How do you transcribe audio that is playing on your computer?

To transcribe audio that is playing on your computer, you need to capture that sound as a file and then run the file through a transcription tool. Live captions can display text as the sound plays, but they do not save it. Dictation is built to listen to your microphone, so it is the wrong tool for sound coming out of the speakers.

Live captions read the sound but do not keep the text

Windows 11 live captions turn audio that passes through your PC into captions, and Microsoft says all processing happens on the device ¹. The captions are not kept, though: Microsoft says generated captions are not stored anywhere on the device or in the cloud ². Captions are useful for following a video in real time. They do not give you a transcript to search or edit later.

On a Mac, Live Captions can caption the computer's own audio. Apple says that with Live Captions on a Mac you can switch between captioning the computer's audio and the microphone ³. The feature is available only on Mac computers with Apple silicon, and not in all languages, countries or regions ⁴. Apple's page describes real-time captions, not a saved transcript, so treat it the same way.

To keep the words, record the computer's audio to a file

A transcript needs a file. On a Mac running macOS 27 Golden Gate or later, Apple says you can record system audio with the screen recording by choosing Include System Audio ⁵. Click Options in the recording toolbar before you start. On earlier versions of macOS, check the Options menu on your own Mac, because the option may be named differently or missing.

On Windows, I did not confirm a built-in option that saves system audio to a file. Check the audio source settings of the recorder you use, and make sure it captures the system or app sound rather than the microphone. Test a short recording and play it back before you rely on it.

Once you have the file, follow how to transcribe a long audio file if it is long, and check the formats most tools accept before you upload it.

Dictation listens to your microphone, not the speakers

Dictation turns your own speech into text. On a Mac, Apple says the microphone source in Keyboard settings shows which device the Mac is currently using to listen for Dictation ⁶. Dictation therefore listens to a microphone. Playing a recording through speakers into that microphone adds room noise and echo, and noise is a known cause of recognition errors ⁷. The glossary entry on dictation explains the difference between dictating and transcribing.

It depends: a meeting, a video or a file you already have

• A live meeting or call: capture the audio as it happens, then transcribe the saved file. How to transcribe a meeting on a Mac covers that case.
• A file you already have: skip the capture and transcribe the file directly.
• Typing while you listen: if you prefer to type the text yourself, oTranscribe is a free web app for transcribing recorded interviews, and it says your audio file and transcript never leave your computer ⁸.
• A private recording: a tool that runs on your computer keeps the audio local. How to transcribe audio offline covers that route.

What to do

1. Decide whether you need the text saved. If you only need to read along, live captions are enough.
2. If you need a transcript, record the computer's audio to a file. On a Mac with macOS 27 or later, choose Include System Audio.
3. Test a short recording and listen back to confirm the sound was captured.
4. Transcribe the file with a tool you trust, and proofread the draft against the recording.

The full method is in our guide to transcribing audio to text, part of our overview of transcription. For the basic meaning of the task, see what it means to transcribe audio.