Mac Live Captions: How to Add Captions to Videos, Zoom, and Meetings
Learn how to add live captions to Mac apps using system audio, a floating subtitle bar, and bilingual language settings.
2026-08-10 · 9 minWhat Mac live captions are useful for
Mac live captions turn the audio already playing on your Mac into readable text. They can help with YouTube videos, online courses, podcasts, browser audio, Zoom calls, and ordinary media apps when you want to follow the conversation without changing the app or wearing headphones. A floating subtitle bar keeps the words visible while you continue working in the original window.
Start with the system audio your Mac is playing
A system-audio workflow reads the digital playback from the Mac instead of depending on a microphone in the room. That can reduce room noise and microphone echo, especially during a meeting or while watching a video. Open Alison Workspace, choose the spoken language when it is known, and allow macOS to provide the system-audio recording permission required for playback capture.
Choose the language and make captions easy to read
Select the language being spoken and, when needed, a second language for translation. Place the floating subtitle bar close to the video or meeting window, resize it for comfortable reading, and keep enough recent lines visible to preserve context. A simple layout is often more useful than covering the entire screen with a transcript.
Use live captions with videos and online meetings
For a YouTube video or an online course, start playback and keep the subtitle bar near the content. In Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, or a browser meeting, the same Mac-level overlay can remain visible while you look at the speaker or shared screen. Results depend on the audio that reaches the Mac, so mute unrelated tabs and avoid overlapping playback when possible.
Understand permissions, local processing, and privacy
macOS uses Screen & System Audio Recording permission to make playback capture available. After the required Apple language resources or a local Whisper model are installed, recognition and translation run on the Mac. Alison does not save raw audio, while text history remains on the Mac until you delete it; review the app settings and the privacy policy for the exact product behavior.
Know the limits before relying on captions
Live captions are most dependable when one or two people speak clearly and the source audio is clean. Protected media may behave differently, and overlapping speakers, loud music, accents, names, and specialist vocabulary can reduce accuracy. For an important meeting, keep the original audio available and treat captions as an aid rather than a guaranteed verbatim record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use live captions without changing the app?
Yes. The floating subtitle bar is designed to stay above ordinary video, browser, meeting, and media windows, although protected content can behave differently.
Does Mac live captioning need a microphone?
Alison Workspace uses Mac system audio for playback capture rather than relying on a room microphone, which can help reduce echo and room noise.
Can captions be translated into another language?
You can select a target language when the required Apple Translation resources or local model are available on the Mac. Availability depends on macOS and installed resources.
Will every app and video work?
Ordinary system audio from browsers, meetings, and media apps is the intended use case. Protected media and difficult audio conditions may limit capture or recognition quality.