[German]One more small warning, even if it's currently more likely to affect developers who use Microsoft's cloud stuff via API. There is a preview of the Teams transcription APIs, which can be used to create meeting transcripts and recordings using Graph APIs. Actually a fine thing, some people will interject, even if the topic of Teams recordings is its own building site and subject to co-determination if necessary. But another trap beckons, which I want to point out in this blog post. Microsoft has just announced that there will be a charge for using Teams' transcription APIs, even in the preview. That can then add up to quite a bit of money.
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The announcement Microsoft Teams Recording and Transcript APIs billing in public preview dates back to September 1, 2023, but passed me by. Colleagues at The Register noticed the whole thing and picked it up in this article.
Update: The announcement in question, dated September 1, 2023, was still online on September 5, when I wrote the blog post. Now the link is broken – what that means is currently unclear to me. I have linked above a version from the web cache.
Microsoft's announcement states that Microsoft Teams users will be able to record and transcribe their Teams meetings to capture and review the content of the meeting.
Microsoft cites call summaries, which can be used to create notes or tasks more quickly, automatically capture questions asked or meeting clips as highlights, as a use case scenario. Training or familiarization should also be supported by the recordings or transcriptions. Another carrot: By analyzing previous calls, salespeople could gain insights into what should be discussed in the next iterations of a sales call or interview and launch intelligent follow-ups.
There's a bit of a catch to all of this, though: on Sept. 1, 2023, Microsoft made these features of the recording and transcription APIs, which yes, is still in preview, chargeable. It says that billing in the public preview for the recording and transcription APIs, which allow developers to retrieve content from meeting transcripts and recordings, will be charged from now on. Pricing for these APIs is as follows:
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Recording Teams sessions via API costs $0.03 per minute, while transcription via API costs $0.024 per minute. Anyone in the readership using this functionality?
