How to use Facilitator and Interpreter in Teams meetings

Q: How do I turn on live translation in a Teams meeting?

Use Interpreter. In the meeting, select More actions > Language and speech > Interpreter > Turn on for me, pick a language under Listen to meeting in and select Turn on. You then hear other people in that language as they speak. It needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

The steps

Facilitator for your notes, Interpreter for your languages

Part one: Facilitator. It's off unless you turn it on, and you turn it on one meeting at a time.

Add Facilitator when you schedule. In Teams, select Calendar, then New. Turn on the Teams meeting toggle and select Options > Copilot and other AI. Set Allow Copilot and Facilitator to Only during the meeting or During and after the meeting. Turn the Facilitator toggle on and select Apply.
Write your agenda in the invite. Facilitator reads the meeting description and posts the agenda in the meeting chat. If there's no agenda, it asks the group to set goals for the meeting.
Forgot to add it? In the meeting, select More actions, then Turn on Facilitator. Organizers and presenters can do this from Teams on desktop or the web.
Turn on transcription too if you want to ask Facilitator questions about the meeting after it ends.
After the meeting, open the meeting chat and select Recap, then Notes. The notes summarize the key decisions and open questions, and the tasks sit under Follow-up tasks. Anyone from your company who was in the meeting can edit them.

Part two: Interpreter. Each person turns it on for themselves, and it only changes what that person hears.

In the meeting, select More actions in the meeting controls, then Language and speech > Interpreter > Turn on for me.
Pick your language from the Listen to meeting in menu, for example English, and select Turn on. What the other person says now comes through in English as they speak.
Set the balance. The Balance volume slider sets how much of the original voice you hear under the translation.
Your client can do the same and hear you in their language, if they join with their own work Microsoft 365 account and their company gives them a Copilot license. People who join as guests or anonymously can't use Interpreter.
To change it or turn it off, select the Interpreter indicator in your meeting window. Your settings carry over to your next meeting.

What you need

A work account with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Both agents need it.
Facilitator: only the person who turns it on needs the license, and colleagues without one can still see and edit the notes. It works in scheduled meetings, and it doesn't work in channel meetings, instant meetings, Teams calls or meetings with people from outside your company.
Interpreter: every person who wants to hear a translation needs their own Copilot license. Your license includes 20 hours of interpretation a month.
Interpreter speaks Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. It doesn't work in instant meetings, town halls, webinars or the free version of Teams.

Questions people ask

Quick answers

What does Facilitator do in a Teams meeting?

Facilitator is a Copilot agent that writes live notes in your Teams meeting that everyone from your company can edit. It posts the agenda from your invite, summarizes the key decisions and open questions, and captures follow-up tasks. After the meeting you'll find the notes under Recap, then Notes.

Can I turn on Facilitator for all my Teams meetings?

No. You turn Facilitator on one meeting at a time. When you schedule, go to Options > Copilot and other AI and turn the Facilitator toggle on. In a meeting that's already running, select More actions, then Turn on Facilitator.

How do I turn on live translation in a Teams meeting?

Use Interpreter. In the meeting, select More actions > Language and speech > Interpreter > Turn on for me, pick a language under Listen to meeting in and select Turn on. You then hear other people in that language as they speak. It needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Can my client use Interpreter if they're from another company?

Yes, if they join from their own work Microsoft 365 account and have a Copilot license from their company. People who join as guests or anonymously can't use Interpreter. You can still turn it on for yourself and hear them in your language.

Which languages does Teams Interpreter support?

Interpreter supports Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, for both speaking and listening. A Copilot license includes 20 hours of interpretation per person per month, and it works in meetings with up to 1,000 people.

Free bonus

Run a client meeting in two languages, then send the recap

A checklist for setting up a meeting where people speak different languages, plus the prompt that has Facilitator write a one-page recap you can edit and send.

◆ Unlocked

Ask your client before the meeting whether their company gives them Microsoft 365 Copilot. If it does, send them the Interpreter steps above. If not, Interpreter works for you only: you hear them in your language, and they hear your own voice.
Schedule the meeting from your Teams calendar. Interpreter doesn't work in instant meetings.
Speak in short sentences and pause between points. The translation runs a moment behind the speaker.
Interpreter translations aren't saved. The recording keeps the original audio only, so take your notes during the meeting.

Write the agenda like this

For your internal meetings with Facilitator, put topics and minutes in the invite description, one per line: Introductions (5 minutes), Project status (20 minutes), Next steps (5 minutes). Facilitator turns them into an on-screen timer and checks each topic off as you cover it.

Client recap (type it in the meeting chat)

@Facilitator, create a Word document that recaps this meeting for [client name]. One page. Start with the decisions we made. Then list every action item with the owner and the due date. End with the open questions we still need to answer. Leave out internal discussion about pricing, staffing and anything said off the record.

Facilitator saves the document to your OneDrive. Read it and edit it there before you send it to your client.

Stop taking meeting notes. Hear every client in your own language