Google Meet Simultaneous Translation: How to Set It Up

Does Google Meet translate calls on its own?

Google Meet has two built-in features that translate, and they work differently. A third route is an add-on that works with the free captions Meet already offers.

• Speech translation: translates speech into another language in a voice like the speaker's. This is voice translation, not text.
• Translated captions: live captions translated into a language you choose, shown as text.
• Clozo: a Chrome extension that translates Meet's live captions into your language and shows the original and the translation one under the other.

Both built-in features depend on your Google plan, and in the meeting also on the organizer's plan. Check this first, because it decides how much work you have ahead.

Google Meet speech translation (voice translation)

According to Google, speech translation translates speech into another language in a voice like the speaker's. It became generally available for businesses on January 27, 2026 (Google Workspace Updates).

What Google lists for it:

• Plans: Google AI Pro, Google AI Ultra, Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Frontline Plus, and Google AI Pro for Education.
• Languages: English with Spanish, French, German, Portuguese or Italian, one pair per meeting.
• Limit: 90 minutes per meeting.

If you speak English with a Spanish-speaking colleague and your plan is on that list, this is the closest thing to hearing a translated call. If you need Japanese, Arabic or any pair that doesn't include English, it isn't an option. Check Google's current help page before relying on it, because Google may change these details.

Google Meet real time translation with translated captions

Translated captions are the text version. Google lists them for Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and Google AI Pro for Education, with translation to or from 69 languages. Google also says the feature is gradually rolling out and may not be available yet. Participants can use translated captions if the meeting is organized by a user with an eligible Google Workspace edition.

Google's steps, from its Meet help page:

1. In the meeting, open More options > Settings > Captions.
2. Under Language of the meeting, turn on Translated captions.
3. Pick the language to translate to.

Google says translated captions are not included in Business Starter, Enterprise Starter or Essentials, Frontline Plus, Education Fundamentals, Standard and Plus, Workspace Individual or Essentials, or in Google One plans. A free personal account is not on the list. If you join a meeting as a guest, it depends on the organizer's edition, not yours.

How to translate Google Meet live with Clozo, step by step

Clozo works with a free Google account. Neither you nor the host needs Google Workspace or a paid Google plan, and no bot joins the call. It reads Meet's own captions in your browser and translates the text, so the people on the call see nothing different.

1. Install Clozo. Add it from the Chrome Web Store. You need Chrome 116 or newer on a computer (Windows, macOS, Linux or ChromeOS).
2. Join a call on meet.google.com. It can be your own meeting or someone else's.
3. Let captions turn on. Clozo switches Meet's captions on by itself. The setting “Turn on captions automatically” is on by default.
4. Agree once. The first time, Clozo asks before anything is sent. Click “Agree and translate”. If you choose “Not now”, you get captions but no translation.
5. Set Meet's caption language to the spoken language. Go to More options > Settings > Captions > Language of the meeting and choose the language people actually speak. Clozo detects the spoken language from the caption text, but Meet can only caption one language at a time.
6. Check your target language. By default Clozo translates into your browser's language. The yellow pill in the call shows the current target language and, on the free plan, the minutes left today.
7. Read. Original and translation appear one under the other, with the speaker's name, about a second after each sentence ends.

Prefer less on screen? Open the pill menu or the settings to show the translation only (“Translation only” instead of “Both”), pick one of four text sizes, or move the captions to the top or drag them anywhere. Alt+Shift+T turns translation on and off.

If you want to look back at something, choose “Open live transcript” in the pill menu. It opens in Chrome's side panel with speaker, time, original and translation, and you can use “Search” and “Copy”.

Which option fits your call?

If you want to hear a translation and your plan and language pair are covered, use Google's speech translation. If the organizer has an eligible edition and you only need to read, Google's translated captions may be enough. Clozo helps when the plan isn't covered, when the pair isn't English-based, or when you join as a guest in someone else's meeting.

There is one more option on Windows and Mac. Chrome's Live Caption (Chrome settings > Accessibility) creates captions for audio in Chrome, including video calls, and Live Translate on the same page translates them with a “Translate to” setting. Google says the captions are sent to Google for translation. It works on the audio in Chrome, separate from Meet's own captions.

Clozo's free plan gives you 15 minutes of translation a day, and Pro (€6.99 a month or €59 a year) gives you 50 hours a month. Details are on the pricing section.

Common problems and fixes

The translation makes no sense

Almost always, Meet's caption language doesn't match the spoken language. If people speak Spanish but Meet's captions are set to English, the captions are nonsense and the translation too. Change “Language of the meeting” in Meet's caption settings. Clozo's pill menu also has the help entry “Captions in the wrong language?”.

Captions show, but nothing is translated

You probably haven't agreed yet. Without “Agree and translate”, Clozo shows captions and translates nothing. You can also withdraw your agreement in the settings at any time, so check there if translation stopped after you changed something.

Translation stopped in the middle of the call

On the free plan, translation stops after 15 minutes a day. Clozo warns you with 2 minutes left, then Meet's captions stay visible in the original language. Only minutes in which something is translated count, and the free minutes renew every day at midnight UTC.

Your own words aren't translated

That's the default, since it saves minutes. Turn on “Translate my own speech” in the settings if you want it.

The speakers switch languages

Meet captions one language at a time. When the language of the conversation changes, change the caption language in Meet as well.

Clozo shows a notice that it can't read the captions

This can happen if Meet changes its page. Clozo can receive updated page selectors as data without an extension update, so try again a little later.

Honest limits of translating Google Meet live

• It's text, not voice. Clozo doesn't speak the translation, and it doesn't record or write summaries. Meet's chat is not translated.
• Quality depends on the captions. Accents, crosstalk, background noise, names and jargon affect what Meet captions, and machine translation can add its own mistakes. Don't rely on it for details where an error would matter.
• It isn't word by word. The translation appears about a second after a sentence ends. Long sentences are translated in parts, and when Meet corrects a caption, Clozo updates the translation.
• Chrome on a computer, Google Meet only. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Meet's mobile apps, Firefox and Safari aren't supported.
• Privacy. Only the caption text, with the previous sentence or two as context, is sent for translation. No audio, video, participant names or meeting links are sent, and nothing leaves your browser until you agree. Read privacy in short. Let the other participants know that your captions are translated, and don't use Clozo in confidential meetings.

You can see the whole flow on how Clozo works.

Questions and answers