How to Set Up Automated Meeting Recording and Transcription in DigitalMeet

Automated recording and transcription make every meeting searchable and reviewable. This tutorial walks you through setting them up in DigitalMeet—from enabling the features to configuring storage, permissions, and retention.

Why Automate Recording and Transcription

Manual recording creates gaps: hosts forget to press the button, recordings start late, or meetings go unrecorded entirely. For compliance-sensitive industries—healthcare, finance, legal—those gaps are unacceptable. Automated recording ensures every qualifying meeting is captured from the moment the host joins, without relying on human memory. Transcription adds a second layer of value: every word becomes searchable text, enabling knowledge retrieval, accessibility, and audit-ready documentation.

Step 1: Enable Recording in the Admin Console

Sign in with an administrator account and navigate to Admin Console > Meeting Settings > Recording.

1. Toggle Enable Recording to on.
2. Choose whether recording is available for all meeting types or only specific ones (e.g., client calls, compliance meetings).
3. Set default permissions: who can start/stop recording and who can view completed recordings.
4. Save your changes.

Recording Configuration Options

Tip: For organizations subject to two-party consent laws, always keep the consent notification enabled. See Recording Laws for jurisdiction-specific guidance.

Step 2: Set Recording Triggers

Automatic recording triggers remove the human factor from compliance workflows. Configure triggers per meeting type or per room:

1. Navigate to Meeting Settings > Recording > Triggers.
2. For each meeting type, select Auto-start when host joins or Manual start.
3. Optionally, configure a delay (e.g., start recording 10 seconds after the host joins to skip the setup period).
4. For recurring rooms, set whether each session inherits the trigger or can override it.

Automatic start is strongly recommended for compliance, audit, and training use cases. Manual start is better for informal meetings where recording is optional.

Step 3: Configure Transcription

Transcription converts recorded audio into timestamped, speaker-labeled text. Enable it alongside recording for maximum value.

1. Navigate to Admin Console > Meeting Settings > Transcription.
2. Toggle Enable Transcription to on.
3. Select the default language(s) for transcription.
4. Choose whether transcripts are saved with the recording or stored separately.
5. Configure speaker diarization (automatic speaker labeling) if available on your plan.

Transcription Settings

Tip: Add industry-specific terms (product names, medical terms, legal jargon) to the vocabulary hints list to significantly improve transcription accuracy. This is especially valuable for specialized fields.

Step 4: Storage and Retention

Recordings and transcripts consume storage and may contain sensitive data. Configure storage location and retention policies to balance accessibility, compliance, and cost.

Storage Tier Comparison

1. Set the storage region using data residency controls to ensure recordings are stored in approved locations.
2. Define retention policies per meeting type: auto-delete after 30, 60, 90, or 365 days—or retain indefinitely.
3. Enable automatic tier migration to move older recordings to cheaper storage classes.
4. Configure export-before-delete if your compliance framework requires archival before purging.

Step 5: Sharing and Permissions

Control who can view, download, or share recordings after a meeting ends. DigitalMeet's permission model integrates with your organization's roles and supports granular access control.

1. Navigate to Meeting Settings > Recording > Sharing.
2. Set the default sharing scope: participants only, team, organization, or custom.
3. Enable or disable download permissions per role.
4. Configure sharing links with optional expiry dates and password protection.
5. For external sharing, enable guest access links with time-limited tokens.

For a detailed walkthrough of role-based access, see Admin Controls: Users, Roles, and Permissions.

Step 6: Verify Your Setup

1. Create a test meeting with the recording-enabled meeting type.
2. Join as the host and confirm that recording starts automatically (if configured).
3. Speak for at least 30 seconds to generate transcript content.
4. End the meeting and navigate to the recording in the admin console.
5. Verify the recording plays correctly and the transcript is accurate and speaker-labeled.
6. Check that the recording appears in the correct storage region.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can recording be fully automatic?

Yes. Configure the auto-start trigger so recording begins when the host joins. No manual action is required from any participant.

Is transcription included in all plans?

Transcription availability depends on your plan tier. Check your organization's plan details in the admin console or contact your DigitalMeet account representative.

Where are recordings stored?

Storage location is configurable via data residency settings. You can route recordings to specific AWS regions or to your own S3-compatible storage. See Data Residency.

Can I transcribe in multiple languages?

Yes. Set the default language at the organization level and allow hosts to override per meeting. Multi-language transcription in a single meeting is supported on applicable plans. For translation, see Live Transcription and Translation.

How accurate is transcription?

Accuracy depends on audio quality, speaker clarity, and language. English transcription typically exceeds 95% word accuracy with clear audio. Adding vocabulary hints for specialized terms improves accuracy further.

Can participants opt out of recording?

Organizations can configure whether participants can leave a recorded meeting or whether recording is mandatory. Consent notifications are always displayed when recording is active.

How do I search transcripts?

Transcripts are indexed for full-text search in the DigitalMeet interface. Search by keyword, speaker, or date range to find specific moments across all recorded meetings.

What happens when storage limits are reached?

DigitalMeet notifies admins when storage usage approaches the plan limit. Configure automatic tier migration or retention-based cleanup to manage storage proactively.

For more on getting started, see Getting Started with DigitalMeet.