Zoom plans to implement support for automated signatures for free accounts this weekend as part of its efforts to make the service more accessible, the company announced. If you are a free account holder who needs access to the feature before that time, Zoom allows users to request manual access to the Live Transcription feature via a Google form linked to it.
Automatic transcripts are not a brand new Zoom feature. The service previously offered AI-powered transcription for all of its paid bills. Otherwise, meeting hosts had to manually add their own captions or use a third-party service. But now the feature will be available to the millions of people who trust Zoom’s services for free. A zoom support page notes that the Live Transcription feature is currently available in English only.
Automatic captions are also available on other video conferencing services like Google Meet. However, given how widely used Zoom has been since the beginning of the pandemic, it’s great to see that it adds more accessibility features. Previous efforts to make Zoom more accessible include allowing meetings to capture and illuminate interpreters during a call, as well as support for screen readers.