Finding the recording in Drive
Meet drops finished recordings into a folder called Meet Recordings in the Drive of whoever started the recording, and emails them a link when processing is done. If you were a participant rather than the organiser, you need them to share it with you before you can do anything with it.
Download the MP4 rather than working from the sharing link. Transcription runs on the file itself, so a link to a Drive preview is not enough, and downloading also gives you a copy that survives the retention policy your organisation may have set on that folder.
Why bother when Meet offers its own transcripts
Meet's built-in transcription is genuinely useful when you can reach it, but it is gated behind particular Workspace tiers, it has to be switched on before or during the call, and its language coverage is narrower than most teams assume. Plenty of people discover all three facts only after the meeting they needed it for.
Working from the recording sidesteps every one of those conditions. It also works for meetings recorded months ago, before anyone thought about transcripts, and it gives you a file you control rather than text living inside a platform you may not administer.
Frequently asked questions
Someone else pressed record. Can I still do this?
Only if they share the recording with you, since it lands in the Drive of whoever started it rather than the meeting organiser. Ask them to share or download it for you.
Will the transcript say who was speaking?
Not automatically. Plan to add speaker labels during your review pass. In a meeting with clear turn-taking this goes quickly, and timestamps make it easy to check who said what against the recording.
Does everyone in the meeting need to consent to this?
Rules on recording and on handling what was recorded vary by place and by employer, and this is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Check the policies that apply to you before transcribing or sharing a meeting others took part in.