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When you’re hosting a virtual meeting, livestream, or webinar, the platform you choose matters. Many event organizers evaluate platforms based on video quality or ease of use, but caption compatibility and integration options are equally important. Platforms like Zoom, Webex, and others all handle captions differently. Each platform offers different levels of support for CART captioning integrations, workflows, and AI-generated captions. And while built-in ASR capabilities enable basic event accessibility, ASR can often fall short of producing accurate captions. ASR struggles when there are multiple speakers, significant background noise is present, or highly technical industry jargon is required. When choosing the right platform for your digital event, understanding what each platform offers and its limitations can help you make an informed decision.

In this guide, we’ll break down:

  • The most popular digital streaming platforms and their captioning capabilities
  • Why you shouldn’t just default to built-in ASR captions 
  • Why in-platform CART captioning capabilities matter
  • Best practices across platforms
  • Platform FAQs
  • Why choosing the right captioners matters too

Finding the Right Digital Streaming Platform For You: Feature Comparisons 

Sometimes you don’t know exactly what you need until you understand your options. Here is a breakdown of the captioning capabilities for some of the most widely used platforms for all types of digital events:

Zoom

We put the platform that blossomed during the pandemic first. Zoom continues to be a popular platform for webinars and other virtual events. Offering easy-to-use meeting setups and accessible captioning workflows, this platform gives hosts control over how captions are delivered and allows attendees to customize their experience. To improve captioning accuracy, Zoom also offers an easy integration for CART captioning. 

What type of captioning does Zoom support? 

  • Third-party captions: Zoom allows third-party closed captions via an API, or vendors, like Caption Pros, can directly input captions into the Zoom meeting. 
  • Auto-generated captions: Hosts can enable automated captioning directly within webinar settings.
  • Manual captions: Hosts can assign someone to manually type captions during the meeting.
  • Postproduction content: Event organizers can export a transcript for post-event content.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a popular workplace hub that seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft 365 suite. Many companies use Microsoft Teams for group collaboration and corporate meetings. The platform offers a variety of features, including alt text and sign language features. 

What type of captioning does Microsoft Teams support? 

  • CART captioning: Teams supports third-party CART captioning.
  • Auto-generated captions: Like Zoom, Teams offers built-in AI-generated captions. 
  • Transcription: Live transcription is available during and after the meeting. 

Webex

Cisco Systems developed Webex as a multifunctional business platform, offering a range of features, such as team communication, webinars, and meetings. The platform was designed for teams in government and legal industries. From hosting a webinar to a confidential meeting, the platform offers a streamlined workflow that supports native CART captioning integration. 

What type of captioning does Webex support?

  • Third-party CART integration: Webex offers a dedicated CART API that enables native integration for captioners. 
  • Automated AI captions: Built-in AI-generated captions are available within the platform.
  • Real-time translation: With specific licensing, select spoken languages can be translated into over 100 languages.
  • Manual captioning: An individual in the meeting can be designated as a captioner to type captions in real time.

StreamYard

StreamYard’s workflow differs from the platforms above, as it is a browser-based livestreaming studio that lets users broadcast their content to multiple destinations. The platform features a single production hub with streaming capabilities across different platforms, including YouTube Live, Facebook Live, LinkedIn, and Twitch. This multi-destination capability means captioning requires a unique workflow. 

What type of captioning does StreamYard support?

  • Third-party CART Captioning: Human-generated captions are delivered into the stream and can be displayed consistently across all streaming destinations.
  • Auto-caption integration: Depending on the platforms your livestream is sent to (e.g., Facebook Live), they may offer an AI-generated caption option. 

Caption Pros Tip: Don’t default to ASR Captions 

Many platforms offer AI-generated captions and even have meetings set to default to them. While in certain contexts, AI can be a useful tool for basic transcription, it is far from capable of handling complex digital events. Your webinar or livestream is created and produced to connect with your audience, so why wouldn’t you want your best work on display? Client meetings can quickly become unprofessional with bizarre mistranscriptions. Q&As can become hard to follow with overlapping and disjointed captions. Even in the simplest of environments, auto-generated captions are still unable to do what human-generated captions do. 

