How to Configure and Use CART Captions in Microsoft Teams Meetings

While Microsoft Teams includes automated speech-to-text live captions, automated algorithms frequently struggle with dense technical jargon, non-standard acronyms, regional accents, or participants speaking in noisy environments. For individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, accessibility compliance (such as ADA or European accessibility mandates) often legally requires professional human real-time stenographers. Microsoft Teams supports CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) captions, allowing meeting organizers to stream live human-transcribed text directly into the standard Teams caption interface.

What Are CART Captions in Microsoft Teams?

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is a service in which a certified professional stenographer listens to a live event and converts speech to text at speeds exceeding 200 words per minute with near-100% accuracy. Rather than requiring participants to open a secondary browser tab or separate transcription window, Teams generates an encrypted ingestion endpoint URL. The CART captioner’s software streams text directly into Microsoft Teams, where it displays natively in the meeting canvas.

Key advantages of Teams CART captioning include:

• Native In-Meeting Display: Transcriptions appear directly alongside participant video feeds rather than in external third-party windows.
• Multi-Stenographer Redundancy: Organizers can invite primary and backup CART captioners to high-stakes conferences.
• Dedicated Captions Stream: Attendees can choose between AI-generated captions or the professional CART feed without affecting other participants.
• Transcript Logging: Transcribed dialogue can be saved and exported alongside standard meeting recordings.

Step 1: Enabling CART Captions in Meeting Options

Meeting organizers must enable CART ingestion prior to or during the conference:

Enabling Before the Meeting:

1. Open your Microsoft Teams calendar.
2. Click on the scheduled meeting and select Edit > Meeting options (or Manage event).
3. In the Meeting Options settings window, scroll down to the Captions and transcripts section.
4. Toggle the switch for Provide CART Captions to On.
5. Click Save at the bottom of the options panel.

Enabling During an Active Meeting:

1. Inside the active Teams meeting, click More (…) in the top control bar.
2. Select Settings > Meeting options.
3. Toggle Provide CART Captions to On and click Save.

Step 2: Generating and Sharing the CART Link with the Captioner

Once CART is enabled, Teams produces a unique streaming API token link:

1. In the active meeting room, look for the banner at the top of your screen indicating CART is active.
2. Alternatively, return to Meeting options > Captions and transcripts.
3. Click the Copy link button next to the CART captions link field.
4. Securely send this URL to your professional CART captioner (via email or direct secure chat).

How the Stenographer Connects to Microsoft Teams

The human CART provider does not need a Microsoft Teams license or guest account to transmit text. Using industry-standard captioning software (such as Eclipse, Case CATalyst, or CaptionPros):

1. The captioner pastes the copied Teams CART URL into their software’s output streaming configuration.
2. The captioning software initiates an encrypted HTTP POST stream directly to the Microsoft Teams ingestion endpoint.
3. As the captioner writes on their stenographic machine, text packets are parsed and pushed into the Teams meeting session with sub-second latency.

How Attendees View CART Captions in Microsoft Teams

Meeting participants have full control over their personal caption experience:

1. Click More (…) in the Teams meeting toolbar.
2. Hover over Language and speech and click Turn on live captions.
3. In the caption display bar at the bottom of the screen, click the three-dot Caption settings gear icon.
4. Under Caption provider, select CART instead of automated machine captions.
5. Attendees can adjust font size, caption text colour, height, and display positioning to suit their accessibility preferences.

Troubleshooting CART Connection Issues

• Link Regenerated: If the meeting is rescheduled or CART is toggled off and on, Teams generates a new link. Always verify the captioner has the latest URL.
• Text Lag: Ensure the captioner’s software is set to transmit continuous stream buffers rather than waiting for paragraph carriage returns.