AI that listens to meetings and takes notes
There are three ways to get AI meeting notes: the note feature built into your meeting platform, a separate note-taking service, or an assistant on your own computer that listens through its microphone. All three can produce a summary, decisions and action items. All three need a person to check names, owners and dates before the notes go to anyone else.
Free Play: 2,000 credits, no card. Ace by Black Label.
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Three ways AI takes meeting notes
| Approach | Examples | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built into the meeting platform | Google Meet “Take notes for me”, Zoom My Notes, Teams intelligent recap | Teams that already meet on that platform | Usually needs a paid, work or school plan |
| A separate note-taking service | Otter, which works with Zoom, Teams and Google Meet | People who meet on several platforms | Another account holding your meetings; plan limits |
| An assistant on your own computer | Ace, listening through your microphone | Meetings around a table and calls where you take the notes | It hears only what your microphone hears |
This guide is written by the team that makes Ace. Other products are described from their own help and pricing pages as of October 28, 2026.
What the platforms say they do
- Google Meet: “Take notes for me” saves notes to Google Docs, offers “Summary so far” to anyone who joins late, and emails the organizer a link to the recap. Google recommends it for meetings of 15 minutes to 8 hours, supports one spoken language at a time, and requires an eligible Google Workspace edition or Google AI plan.
- Zoom: My Notes captures notes in Zoom meetings, in person and on mobile, and Zoom says it also works in Teams and Google Meet without a bot. A visible indicator shows when transcription is on. Zoom includes it with paid Zoom Workplace plans or sells it as a standalone plan.
- Microsoft Teams: recaps exist for meetings that were recorded or transcribed. The AI-powered intelligent recap comes with Teams Premium or a Microsoft Copilot license, and Microsoft notes that AI-generated content can be inaccurate or incomplete.
- Otter: the free Basic plan includes live transcription, speaker identification and 300 transcription minutes a month, with a limit of 30 minutes per conversation.
What good meeting notes contain
A summary that lists topics is a digest, not minutes. Useful notes answer the questions people ask the next morning:
- Decisions: what was agreed, stated as a decision, not as “we discussed”.
- Owners and dates: who will do each thing, and by when.
- Numbers quoted in the meeting: budgets, targets, quantities.
- Open questions and anything parked for later.
- Who attended, so the notes go to the right people.
Running it well: before, during, after
- Before: say in the invitation that an AI will take notes, and confirm that your plan or app is allowed for this kind of meeting.
- At the start: say it again out loud and give people the chance to object.
- During: state decisions and owners plainly. “Decision: we ship Friday. Owner: Maya.” Clear spoken markers make every note taker more accurate.
- Within the hour: read the draft while you still remember the meeting, and fix owners, dates and numbers first.
- Then share: send the notes only to the people who attended or who need them.
Meetings around a table, and calls on your laptop
Ace keeps notes from what your computer’s microphone hears, so it suits a meeting around a table, or a call playing through your speakers, without adding a participant to the call. The notes come back as a draft with a summary, key points and action items. Read it, correct anything Ace got wrong (“the deadline is the 14th, not the 4th”), then save it. On a Mac, Ace can also send notes to Reminders and Calendar, which turns action items into dated tasks.
Meetings to leave unrecorded
Some conversations change when people know a record exists, and some should not leave the room: performance reviews, disciplinary or HR matters, legal advice, medical details, and negotiations. Many workplaces also restrict which AI tools may process meeting content, especially with clients present. When in doubt, take short notes by hand and ask before turning anything on.
From notes to follow-up
Draft the recap email from the checked notes, not from memory, and read it before it goes out. Turn each action item into a task with its owner and date. For a recurring meeting, keep one running document and start each session by reviewing the open items from last time; an AI note taker makes that review quick, because it can list what was promised and what is still open.
More from Ace
The full overview of talking to Ace is on tryacee.com/talk-to-ai.
See it working
Also asked
Does a bot have to join the call?
No. Platform features and microphone-based assistants work without one. Some separate services join as an extra participant, so check what your workplace allows.
Can AI notes tell who said what?
Some services label speakers, and Otter lists speaker identification on its free plan. Treat any speaker labels as a draft, especially when people talk over each other.
Does Ace work during Zoom or Teams calls?
Ace listens through your computer’s microphone, so it can keep notes on a call when the audio plays out loud where the microphone can hear it. With headphones, it hears only your side.
What does it cost?
Platform features usually come with paid plans, Otter has a free Basic tier, and Ace starts free with 2,000 credits and no card; notes use credits like any other request.