Bot-free meeting notes capture audio from your own computer instead of adding a recorder to the call. Apps like Granola and Reattend work this way. You still need to tell participants and follow local consent rules. The bigger question is what happens after: decisions and commitments should land somewhere the team can find them, not in a summary nobody opens.
Why teams avoid meeting bots
- Clients and partners notice an extra "attendee".
- Some organizations block bots from joining.
- People speak less freely with a visible recorder.
How bot-free capture works
The app listens to your computer's audio (your microphone and the call's output) and transcribes locally or in the cloud. Nothing joins the meeting. The trade-off: only meetings you attend are captured.
Options
| Tool | Bot-free | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granola | Yes | Meetings | Free tier and paid plans (pricing) |
| Reattend | Yes | Meetings plus work apps, dictation, documents | Turns meetings into decisions and commitments in a shared memory |
| Bot-based tools | No | Meetings | Join as a participant; check each vendor |
Consent and etiquette
- Say at the start that you are taking AI notes.
- Follow your organization's policy and local law; some places require consent from everyone.
- Do not capture meetings that are explicitly confidential unless agreed.
Where should meeting decisions go?
A summary is not memory. For decisions to survive:
- Record each decision with a reason and owner.
- Track commitments with dates.
- Make them findable next to decisions made elsewhere.
We cover the habit in how to stop losing meeting notes and action items.
Where Reattend fits
Reattend captures meetings without a bot as part of its desktop app (you start and stop each recording), then extracts decisions and commitments into the same memory as the rest of your work. Commitments can close themselves when there is evidence they were done. Raw audio and transcripts are never shared; derived notes are shared under access rules. With managed AI or an own key, transcript text is sent for summarizing.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take AI meeting notes without a bot joining?
Yes. Some apps capture audio from your own computer instead of joining the call as a participant. The meeting does not show an extra attendee, but you should still tell people you are taking AI notes.
Do I need consent to record or transcribe a meeting?
Rules vary by country and state. Some require all participants to consent. Always tell attendees and follow your organization's policy, whether or not a bot is visible.
What happens to decisions after the meeting?
In most tools they stay in a summary. To be useful later, decisions and action items need to be findable alongside the rest of the team's knowledge, with owners and dates.