Capture conversations and ideas on the go in Microsoft 365 Copilot Notebooks

Important work doesn't always happen in documents or recorded meetings. It takes place during in-person conversations, whiteboard sessions, quick brainstorms, third-party video calls, and moments when you're simply on the move. Whether you're away from your desk on iPhone or sitting at your Windows PC in a Zoom or Google Meet call, Capture brings those moments into Copilot Notebooks — so nothing gets lost and everything stays connected to your work.

Capture lets you bring offline and non-Teams moments into Copilot Notebooks so they're saved alongside your project's content. On iOS, use your phone to transcribe live conversations, snap photos of whiteboards, and type notes — all in a single multimodal session. On Windows, Capture automatically detects third-party meetings (Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, and more) and transcribes them in real time. Once captured on either platform, you can review your content, ask Copilot questions, and use it as part of your ongoing work in the same notebook — creating presentations, documents, mind maps, audio overviews, and more.

Screenshot of the Capture screens in Copilot Notebooks on iPhone.

Note

A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required to use Copilot Notebooks, and an active SharePoint or OneDrive license is required to create notebooks. Copilot Notebooks is also available to Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Premium subscribers; however, the Capture feature is available only to commercial Microsoft 365 users with work or school (Entra ID) accounts.

The Capture feature is rolling out in phases and will first be available in OneNote for iPhone and iPad. If you don't see Capture, it may not be available to you yet. Availability to other endpoints will expand over time.

Learn more about Microsoft 365 Copilot Notebooks in OneNote, Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing, and Microsoft 365 Copilot plans.

How to use Capture on iPhone and iPad

  1. Open the OneNote app on your iPhone or iPad.

  2. Go to Copilot Notebooks.

  3. On the notebook list page, tap Capture.

  4. Use Capture to transcribe the discussion, take photos, and type notes during the session.

  5. When you're done, tap End.

  6. Choose the notebook where you want to save your capture.

Copilot creates a structured Copilot Page with your transcript, photos, notes, and key insights, and saves it in your selected notebook for you to access from any Copilot Notebooks endpoint.

Scenarios to try on iPhone and iPad

  • In-person conversations - capture key points, decisions, and follow-ups from hallway chats or quick syncs

  • Whiteboard sessions - take a photo of the whiteboard, add notes, and transcribe the discussion to revisit later

  • Voice notes and ideas - capture quick thoughts and ideas and keep them with the rest of your notebook content

  • Brainstorming sessions - record ideas as they flow, combine audio and typed notes for a complete picture

How to use Capture on Windows

Screenshot of Capture transcribing a third-party meeting on Windows.

Capture on Windows is designed for online meetings that happen outside of Microsoft Teams — including Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, and other browser-based meetings. It automatically detects when a supported meeting is active and offers to transcribe it in real time, so you never miss a detail regardless of which platform your meeting is on.

Note

Capture on Windows for offline and third-party meetings is currently only available to Office Insiders Beta customers.

Capture on Windows can be started in two ways: automatically, when Capture detects an active third-party meeting, or manually, at any time using the OneNote system tray icon.

  1. Join the Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, or browser-based meeting on your Windows device.
  2. When Capture detects the meeting, look for the prompt in the bottom-right corner of your screen and select Take notes.
  3. Capture starts transcribing the meeting so you can capture the discussion as it happens. You can also select Pause at any time to temporarily pause the capture.
  4. When you’re finished capturing the conversation, select Generate.
  5. Copilot creates a structured Copilot Page with your transcript and key insights, and saves it in your selected notebook — available across all your Copilot Notebooks endpoints

Option 2: Manual start via the OneNote system tray icon

Screenshot of starting a new Capture session from the OneNote system tray.

You can start a Capture session at any time — even outside of a detected meeting — directly from the Windows system tray.

  1. In the Windows taskbar, locate and click the OneNote icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner of your screen).

  2. From the menu that appears, select New Capture.

  3. Capture opens and begins transcribing in real time. You can select Pause at any time to temporarily stop the capture.

  4. When you're finished, select Generate.

  5. Copilot creates a structured Copilot Page with your transcript and key insights, and saves it in your selected notebook — available across all your Copilot Notebooks endpoints.

Tip

Use manual start for any audio conversation that Capture doesn't automatically detect — such as phone calls, in-person discussions at your desk, or meetings on platforms not yet supported for auto-detection.

Scenarios to try on Windows

  • Third-party video meetings - let Capture transcribe your Zoom, Webex, or Google Meet calls just like Teams meetings

  • Browser-based meetings - capture discussions happening in any web conference tool without switching apps

  • Cross-platform collaboration - keep a unified record of conversations regardless of which meeting platform your customers or partners use

Privacy and your audio content

Copilot Notebooks and Microsoft 365 are built on Microsoft's comprehensive approach to security, compliance, and privacy. Capture uses Microsoft 365 enterprise data, privacy, and permission controls.

As with all AI-generated content, review Copilot's output before you share it or take action on it.

Audio processing

To generate real time transcription, audio is processed as a continuous stream using internal buffering and incremental processing. The audio is handled transiently to generate the corresponding transcription and isn't retained after transcription is complete.

Speaker separation

During transcription, audio is temporarily used for speaker separation, meaning to annotate the transcription with information about which speakers made each statement, e.g., Speaker 1, Speaker 2, Speaker 3. Data used for speaker separation is deleted immediately after transcription. Voice separation data can't be used to identify individuals.

Data retention

Audio data processed during a Capture session is deleted immediately after transcription and therefore can't be used for any other purpose.

You're responsible for obtaining consent from all participants before using Capture to transcribe a meeting. By starting a Capture session, you agree that you've obtained adequate consent from every person to record audio and photos in accordance with applicable law. Keep a unified record of conversations regardless of which meeting platform your customers or partners use.

Note

If you're the IT admin for your organization, you can use Capture in Copilot Notebooks for mobile devices Cloud Policy to manage this feature. Windows policy controls will be available as the feature reaches broader availability.

Feedback

  • On iOS: To send feedback from OneNote on iPhone, select your profile in the top left, then tap Help & Feedback.

  • On Windows: To send feedback, select the feedback icon within the Capture experience or use the Feedback option in the OneNote Help menu

More ways to work with Copilot Notebooks