Short answer: To record a Teams meeting on Windows, join the meeting, open the More (…) menu in the call controls, and choose Record and transcribe > Start recording. Only the organizer, co-organizers, and presenters can record, everyone is notified when it starts, and the file lands in the organizer's OneDrive (or the channel's SharePoint site). For an automatic transcript, AI summary, and action items without a bot in the call, run CraftNote's Windows app, which records the Teams audio bot-free from your own PC.
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How to Record a Microsoft Teams Meeting on Windows (+ Automatic Notes)
Before you record: who is allowed to
Native recording in Microsoft Teams is gated, so it helps to know the rules before you click. As of 2026:
- Roles that can record: the meeting organizer, co-organizers, and presenters. Regular attendees cannot start a recording.
- Guests and external participants: external users can't record your meeting (outside of third-party compliance recording), and guests can only view a recording if it's explicitly shared with them.
- Admin policy: your IT admin controls a Meeting recording policy. Both the meeting and your account need recording enabled, so on a locked-down tenant the button may simply be missing.
- Copilot dependency: if an organizer turns Copilot off for the meeting, recording and transcription are turned off with it.
If you're on a personal (free) Teams account rather than a work or school account, native cloud recording generally isn't available at all, which is one reason a device-side recorder is handy.
How to record a Teams meeting natively on Windows
- Join or start the meeting in the Teams desktop app on Windows.
- In the call controls at the top, click More (…).
- Select Record and transcribe, then Start recording. Turning on transcription at the same time gives you captions and a text transcript alongside the video.
- Teams shows a recording notice to everyone in the call. On tenants with explicit consent enabled, participants are prompted to agree before their audio and video are captured.
- When you're done, open More (…) > Record and transcribe > Stop recording, or just end the meeting.
Where the recording is saved
Teams no longer uses Stream for new recordings. Instead:
- Private (non-channel) meetings: the file saves to the meeting organizer's OneDrive, in a Recordings folder, even if the organizer didn't start the recording.
- Channel meetings: the file saves to the channel's SharePoint site, in a Recordings folder, and inherits that channel's permissions.
- 1:1 and group calls: the recording goes to the OneDrive of whoever started it.
The recording also appears in the meeting chat and on the Recordings and Transcripts tab in your Teams calendar. It counts against your existing OneDrive or SharePoint storage quota.
A quick note on consent
Teams notifies participants when recording starts, but that notice isn't a substitute for permission. Recording laws vary by country, state, and industry, and some places require everyone's consent. Say out loud that you're recording, confirm it's allowed under your organization's policy, and stop if someone objects. The same applies to any tool that captures the call, including the bot-free option below.
The gap: a recording isn't notes
Native Teams recording gives you a video file and, if you enabled it, a raw transcript. It doesn't hand you a summary or a clean list of who agreed to do what. You still have to rewatch the call or scroll a wall of transcript text. That's the job an AI note taker does automatically.
The automatic-notes path: CraftNote on Windows
CraftNote's Windows desktop app takes a different route. Instead of sending a bot into your Teams meeting, it records your PC's system audio and microphone directly on the computer, then produces a transcript, an AI summary, and separated action items with speaker labels. Nothing joins the call as a participant, so there's no extra attendee showing up in the roster.
Because it captures the audio on your own machine, CraftNote doesn't depend on the Teams recording policy or an admin toggle. It works the same way for online meetings in Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet and for in-person conversations picked up through your microphone. It runs in the system tray, has a command palette and global shortcuts, and its calendar integration flags upcoming meetings so you can start capturing in one click. Notes sync across the CraftNote apps on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and the web from one account, and you can search your whole archive or chat with your notes afterward. It handles 100+ languages with automatic detection and can record offline, syncing once you reconnect.
The free plan gives you 10 uploads or imports plus 2 hours of recording per week; the Individual plan is $9.99/month ($8.33/month billed annually) with recordings up to 4 hours, and Teams is $12/user/month.
Native Teams recording vs CraftNote
| Native Teams recording | CraftNote (Windows app) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can start it | Organizer, co-organizers, presenters only | You, on your own PC |
| Needs admin policy on | Yes | No |
| Bot or extra attendee | None (built in), but everyone is notified | None (records from your device) |
| Output | Video file + optional raw transcript | Transcript + AI summary + action items with speaker labels |
| Works beyond Teams | No | Yes (Zoom, Meet, in person) |
| Languages | Wide, tenant-dependent | 100+ with auto-detection |
| Where notes live | Organizer's OneDrive / SharePoint | Synced across all your CraftNote devices |
Native recording is the right call when you need the official file in the organizer's OneDrive and you have the role and policy to do it. CraftNote is the better fit when you're an attendee without recording rights, when you want structured notes instead of a video to rewatch, or when you'd rather nothing visible joins the call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I record a Teams meeting if I'm not the organizer?
Not with native recording unless you've been made a co-organizer or presenter and your admin allows it. As an attendee, you can capture your own copy with a device-side tool like CraftNote's Windows app, which records the meeting audio from your PC. Tell the group first.
Does everyone get notified when I record in Teams?
Yes. Teams shows a recording notice to all participants, and on tenants with explicit consent turned on it asks each person to agree before capturing them.
Where do Teams recordings go on Windows?
To the cloud, not a local folder: private meetings save to the organizer's OneDrive Recordings folder, and channel meetings save to the channel's SharePoint site. The link also shows up in the meeting chat.
How do I get a summary and action items, not just a transcript?
Native Teams gives you a transcript at best. An AI note taker like CraftNote turns the same conversation into a summary and a list of action items with speaker labels automatically, right after the call ends.
Is bot-free recording legal?
Recording rules depend on your location and the participants' consent, not on whether a bot is visible. Because bot-free capture is discreet, it's on you to disclose that you're recording and to follow local law and company policy.
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