, PDF, or SRT and VTT subtitles with names.

Quern for Mac is coming soon. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.4 or later; summaries need Apple Intelligence.

When Teams or Meet transcribes, they tell the meeting. When an app on your Mac records, nothing in the call changes, so telling people is up to you.

  1. Say it, and write it

    Say you're recording at the start, and paste Quern's line into the chat for anyone who joins late.

  2. Ask your organisation

    Many workplaces have a policy on recording calls with clients or colleagues. Follow it.

  3. Laws vary

    Some places need everyone's agreement to record a call. Asking everyone covers you everywhere.

  4. Check before you send

    Transcripts get names wrong and summaries can be wrong. Listen to anything you're going to quote or act on.

Zoom instead? Record a Zoom call on a Mac without a bot. All about Quern for Mac: Quern for Mac.

Quern for Mac · Coming soon

Quern for Mac is coming soon.

Records your Zoom, Teams and Meet calls on your Mac. No bot joins. Nothing is uploaded.

Tell me when Quern for Mac is out.

The plan: free for 30 days, then £19.99 once, with one purchase covering iPhone and Mac. Requires a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.4 or later. More about Quern for Mac

Questions

Anything else: support, or [email protected]

Can I transcribe a Teams meeting if I’m not the organiser?

Teams' own transcription is controlled by the organiser, co-organisers and presenters, and the transcript is kept in the organiser's OneDrive (Microsoft). An app on your Mac records what Teams plays instead, without the meeting being involved, so tell everyone you're recording.

Why don’t I see Transcripts in Google Meet?

Meet's transcripts are for certain Google Workspace editions, such as Business Standard and Plus, and the host's settings decide who can turn them on (Google). A personal Google account may not have them.

Does Quern work with Google Meet?

Yes. Meet runs in your browser, so Quern records the browser: it asks when Safari, Chrome, Arc, Edge, Firefox or another browser starts using your microphone. It records everything that browser plays, so close other tabs that are making sound.

Does Quern work with the Teams app?

Yes, the new Teams and the classic one. Quern asks when Teams starts using your microphone, and records Teams' sound and your microphone.

Will it tell who said what?

Your side is always labelled You, because Quern records your microphone on its own. The other voices are told apart automatically; name each one once and the transcript and summary use the names.

Does anything get uploaded?

No. Quern for Mac isn't allowed to use the network, and it has no account or server. The transcript and summary are made on your Mac and stay there.