Live captions, 60-language translation, and AI voice for any Zoom call — one Chrome extension, no plugins to install inside Zoom.
Zoom is used by hundreds of millions of professionals every day, but Zoom's own translation story is surprisingly thin. The built-in AI Companion produces post-meeting summaries, not live translation. Zoom's translated captions exist only in specific enterprise SKUs and cover a limited language set. And when you are a guest joining someone else's Zoom, any host-level translation setting does not reach you at all.
Gaavala takes the problem outside Zoom entirely. Because Gaavala is a Chrome extension that captures audio from the active tab, it does not need to integrate with Zoom's plugin system, Marketplace, or enterprise admin console. You open your Zoom meeting in the web client (at zoom.us), click the Gaavala extension icon, press Start — capture begins instantly through Chrome's tabCapture API, with no screen-share dialog — and pick your source and target languages. Live captions appear in the side panel and in a floating overlay, with speaker diarization across any of 60 supported languages.
The audio stream flows directly from your browser to the Soniox speech-to-text engine over an encrypted WebSocket. Gaavala's servers are not in the audio path — they handle authentication and subscription state only. AI meeting summaries are generated entirely on-device with Chrome's built-in AI, so the transcript never leaves your machine either. For sensitive Zoom calls in legal, finance, or healthcare contexts, this privacy architecture materially reduces your compliance surface compared to tools that proxy audio through their own backend.
On Pro ($24.99/month, one-time 5-minute free trial available), Speak Mode lets you contribute in a language you do not speak fluently. Hold a push-to-talk key, say what you want to say in your native language, and Gaavala synthesizes your translated voice directly into the Zoom meeting so participants hear you in their language. Pro defaults to Soniox studio voices — 28 voices that speak all 60 languages — or clone your own voice from a ~20-second sample.
| Feature | Zoom built-in | Gaavala |
|---|---|---|
| Live translation | Gated by enterprise SKU or license | Included on Free and Pro |
| Language coverage | Platform-dependent, narrower set | 60 languages across every plan |
| Privacy | Audio proxied through vendor cloud | Direct browser-to-Soniox streaming |
| Setup | Admin or tenant-level enablement | Chrome Web Store install, 30 seconds |
| Cross-platform | Zoom only | Teams, Zoom, Meet, Webex |
| AI voice Speak Mode | Limited or unavailable | Pro includes PTT + Timed Speak |
Read live captions of a prospect's objections in English while they speak German. On Pro, use Speak Mode to respond in fluent German even if your German is B1.
Run daily Zoom standups with distributed engineering teams in Warsaw, São Paulo, and Tokyo. Every participant reads the meeting in their own language.
Consultants serving international clients can follow technical discussions without asking the client to switch languages. Client confidence stays intact.
As a webinar attendee, get live caption translation without the host needing to configure anything on their end.
Gaavala captures audio from Chrome browser tabs, so you need to join Zoom through the web client at zoom.us. The Zoom desktop app runs outside the browser and its audio is not exposed to the Chrome tabCapture API. Most Zoom meetings offer a "Join from browser" link — use that link and the meeting will open in a Chrome tab where Gaavala can capture audio.
Gaavala has a one-time free trial of 5 minutes of transcription, with no credit card required. Those 5 minutes are a lifetime allowance — once used, the free tier is exhausted and does not reset. The free trial covers all 60 languages, speaker diarization, and live captions. Pro is $24.99 per month, billed through Lemon Squeezy, and unlocks 120 minutes of transcription per day, Speak Mode with Push-to-Talk and Timed Speak, 28 Soniox studio voices plus your own cloned voice, and on-device AI meeting summaries.
No. Captions render only in your browser — inside the Gaavala side panel and a floating overlay that appears on your meeting tab. Other Zoom participants see nothing different. Gaavala does not post messages into the Zoom chat, does not create a bot participant, and does not announce itself in any way.
Zoom has no mechanism to detect a Chrome extension observing tab audio. Gaavala uses the browser's own tabCapture API, which is the same primitive that Chrome screen-sharing and recording tools use. From Zoom's perspective, nothing unusual is happening.
Speak Mode is a Pro feature that lets you talk in your native language and have Gaavala speak your translated voice directly into the Zoom meeting so other participants hear you in their language. Push-to-Talk gives you walkie-talkie style control — hold a hotkey while speaking — and Timed Speak is a hands-free alternative. Pro defaults to Soniox studio voices (28 voices across all 60 languages), or clone your own voice from a ~20-second sample.
How to translate a Zoom meeting in real time
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