Zoom has rolled out auto-generated closed captions for all user accounts with an aim of making meetings more accessible. The company announced on Monday that the feature is currently available in English only, but there are plans to include other languages in the near future.
“It’s important to us that everyone can successfully connect, communicate, and participate using Zoom,” Zoom’s product marketing manager of meetings & chat, Theresa Larkin said.
“Without the proper accessibility tools, people with disabilities face tremendous barriers when using video communication solutions.”
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Previously, the video-conferencing app provided AI-powered live transmission for paid accounts, but the move drew criticism from users who noted that deaf users on free accounts had limited options on the app. Due to this, most meeting hosts were forced to manually input their own captions or use third party service providers.
Over the last year, the company has added a number of features including the addition of visible screens at a go, support for screen readers, allowing the visibility of a sign language assistant throughout the meeting even when speakers change.
To enable the captions in a meeting, an admin or account owner can sign into Zoom, click on account management and then account settings. Click on ‘in meeting (advanced) and then click on closed captioning to enable it.
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