How to Translate Mac System Audio in Real Time
To translate the sound your Mac is playing, from any app and not just one browser tab, you need a tool that listens to the Mac's audio output, recognizes the speech, and translates it as it plays. macOS does not do this by itself. A system-audio caption app such as Alison Workspace captures what your Mac plays through Apple's Core Audio and shows the original line and its translation together, on device.
2026-08-23 · 6 minThe short answer
To translate Mac system audio in real time, use a tool that listens to everything your Mac plays, recognizes the speech, and translates it while it plays. macOS does not translate system audio on its own: Live Captions transcribes without translating, and Apple's Live Translation is limited to Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. Chrome's Live Translate covers only audio in Chrome, and meeting apps translate only their own calls, on paid plans. A system-audio caption app such as Alison Workspace captures your Mac's audio output through Apple's Core Audio and shows the original line and the translation together over any app, with the processing done on the Mac. If you want every option side by side, our guide to live bilingual captions on Mac compares all five.
What system audio means on a Mac
System audio is the sound your Mac sends to its speakers or headphones: a browser video, a meeting app, a media player, a podcast app, or an online course, all mixed together. A tool that listens to system audio hears what you hear, no matter which app is making the sound. That is different from a browser feature, which only hears its own tabs, a meeting feature, which only hears its own call, and the microphone, which hears the room rather than the Mac.
How system audio capture works
On current versions of macOS, apps capture system audio through Apple's Core Audio taps, and macOS asks for your permission the first time. You can review or change that permission later in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Screen & System Audio Recording. Alison Workspace uses the system audio permission only: it does not ask for Screen Recording and does not capture anything on your screen, and on our test Mac it appears under System Audio Recording Only. The captured audio is processed in memory for recognition and is not saved as a recording.
Set it up in a few minutes
Install Alison Workspace and allow system audio recording when macOS asks. In the menu bar, choose the recognition language, meaning the language being spoken, and the translation language, meaning the one you read. Play the video, call, or podcast, then choose Start Listening. A floating caption bar shows the recognized line and its translation; drag it near the player so you can watch and read at the same time. The first time you use a language, macOS or the app may need to download its language resources, so allow a minute for that.
What to expect while it runs
Captions appear while people are speaking. The last few words of a line can change for a moment as more speech arrives and the recognizer settles on the sentence; the translated line follows the recognized line. Results are best when one person speaks at a time over clear audio, and weaker with loud background music, several people talking at once, unusual names, or heavy jargon. For anything important, check names, numbers, and instructions against the original audio.
Languages and requirements
Alison Workspace offers 101 recognition options and 21 translation targets. It runs on macOS 15 or later on Macs with Apple silicon. On macOS 26 it uses Apple's streaming speech recognition, and on macOS 15 it uses its bundled WhisperKit engine; translation uses Apple's Translation framework on the Mac. Which languages you can use depends on the Apple language resources or local models installed. New users get 120 free minutes of live captions.
If you see no captions
First, open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Screen & System Audio Recording and make sure Alison Workspace is allowed. Next, confirm the audio is really playing on this Mac and is not muted inside the app that plays it. Captions also stop while the display is asleep, because macOS stops delivering system audio then, and they resume when it wakes. If one source still shows nothing while another works, the issue is with that source rather than with system audio capture.
Privacy
The audio you translate stays on your Mac. Recognition and translation run on the device, the captured audio is kept in memory and never written to disk or sent anywhere, and only the recognized and translated text is saved, in a local history you can search, export, or delete. There is no account and no analytics in the app.
Official sources checked September 28, 2026
Apple Developer — Capturing system audio with Core Audio taps
Apple Support — Control access to screen and system audio recording on Mac
Apple Support — Allow apps to record your system audio
Apple — macOS feature availability (Live Captions)
Apple Support — Translate messages and calls on Mac
Google Chrome Help — Manage captions and translations in Chrome
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Mac translate system audio without extra software?
Not across all apps. Live Captions transcribes computer audio in eight languages but does not translate, and Apple's Live Translation works only in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone.
Does translating system audio need Screen Recording permission?
Alison Workspace needs only the system audio recording permission. It does not request Screen Recording and does not capture your screen.
Will it translate audio from any app?
It listens to the audio your Mac plays through its output, including browsers, meeting apps, media players, and podcast apps. Results depend on audio quality and the languages installed.
Is the audio uploaded?
No. Audio is processed in memory on your Mac. Only the text is kept, in a local history you control.
Why do the last words of a caption change?
The recognizer revises the end of a line as more speech arrives. The line settles within a moment, and the translation follows it.
Does it work while the display is asleep?
No. macOS stops delivering system audio while the display sleeps, so captions pause and resume when it wakes.