Microsoft now charges a fee of three cents per minute to access the Teams API for recordings. The transcription API will also be subject to a fee.
Whether you’re already paying for an enterprise license or not, if you’re looking to use the API for team recording or transcription, there’s a price tag attached. Microsoft is offering developers access to transcripts and recordings via the Graph API as part of a public preview. This allows them to develop applications themselves that offer added value in addition to Teams meetings, for example by generating automatic notes or summaries. Now that costs extra money.
three cents
Microsoft expects $0.03 per minute for recording API access and $0.024 per minute for transcription API. The registry knows that. Developers and organizations will continue to receive 600 free minutes per month per application and per tenant. Once usage is over, an application using the API must have an Azure subscription that processes payments. With somewhat larger companies, the evaluation quota is quickly exceeded and the use of the APIs can quickly add up with costs.
Through the API, third parties can develop applications that, for example, use AI to extract additional information from meetings. This is functionality that rivals that of Microsoft Copilot, which Microsoft would happily pay a lot more money for.