Record and transcribe audio in Notes on Mac
Record and transcribe audio right from your note, and keep recordings in your note body with related comments, checklists, and documents. You can even edit your note while recording, so you’re always able to jot down something important.
Note: All Notes features described in this guide are available when using iCloud notes. Some features aren’t available when using accounts from other providers.
Record audio and see the live transcript
You can record audio and have the spoken words transcribed in a note.
Go to the Notes app
on your Mac.
In a note, click
in the toolbar, then click Record Audio.
When you’re ready to record, click
.
Do any of the following:
Stop recording: Click
.
Resume recording: Click
.
See the live transcript: Click
.
Note: Spoken words in supported languages are automatically transcribed. If you don’t see
When you’re finished recording, click
.
Play an audio recording and review the transcript
You can view, search in, and copy live audio transcripts.
Note: Audio transcription is available on Mac computers with M1 or later when the device language is set to English (localized for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, and the United States), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Audio transcription isn’t available in all languages and regions. See the macOS Feature Availability website.
Go to the Notes app
In a note with an audio recording, click
to play it.
To review the transcript, double-click the audio recording, then click
Note: Spoken words in supported languages are automatically transcribed. If you don’t see
While viewing the transcript, you can do any of the following:
Play the audio at a specific point: Click the text you want to hear.
Search the transcript: Click
, then click Find in Transcript.
Copy the transcript: Click
Name your recording: Click the boldfaced title, type a name for your recording, then press Return.
Save or delete the audio recording: Click
Note: Deleting the audio recording also deletes the transcript.
Make changes to an audio recording
After you make a recording, you can make changes—such as adding on to the end of a recording or changing the title.
Go to the Notes app
Open the note with the audio recording you want to change.
Double-click the audio recording to open the audio details section.
Do one of the following:
Add onto a recording: Go to the end of the recording, then press
Change the name of the recording: Click the boldfaced title, type a name for your recording, then press Return.
When you’re finished making changes, click
View a summary of an audio recording
You can use Apple Intelligence to generate a summary of the transcript, so you can get to the most important information at a glance. You can also copy and share summaries.
Note: Apple Intelligence on macOS 27 is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.* Some languages that support Apple Intelligence summaries are not available for audio transcription.
Go to the Notes app
Open a note with a recording.
Double-click the recording, then click
Summary.
Tip: You can copy or share a summary. Click
Save, share, or delete an audio recording
Save audio recordings to your Documents folder, or share them with others.
Go to the Notes app
In a note with an audio recording, Control-click the audio recording to open the pop-up menu, then do any of the following:
Share an audio recording: Click Share Audio, then choose an option.
Save an audio recording: Click Save Attachment, choose the location you want the recording saved, enter the title (if you haven’t already), then click Save.
Delete an audio recording: Click Delete.