Skip to main content

Recap Now Supports Real-Time Live Captioning for Zoom Meetings

· 4 min read
Scott Griffin
Scott Griffin
Co-Founder & CEO, Recap Innovations

Recap Innovations is excited to announce native support for real-time live captioning in Zoom meetings. Organizations can now deliver accurate, human-moderated captions directly to Zoom participants, combining AI speed with human precision for the highest quality accessibility experience.

Seamless Integration with Zoom's Manual Captioning API​

The new Zoom integration leverages Zoom's manual captioning API to deliver live captions directly into meetings and webinars. Recap's hybrid approach combines AI speech recognition with real-time human moderation. AI generates captions instantly while human moderators can correct errors, clarify technical terms, and ensure accuracy as the meeting progresses.

Hybrid AI + Human Approach for Maximum Accuracy​

Unlike pure AI captioning services, Recap offers a hybrid model that delivers both speed and precision:

AI Foundation​

Advanced speech recognition engines transcribe spoken audio in real-time, handling multiple speakers, technical terminology, and various accents. Captions appear instantly as people speak, ensuring participants never miss content.

Human Moderation​

Caption moderators monitor the live stream and can instantly edit AI-generated captions to:

  • Correct misheard words or technical terminology
  • Fix speaker identification errors
  • Clarify ambiguous phrases
  • Adjust formatting for readability
  • Handle acronyms, proper nouns, and specialized vocabulary

This hybrid approach delivers the best of both worlds: AI speed with human judgment, resulting in caption accuracy that far exceeds fully automated solutions.

Benefits for Organizations Using Zoom​

Meet Accessibility Requirements​

Live captions ensure compliance with ADA, WCAG 2.1 AA, Section 508, and institutional accessibility policies. Whether hosting town halls, training sessions, or educational lectures, organizations can provide equal access to content for deaf and hard-of-hearing participants.

Improve Comprehension Across All Audiences​

Real-time captions benefit more than just accessibility use cases. Participants in noisy environments, non-native speakers, and those with audio issues all benefit from having live text alongside spoken content.

No Additional Software Required​

Captions appear natively within Zoom's interface using the platform's built-in caption display. Participants don't need to install additional software, open separate windows, or manage external caption feeds.

Enterprise-Grade Accuracy​

The hybrid AI + human approach delivers accuracy rates that meet the highest accessibility standards. AI handles the heavy lifting of real-time transcription, while human moderators can ensure technical terminology, proper nouns, and context-dependent phrases are captured correctly. For critical meetings, high-stakes presentations, or content requiring precision, organizations can assign dedicated caption moderators to maintain exceptional quality throughout the session.

How It Works​

Setting up live captioning for Zoom meetings takes just a few steps:

  1. Start a Zoom meeting or schedule a webinar as the host
  2. Enable manual captioning in Zoom's settings and copy the caption API token
  3. Configure Recap's live caption stream with your Zoom API token
  4. Start captioning: AI begins transcribing immediately
  5. Optional: Assign a human moderator to review and correct captions in real-time for maximum accuracy, and to act as a fallback mechanism in case the AI captioning system encounters an upstream error from one of our cloud providers.

Captions appear at the bottom of participants' screens, with options for viewers to reposition, resize, or toggle captions based on their preferences.

Perfect for Educational Institutions and Enterprises​

The Zoom integration is ideal for:

  • Universities and colleges conducting virtual classes, lectures, and seminars where accuracy matters
  • Corporate training departments delivering webinars and professional development with precise terminology
  • Government agencies hosting public meetings and town halls requiring verbatim accuracy
  • Healthcare organizations conducting telehealth sessions where medical terminology must be captured correctly
  • Any organization committed to inclusive, accessible virtual meetings with the highest caption quality

Getting Started​

The Zoom live captioning integration is available now to all Recap customers. Workspace administrators can configure Zoom output through the live stream settings. Organizations can choose to run fully automated AI captioning for routine meetings or add human moderators for high-priority sessions requiring maximum accuracy.

Live captioning represents a important step toward WCAG 2.1 compliant communication. By combining AI efficiency with human expertise, Recap ensures that organizations can deliver live captions with both speed and accuracy, removing barriers to participation and empowering all team members, students, and stakeholders to engage fully with content.

Learn more about our live captioning services, explore our integrations, or schedule a demo to see Zoom live captioning in action.