what is live captions in window 11

 Live Captions in Windows 11 is an accessibility feature that provides automatic, real-time transcription of spoken audio on your computer screen.

It is designed to help everyone, especially people who are deaf or hard of hearing, better understand audio content by displaying the speech as text.

🔑 Key Features

• Real-time Transcription: It instantly transcribes spoken words from any audio source playing on your PC, including:

  • Videos (local files or streaming services like YouTube).

  • Online meetings or calls.

  • Podcasts or music (though music lyrics may not be reliably detected).

• System-wide: It works across the entire Windows 11 operating system, so you can still read the captions while working in other applications.

• Offline Functionality: Captions can be provided for audio even when you are disconnected from the internet (after the initial language files are downloaded).

• Microphone Audio: You have the option to include your microphone audio to caption your own speech, which can be useful for in-person conversations.

• Customization: You can personalize the appearance of the captions (font size, color, style) and choose where they are displayed on your screen (Top, Bottom, or Floating).

• Translation (On some Copilot+ PCs): Newer versions, especially on Copilot+ PCs, can offer instant translation of live or pre-recorded video audio from over 40 languages into English.

🚀 How to Turn It On

The fastest way to enable Live Captions is with a keyboard shortcut:

• Press Windows logo key + Ctrl + L.

Alternatively, you can:

1. Open Quick Settings (click the battery, network, or volume icon on the taskbar, or press Win + A).

2. Click the Accessibility button (a person icon).

3. Toggle the Live captions switch to On.

Would you like to know more about customizing the caption style or language settings for Live Captions?