PulseUsing speaker labels in Zoom
Setup steps for capturing speaker names in Zoom, and the macOS accessibility permission.
With speaker labels enabled for Zoom, each passage of the transcript is tagged with the display name from Zoom. Setting this up requires macOS accessibility permission. This article covers granting the permission, checking it works, and what to do when it does not. How it works and the limits of identification are covered in Speaker labels.
Three things: the macOS desktop app (updated to the latest version), a meeting you have joined in the Zoom Workplace desktop app, and macOS accessibility permission granted to Pulse. No browser extension is required.
Supported environments
This covers meetings joined in the Zoom Workplace desktop app. With accessibility permission granted to Pulse, it reads the participant names and speaking indicator shown on Zoom's screen and matches them against each section of the transcript. There is no processing that infers who someone is from voiceprints or audio characteristics. If you use a Mac managed by your company, IT can pre-grant the permission through MDM. The steps are in Setting up speaker labels across your organisation (for admins).
Zoom in a browser (the web client) is not supported on any operating system. And because speaker labels work only while transcription is running, names are never added retrospectively to a transcript recorded before setup.
Setup steps (macOS)
The app guides you through granting the permission.
Open the desktop app
Check it has updated to the latest version. If the display does not refresh, press Cmd+R to reload manually.
Open the speaker labels setting
Settings > Preferences and choose Speaker labels under “Features”.
Start setup on the Zoom row
Zoom row, choose Set up.
Grant accessibility permission
The macOS settings screen opens; switch on accessibility access for Pulse.
Check the connection
Go back to Pulse. Once it can read what it needs from Zoom, the Zoom row changes to enabled. There is no separate on/off switch for Zoom speaker labels.
- System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility shows the switch for Pulse turned on
- Settings > Preferences > Speaker labels shows the Zoom row as enabled
- participant display names appear in the transcript of a Zoom meeting recorded after setup
Showing the “Set up” button and the “enabled” status after the permission is granted.
About the accessibility permission
Accessibility is the macOS permission that allows one app to read and operate items on another app's screen. For Zoom speaker labels, it is used to read the participant names and speaking indicator shown in the Zoom desktop app.
This permission is never used to record the screen or audio, or to access the camera or microphone. Audio capture for transcription happens separately. For details see How transcription works.
You can check the permission's status under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. Depending on your macOS version this screen may be called System Preferences and the items arranged differently. If the names do not match, search for “Accessibility” in the settings search field.
Switching accessibility permission off stops Zoom speaker labels working, and the transcript goes back to showing “me” and “them”. If you do not want speaker labels, switch this permission off.
Using it in a meeting
Start a meeting in the Zoom Workplace desktop app and begin transcribing in Pulse as usual. Where Zoom can identify who is speaking, that participant's Zoom display name appears above their speech in the transcript. Your own speech continues to show as “me”.
What can be identified, and how to think about telling participants, are covered in Speaker labels.
If something is not working
Q. I cannot find “Speaker labels” in settings
A. Zoom speaker labels are a macOS-only feature at this time. First open Settings > Preferences > Speaker labels and check. If it is not shown, check that Pulse has updated to the latest version, and if necessary get the latest version from the-unchain.com and reinstall.
Q. I granted accessibility but it still says “Set up”
A. Check the following in order.
- System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. Depending on your macOS version this may be called System Preferences.
- Check that Pulse is in the list and its switch is on.
- Go back to Pulse and reopen Settings > Preferences > Speaker labels.
- Zoom row does not change to enabled, quit Pulse completely and start it again.
If it is switched on in the list but still not recognised, switch it off and on again, then reopen Pulse. macOS sometimes fails to refresh the permission registration.
Q. Transcription works but no speaker names appear
A. Check the following.
- The meeting was held in the Zoom Workplace desktop app. Speaker labels do not work in Zoom in a browser.
- Settings > Preferences > Speaker labels shows the Zoom row as enabled.
- Pulse was running and transcribing during the Zoom meeting.
- That transcript was recorded after you set speaker labels up.
Some passages may have no speaker name — for example where several people join from a shared machine in a meeting room. The situations are listed under “What can and cannot be identified” in Speaker labels.
Q. The speaker name shown is wrong
A. Speaker labels use the participant name Zoom displays, as-is. If a participant has set a display name that is not their real name, that display name becomes the speaker name. Correct a wrong name by editing the note directly, or tell chat to replace it.