Microsoft Teams live translation is real, and it's mostly a licensing question. The captions button is there for everyone, while the Translate to option appears only for some accounts, and which ones isn't obvious from inside a meeting. The Microsoft facts below come from Microsoft Support and Microsoft Learn, read on 30 October 2026, with links next to each.
Does Microsoft Teams have live translation?
It has two features that translate, and they work differently.
Live translated captions show the meeting as text in your language. According to Use live captions in Microsoft Teams meetings, they're available in meetings "as part of Teams Premium and Microsoft Copilot, an add-on license." The detail that matters most: if the organiser has one of those licences, every participant can use translated captions without one of their own. Teams doesn't save captions; for a written record you need transcription switched on.
In town halls and live events it works another way. The organiser picks the translation languages in advance, six of them, or ten with Premium, and attendees choose one of those.
Interpreter translates speech into speech, so you hear the meeting in your language, optionally in a voice simulated from the speaker's. Per Interpreter in Microsoft Teams meetings and the admin page Manage Interpreter agent:
- it comes with a Microsoft Copilot licence, with 20 hours of interpretation per person per month included;
- it covers a short list of major languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin among them; the user and admin pages don't list quite the same set);
- it isn't supported in town halls, webinars or Microsoft Teams free, and people joining anonymously or as guests can't use it;
- recordings capture only the original audio.
Microsoft also says plainly that Interpreter "isn't optimized for meetings with rapid exchanges, interruptions, or overlapping dialogue."
How to turn on translated captions in Teams
In a meeting, Microsoft's current steps run through the RTT pane:
- Select More actions in the meeting controls, then RTT, then Turn on.
- Turn on the Live Captions toggle in the RTT pane.
- Open caption settings from More options in that pane, check that the meeting spoken language is right, and choose a language under Translate to.
If Translate to isn't there, it usually means neither you nor the organiser has a qualifying licence. Interpreter has its own menu: More actions, Language and speech, Interpreter.
Why the translation option is missing
On a company account it comes down to licences, and you rarely buy those yourself. If the meeting is organised by someone from another company, their licence decides the captions, not yours.
For Interpreter, a licence isn't the only gate. Admins can switch it off for the whole organisation with a meeting policy, and guests can't use it at all, licence or not.
Translate a Teams meeting in the browser with a Chrome extension
When Teams' own translation isn't available, the meeting can still be translated on your side. The condition is that it runs in Chrome, not in the Teams desktop app. Microsoft's guide to joining without a Teams account lists Teams for web on Edge or Chrome; from the invite link you choose Continue on this browser instead of Join on the Teams app. With a work account you can also open Teams at teams.microsoft.com, and personal accounts use teams.live.com.
Then SubLive takes the meeting's sound from that tab and shows translated subtitles in a window above everything else:
- Install the extension from the install page and sign in. The first 30 minutes are free after you confirm your email.
- Join the meeting in Chrome and choose the language you read.
- Press start, or use the shortcut Alt+Shift+S.
Nobody is added to the meeting, and the organiser doesn't need a licence or a setting. In dialog mode each voice gets a label, and on Teams SubLive also reads the name from the tile that lights up while someone speaks. Those names stay on your screen and aren't sent to SubLive.
Before you use it at work
Some companies restrict which browser extensions their staff can install. If your laptop is managed, check your company's policy on third-party extensions first.
If you save a transcript of the meeting, ask the others whether they're fine with that. Whether their agreement is legally required depends on where you are, and the Recording & Consent notice says what SubLive does and leaves to you.
Where it stops
It doesn't hear the Teams desktop or mobile apps, only Chrome tabs. Subtitles from speech run about a sentence behind the speaker, and your own voice isn't translated for the others.
Teams translation options side by side
| Translated captions | Interpreter | SubLive in Chrome | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Translated text in the meeting | A translated voice | Subtitles in a separate window, or a translation read aloud |
| Licence | Teams Premium or Copilot, yours or the organiser's | Copilot, yours | None in Teams; hours from your SubLive balance |
| Guests from outside | Yes, if the organiser is licensed | No | Yes |
| Town halls | Organiser's preset languages | Not supported | Whenever it plays in a Chrome tab |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | No, Teams on the web only |
| Saved afterwards | Captions aren't saved | Recording has the original audio | Optional text transcript |
If your company already pays for Teams Premium or Copilot, start there. If you're the guest, or the meeting isn't on Teams at all, an extension works the same on Google Meet and Zoom.
Frequently asked questions
Do translated captions in Teams need Teams Premium?
Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence. It can be the organiser’s: when the organiser has one, everyone in the meeting can pick a translation language.
I only have the Teams desktop app. What do I do?
Open the meeting link and choose Continue on this browser, or sign in at teams.microsoft.com in Chrome. The meeting is the same; only the window changes.
Can a guest from another company use Teams translation?
Captions, yes, if the organiser has the licence. Interpreter, no: Microsoft says anonymous users and guests can’t use it. People from another organisation can if they join with their own verified account and a Copilot licence.
Does it work in Teams for personal use?
Interpreter isn’t supported in Microsoft Teams free. SubLive works on teams.live.com in Chrome the same way it does on a work account.
SubLive is not affiliated with Microsoft, Google or Zoom.