Record Audio and Video Clips in Slack and Teams
Sometimes typing it out is slower than just saying it. Both Slack and Teams let you record a quick audio or video message without leaving the conversation, and the other person plays it right in the chat. The catch is the fine print: Slack gives you five minutes, Teams gives you one, and the editing extras differ. Here is how recording works in each app, according to their help pages.
Miles Crawford
The quick version
In Slack, audio and video clips can run up to five minutes, work on every plan, and are available to all members and guests. In Teams, clips are capped at one minute and work in one-on-one chats, group chats and channel discussions, with trimming and auto-generated captions built in. In both apps the clip plays inline in the conversation, and in Slack recipients can reply in thread with a clip of their own.
Slack: record a video clip
On desktop, open a channel or DM and click the camera icon in the message field. You can share your screen before or during the recording, then click Record. When you are done, click Stop Recording, pick a thumbnail, add a message if you like, and hit send. On mobile, tap the message field, tap the plus icon, and choose Record a Video Clip. Extras worth knowing: you can blur your background or upload a background image, switch camera or microphone, upload an existing video as a clip, and generate a transcript after sending - closed captions are available for all video clips.
Slack: record an audio clip
Even simpler: click the microphone icon in the message field to start recording, click the check mark to stop, add a message if you want, and send. On mobile it lives under the plus icon as Record an Audio Clip. You can generate a transcript for audio clips too - on desktop click the Generate transcript icon, on mobile long press the message and choose Generate transcript.
Teams: record a video, screen or audio clip
In any chat or channel discussion, select Actions and apps (the plus icon) under the compose box and choose Record a video clip. You get three modes: camera video, screen recording (pick the screen or window; it ends automatically at one minute), and audio-only, which you get by turning the camera off before recording. You can pause and resume as often as you need, trim the result with sliders, and re-record from scratch if it flopped. After processing, the clip lands in your compose box and you send it like any message. On mobile, tap the camera next to the compose box, hold the capture button, and use the background effects option if you want blur or a custom background. Viewers get auto-generated captions they can toggle, and the clip can be saved as an mp4 and the transcript downloaded from the clip's more options menu.
Housekeeping: deleting and retention
In Slack, if you have permission to edit or delete messages you can delete clips you recorded - hover the clip, open the three dots menu and choose Delete clip; clips follow the same retention policy as other files in the workspace. In Teams the downloadable mp4 and transcript make it easy to keep your own copy before anything is cleaned up.
Which one for what?
Our take: for walkthroughs and anything that needs more than a minute, Slack's five-minute ceiling and optional screen share make it the better tool, and the transcript keeps it searchable. Teams clips shine as quick personal replies - the one-minute limit forces tight updates, trimming cleans up a ramble, and auto captions help anyone watching muted. In both apps a clip is still a message, so everything in our forwarding guide and formatting guide applies to the text you send alongside it.
What to be careful about
- Teams clips stop at one minute. Screen recordings end automatically at the cap, so plan what you will show first.
- Slack clips follow workspace retention. If your admin deletes old files, old clips go with them.
- Guests can record in Slack. Handy, but remember clients and guests can save what they see.
- Transcripts are optional in Slack, automatic in Teams. Generate the Slack transcript if anyone will search for the content later.
- Recording needs mic and camera permission. If recording fails, check the app's audio and video settings first.
Sources
Checked October 19, 2026. The limits, steps and features follow each product's own help articles. The which-one-for-what advice is ours.