How to see live transcriptions of calls and audio on your Mac in macOS 26 Tahoe

3. Select Live Captions from the list of Accessibility options on the right.

4. On the next screen, click the toggle switch for Live Captions to turn it on.

5. When Live Captions is turned on, the transcriptions window appears at the bottom of the screen, listening for audio playing on your computer. Note: You can drag the window to move it anywhere you like.

6. You can customise the appearance of Live Captions to suit your preferences. The table below lists the features you can adjust (also, see the screenshot below the table)

7. By default, Live Captions will transcribe audio from all apps on your computer. To have it transcribe audio only when using the FaceTime app, turn on the toggle switch for FaceTime.

8. When you are happy with your settings, close System Settings by clicking the Close button (red circle) in the top-left corner of the window or using the Cmd + W keyboard shortcut.

9. Live Captions can transcribe audio playing on your computer or in-person conversations and audio playing in your surroundings, using the built-in microphone. To choose which audio you want transcribed, click the Live Captions button in the menu bar at the top-right of the screen, then select Computer Audio or Microphone.

10. Alternatively, you can click the microphone button in the top-left of the transcriptions window to toggle between computer audio and microphone. 

11. To make transcriptions easier to read when there is a lot of text, resize the transcription window by dragging one of its corners outward or upward. A tall, narrow window with fewer words per line is easier to read than a short, wide one. You can also scroll up and down in the transcriptions window to navigate through the transcribed text.

12. You can click and drag the transcriptions window to move it anywhere you like.

13. To pause transcriptions, click the Pause button in the top-right of the transcriptions window. To resume transcriptions, click the Play button. 

14. While using Live Captions, you can type text in the transcriptions window and have it read aloud by your computer. Click the Live Captions button in the menu bar along the top-right of the screen, then click Type to Speak.

15. Next, click on the transcriptions window where it says Type to Speak… Type your phrase, then press the Enter key. Your computer will speak the phrase. 

Always show the Live Captions window

16. The transcriptions window is hidden automatically when no audio is detected. To keep the window visible, click the Live Captions button in the menu bar along the top-right of the screen, then click Keep Onscreen.

Restore the Live Captions window to its default size and position

17. To restore the Live Captions window to its default size and position, click the Live Captions button in the menu bar along the top-right of the screen, then click Restore Default Position.