Microsoft Search Begins to Index Meeting Transcripts

Microsoft Search

One of the benefits of having all of your productivity data in one platform is that it can be indexed and discoverable through a single context window. In Microsoft 365, the company is using search as a tool to help you find your information but also reach across your company’s vast pools of content to discover new points of expertise and assets that align to your project.

In the past year, we have seen Microsoft include features in Teams that will transcribe meetings, and now that content will soon be indexed by Microsoft Search.

This new feature will start rolling out in mid-June and will be completed by early July for all users. The search index will include past and future transcriptions that are stored in OneDrive and SharePoint but there are a couple of safeguards in place.

The content of the meetings will only be visible to those who attended the meeting. Meaning, if you have a C-suite Teams meeting that is transcribed, the transcription can only be viewed in search by those who were invited to the event. Also keep in mind that with transcriptions now being indexed, this means that they will be included in eDiscovery too.

At this time, the only way to avoid the inclusion of this content in search is to turn off transcription completely; that is a small nuclear option for this feature where it’s all or nothing.

The idea of indexing what is said in a meeting is a helpful process on paper but also has the potential to introduce noise as well. Meetings oftentimes include exploratory thinking and do not always result in concrete decisions, if too much data from meetings are returned, it could create confusion about the decisions that were made.

That being said, it’s still a good step for search because even if you can’t determine the result of the meeting, at least you know what was discussed and can inquire about the conversation with the correct individuals to find the answer to your task.