Why In-Platform CART Captioning Capabilities Matter

Captions are just as critical as clear audio, video quality, and chat features. They are a key factor in the attendees’ overall experience. Before choosing a platform, consider how built-in captioning tools perform or how a platform’s settings integrate with a third-party CART captioning service. If your captions lag or are inaccurate, your audience misses out, and your content doesn’t achieve its full impact. Having accurate real-time captions, backed by an expert behind the scenes, ensures your audience can fully leverage your content.

When you choose a platform that is compatible with CART captioning, you benefit from:

  • 99%+ captioning accuracy
  • Captions that capture the spirit of the speaker (tone, nuance, intent) without bias
  • Support for ADA, WCAG, and Section 508 compliance
  • Accessible content for individuals with hearing loss and non-native English speakers
  • A reliable fallback when audio quality fluctuates
  • Ability to accurately capture technical or industry-specific jargon
  • Can facilitate adjusted pacing for synchronized captions without lags 
  • Accommodates multiple speakers with overlapping speech
  • Supports dynamic environments where a significant amount of background noise may be present  
  • Access to an expert who can provide technical expertise for planning and troubleshooting
  • A fully edited transcript available the same day for quick postproduction turnaround

Human captioners provide expertise and context that automatically generated captions can’t capture. Whether you choose Zoom, Webex, or another platform for your next digital event, Caption Pros partners with your team from the very start of planning. We provide experienced platform guidance, technical expertise, and hands-on support. 

Best Practices Across Platforms

No matter which platform you choose, there are best practices to ensure your digital event is ready to deliver accurate, effective communication access.

  • Audio quality matters: No platform or captioner can produce accurate captioning with a poor audio feed. During the planning process, ensure there is a clean, direct audio path to your captioner, and run a test. 
  • Third-party integration capabilities vary widely: Every platform handles CART captioning services differently. It’s best practice to connect with your captioner before your event to review platform-specific workflows. 
  • Never forget to test: Regardless of your platform, it’s important to run a full technical rehearsal to ensure live captioners, event organizers, production teams, and IT crews are all on the same page. By running tests, you can troubleshoot audio issues, verify licensing requirements, and identify unexpected problems before your content is displayed. 

Best Practices Across Platform FAQS 

Q: Which digital streaming platform is best for CART captioning?

A: Each platform handles CART captioning a little differently, and the best choice really depends on your event type, audience, and technical setup. While platforms like Zoom, Webex, and Microsoft Teams all support CART integration, the setup and requirements vary. At Caption Pros, we partner with event organizers early in the planning process to help provide expert recommendations on platform capabilities and work directly with your AV and production teams to determine the right captioning workflow.

Q: If built-in ASR is free, why invest in a CART captioner?

A: While most platforms offer built-in Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) captions for free, their capabilities are limited and not as reliable as partnering with a professional captioner.  Auto-generated captions don’t always meet accessibility compliance standards and are often inaccurate. Human CART captioners are trained professionals who consistently deliver high captioning accuracy, even in complex or challenging audio environments. Investing in CART captioning ensures your digital event is equipped with a reliable expert to plan, troubleshoot, and deliver real-time captions, no matter the environment. 

Q: What technical requirements should I consider for live captioning?

A: Your vendor should know how to seamlessly integrate with your event platform and understand each platform’s caption delivery options, such as embedded captions (608/708), open captions, or captioning URLs. 

Q: How far in advance should I book a CART captioner for my event?

A: The earlier the better. We recommend reaching out at least a few weeks before your event. This gives everyone enough time to confirm platform compatibility, share permissions, coordinate with your AV and IT teams, and run a test rehearsal. While event scale and complexity play a role in planning the timeline, it’s best practice to connect with the captioner early to ensure seamless captioning. 

Compatibility Matters And So Does Your Captioning Partner

At Caption Pros, we partner with our customers to understand their platform, audience, and technical environment, then build the right workflow and prepare for any potential challenges. Our captioners are experienced across all of these platforms, giving us the real-world expertise to navigate platform differences. If you’re planning an upcoming event, webinar, or livestream, connect with us today to ensure your captions reach every attendee!