Live Captions / CART captioning vs automatic live captions

CART captioning vs automatic live captions: when you need a human captioner

Updated November 13, 2026

CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is live captioning written by a trained human captioner as people speak. Book a CART provider when you are entitled to an accommodation or when every word matters: a court hearing, an exam, a disciplinary meeting, a medical appointment, a big conference. For everyday calls, videos, online classes and conversations, automatic live captions on your own computer are available any time, cost far less and need no booking. On Windows, Live Captions & Transcribe does this for any sound on the PC or the microphone.

People who are deaf or hard of hearing often meet the word CART for the first time when they ask a school, employer or event for access. It helps to know what it is, what it is not, and where software captions fit in, so you can ask for the right thing in each situation instead of choosing one tool for everything.

What CART is

A CART provider, also called a CART captioner or real-time captioner, listens to the speakers and writes everything down in real time, usually on a stenography keyboard that turns chords of keys into whole words. The text appears on a screen, a laptop, a tablet or a web link within a second or two. The captioner can be in the room or connected remotely to a call or a live event.

Near-verbatim text, including who is speaking and sounds such as laughter or applause.
Preparation: the captioner can load names, course terms and acronyms in advance, which is where software struggles most.
Booked in advance for a specific session and usually paid by the hour.
A cleaned-up transcript is often available after the session.

In the US, CART is one of the services commonly provided as an accommodation under disability laws such as the ADA. In the UK a similar service is usually called speech-to-text reporting.

When to ask for a human CART provider

You are entitled to an accommodation at school, at work or in a public service. Ask the organization to arrange CART; it is their responsibility, not yours to replace with an app.
Accuracy has legal or medical weight: court, a deposition, an exam, a hearing about your job, a diagnosis or treatment plan.
Lots of specialist vocabulary, such as a university course, a technical training or a scientific conference.
Many speakers, poor sound or strong accents, where automatic recognition makes the most mistakes.

When automatic live captions are enough

Most of the moments in a day when captions help are not booked events. A family video call, a webinar, a YouTube video, a podcast, a quick call with a colleague or a visitor talking in the room do not come with a captioner, and arranging one would not make sense. This is where automatic captions on your own computer help:

Always available: no booking, start captions whenever sound starts.
Any app: captions follow the sound of the PC, not one meeting service.
Private: nothing joins the call, and other people do not see your captions.
Low cost: free to try, then minute packs or a subscription instead of an hourly rate.
A backup when a scheduled captioner is late or the connection to them drops.

CART vs automatic captions at a glance

	Human CART provider	Automatic captions on your PC	Captions inside one meeting app
Who writes the text	A trained captioner	Speech recognition software	The meeting app's speech recognition
Accuracy	Highest; names and terms prepared in advance	Good with clear sound; weaker with names, jargon and cross-talk	Similar to other automatic captions
Availability	Booked in advance for a session	Any time, for any sound on the PC or the microphone	Only in that app, if the host or your plan allows it
Cost	Usually charged per hour	Free to try, then minute packs or a subscription	Depends on the app and plan
Best for	Accommodations, legal, medical and exam settings, big events	Everyday calls, videos, classes and conversations	People who use only that one app

How to set up automatic live captions on a Windows PC

Install Live Captions & Transcribe from the Microsoft Store. It works on Windows 10 and 11; no account or card is needed to try it.
Choose the source: computer sound for calls, videos and online classes, or the microphone for people talking in the room.
Make the text readable: increase the size up to 64 pt and pick a light, dark or high-contrast style.
Press Start. Captions appear about a second behind the speech, and different speakers can be shown in different colors.
Keep what you need: the history is saved on the PC, can be searched, and can be exported to TXT or SRT.

For calls with family, TV and conversations at home, see the detailed guide to live captions for hard of hearing people on Windows.

Using both together

CART and automatic captions are not rivals. A common pattern is to request a CART provider for the sessions that matter most, such as a weekly lecture, an important meeting or a conference keynote, and use automatic captions for everything in between: the recorded lecture you rewatch later, the quick team call nobody planned, a video someone sends you. If you rely on remote CART, keeping automatic captions ready also gives you something to read if the captioner's connection drops for a few minutes.

Limits to be honest about

Automatic captions make mistakes, most often with names, numbers, specialist terms, strong accents and people talking at the same time. Check anything important.
They need an internet connection while running.
They caption speech; they do not describe music or sounds the way a captioner might.
They are not a certified accessibility service and do not take away anyone's right to request CART.

Need captions translated into another language?

If the speaker uses a language you do not understand well, Live Subtitles, our main app, shows the original speech and a translation together in 50 languages, on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.

Try Live Captions & Transcribe free on Windows 10 or 11. No account, no card.

Get it from Microsoft Store

Questions and answers

What does CART stand for?

CART stands for Communication Access Realtime Translation. It is live captioning produced by a trained human captioner, usually with a stenography keyboard, who writes what is said as it is said, in the room or remotely.

Is automatic live captioning the same as CART?

No. CART is done by a person who can prepare names and terms in advance and correct mistakes on the fly. Automatic live captions are produced by speech recognition software: they are available any time at a much lower cost, but they make more mistakes with names, jargon, accents and people talking over each other.

Can automatic captions replace CART as an accommodation?

Not when you are entitled to an accommodation or when accuracy matters legally, for example in court, an exam, a disciplinary meeting or a medical consultation. Ask the school, employer, court or event to provide a CART provider. Automatic captions are a good everyday tool, not a certified service.

Can I use automatic captions in Zoom or Teams without the host turning anything on?

Yes. Live Captions & Transcribe captions the sound your Windows PC plays, so it works in Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, WhatsApp, Telegram and any other app without the host, a bot or any setting in the meeting. Only you see the captions.

Can I keep a transcript, like a CART file after a session?

Live Captions & Transcribe keeps a searchable history of what was captioned on your PC and can export it to TXT or SRT. It is an unedited automatic transcript, so check names and important numbers before relying on it.

Does it need an internet connection?

Yes. While captions are running, the audio is sent to a cloud speech recognition service to turn it into text. The audio itself is not recorded, and the text history is saved only on the PC. Details are in the privacy policy.