# Read the transcript and live captions of a meeting

> Pactto transcribes what each person says while their microphone is on; open the Live captions panel (the CC button at the bottom right of the room) to read the transcript, translate it, or show captions on screen.

Category: Review and feedback
Web page: https://www.pactto.com/help/transcripts
All guides: https://www.pactto.com/help.md

## Where transcripts come from

During a meeting, Pactto turns speech into text automatically. Each person's own microphone is transcribed in their browser and the lines are shared with everyone in the room. There is nothing to start: if your microphone is on, what you say is transcribed.

- When you mute your microphone, your transcription stops completely. Nothing is sent while you are muted.
- People who join without a microphone are not transcribed.
- Text you dictate into the Chat or the AI assistant is not added to the room transcript.

## Read the transcript

1. In the room, click the **Live captions** button (CC icon) in the row of buttons at the bottom right, next to Chat and the AI assistant.
2. The **Live captions** panel opens. Lines are grouped by speaker, with the speaker's name, avatar, and the time of each line. Date dividers (**Today**, **Yesterday**, or a date) separate days.
3. Scroll up to see older lines. The panel loads the room's earlier meetings too, not only the current one.
4. Close the panel with the **Close** button.

If nobody has spoken yet, the panel shows **No captions yet**.

## Translate the transcript

1. Open the **Live captions** panel.
2. In **Display language**, choose a language: English, Português, Español, French, 中文, 日本語, 한국어, Deutsch, Bahasa Indonesia, Italiano, or العربية. **Original** shows each line as spoken.

Only new lines spoken after you pick a language are translated. Earlier lines stay as they were. If a line cannot be translated in time, it appears in the original language. Your choice is saved to your account.

## Show captions while the panel is closed

In the **Live captions** panel, tick **Show live captions when panel is closed**. New lines then appear as floating captions at the bottom right of the room, in your display language. This setting is also saved to your account.

## If something goes wrong

- **Couldn't load past captions**: earlier lines failed to load. Click **Try again**. New lines still appear as people speak.
- **Reconnecting**: the connection dropped and is recovering. Lines resume on their own. If the panel is closed, a message says **Live captions are reconnecting. They will resume on their own.**
- **Paused**: the live transcription time included with the room owner's plan has been used up. The room, cameras, and chat keep working; only new transcript lines stop. The room owner sees a **Live transcription paused** dialog with **Add time and resume** (or **Not now**), and an **Add time** link in the panel.
- Your own lines are missing: check that your microphone is not muted.

## Good to know

- Everyone in the room, including guests, can open the Live captions panel.
- Transcripts cannot be downloaded, searched, or edited in the app today.
- The AI assistant and connected AI tools (through the Pactto MCP server or the Pactto CLI) can read the room transcript, for example to summarize a meeting.
- Speaker names come from the meeting and reflect who was signed in on that microphone.

## Related guides

- [Use the AI assistant in a room](https://www.pactto.com/help/ai-assistant.md): Click the AI Assistant button (sparkle icon, bottom right of the room) or Ask AI on a selected item, then type or dictate a question or instruction; the assistant answers from the room's content and can create notes, docs, images, comments, and more on the canvas.
- [Connect Claude or ChatGPT to Pactto (MCP server)](https://www.pactto.com/help/connect-ai-assistant-mcp.md): Add the Pactto MCP server URL (https://live.pactto.com/mcp) to Claude, ChatGPT, or another assistant as a custom connector, sign in, and click Allow; it needs the Pro plan.
- [Use the Pactto CLI and create an API key](https://www.pactto.com/help/pactto-cli.md): The Pactto CLI lets Claude Code, Codex, scripts, and CI read and update your rooms from the terminal; create an API key in Account settings under API keys (CLI) (Pro plan), then follow the setup at pactto.com/cli.
- [Leave feedback with comments](https://www.pactto.com/help/comments.md): Click the Comment tool (or press K), then click an item or an empty spot on the canvas, type your feedback, and press Enter to post it.