How to search Microsoft Teams recordings

The short answer

If transcription was on, Teams already has a transcript for the meeting, which you can read in the meeting's Recap. To search across many meetings at once, download the recordings (or transcripts) you're allowed to keep and index them together in a tool that searches every file in one query and links each hit to its timestamp.

Where Teams keeps recordings and transcripts

According to Microsoft's documentation, recordings of regular meetings are saved to the organizer's OneDrive, in a Recordings folder. Recordings of channel meetings go to the team's SharePoint site, in a Recordings folder of the channel's documents. Transcripts are stored alongside and can be opened from the meeting chat or Recap.

Exact behavior depends on your organization's policies and your role, and Microsoft changes Teams regularly, so if something doesn't match, ask your IT admin.

Downloading what you need

Microsoft's support pages say the meeting organizer can download a recording from the meeting's Shared tab, and that by default organizers and co-organizers can download the transcript as a .docx or .vtt file from Recap. If you're an attendee, you may need to ask the organizer, depending on your admin's settings.

Before you save anything to your own computer, check your company's retention and data-handling policy. Recordings often contain customer names, pricing and personnel matters that may not be allowed outside approved storage.

How to do it in MediaFind

MediaFind searches every downloaded Teams recording on your computer, by what was said and what was on the shared screen.

1. Download the recordings you're permitted to keep into one folder, for example Teams recordings.
2. Add the folder to MediaFind. Each call is transcribed on your machine with speaker labels and timestamps; text on shared slides and screens is read too.
3. Search the way you remember it, e.g. when finance raised the hiring freeze, or a figure that was on a slide.
4. Use Ask for questions across calls, like what did we agree about the vendor contract? The answer cites the recordings and moments it used.
5. Name a voice once and MediaFind recognizes it in other recordings, so you can find everything a colleague said.
6. Export a transcript as Word, PDF, SRT, VTT or text when you need to share it.

Skip the download step with Meetings mode

Meetings mode (Pro) can transcribe a call as it happens from your microphone, a browser tab's audio, or in the Mac app both sides of a Teams, Zoom or Meet call. No bot joins the meeting. It writes up key points, action items and decisions, and with Pro the notes export to Word or PDF with action items as an .ics file. Tell participants you're recording or transcribing and follow your organization's rules; see meeting notes without a bot.

Tips and limitations

A downloaded transcript file only tells you what Teams heard; a recording also carries the shared screen, which is often where the number you're looking for lives. If you only have .vtt transcripts, keep them for reading, but index the video if you can. The free plan covers 10 media files. For Zoom, see searching Zoom recordings; for Google Meet, searching Meet recordings.

Frequently asked questions

Where are Microsoft Teams meeting recordings saved?

Per Microsoft, regular meeting recordings go to the organizer's OneDrive Recordings folder and channel meeting recordings go to the team's SharePoint site. Your organization's policies can change this.

Can I download a Teams transcript?

Microsoft says organizers and co-organizers can by default download it as a .docx or .vtt file from the meeting's Recap. Admin settings may allow others to download it too.

Can I search across all my Teams meetings at once?

Once the recordings are indexed together, yes. MediaFind searches every indexed file in one query and links each result to the exact timestamp.

Does MediaFind join my Teams calls?

No. It works on recordings you already have, and Meetings mode listens on your own computer without adding a bot to the call.