Meeting bots are awkward. Here are the bot-free options

A few years ago, a meeting had the people you invited. Now it often has a few extra guests: “Otter.ai Notetaker”, “Fireflies.ai Notetaker”, “Read.ai meeting notes”, sometimes several at once, each sent by a different person. They don’t talk, but they’re there, and everyone knows it.

We make Hark, a meeting recorder that doesn’t use a bot, so read this with that in mind. We’ve tried to be fair: bots solve real problems, and the bot-free options have trade-offs too.

Why meeting bots took off

Bots became the default for a practical reason. Joining as a participant is the easiest way for a cloud service to get clean audio from Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet. The bot receives the call’s audio (and often the video) directly from the platform, records it, and sends it to the vendor’s servers for transcription and summaries.

This approach has genuine advantages:

• Nothing to install. The bot works from your calendar; your computer doesn’t do anything.
• It can attend without you. Some bots join meetings you can’t make and send you notes afterwards.
• It works on any device, including phones and tablets, because the recording happens in the cloud.
• Shared by default. Notes and recordings land in a web workspace where a team can find them.

For teams that want every customer call recorded and searchable in one place, bots are a reasonable choice.

Why people dislike them

The complaints about meeting bots are remarkably consistent. You’ll see them in forums, on social media and in IT departments’ guidance.

They change the room

A visible recorder makes people more careful. That can be good for formal meetings, but in a candid one-on-one, a sales discovery call or a brainstorm, a silent “Notetaker” tile makes some people say less. It’s the difference between someone jotting notes and a camera on a tripod.

They feel like an uninvited guest

Bots often join because one person connected their calendar, not because the group agreed. People on the other side, such as clients, candidates or another company’s team, may not know what the bot is, who sent it, or where the recording goes. Hosts end up admitting or removing bots from the waiting room without knowing who they belong to.

They multiply

When several people in a meeting each use a different note taker, you can get a row of bots, each recording the same conversation to a different company’s servers.

They spread

Some note takers send summaries or sign-up invitations to attendees after a meeting. That can feel like a meeting being used to market software to the people in it.

They raise data questions

A bot recording means the conversation is stored by a third party. For many organisations that raises questions about confidentiality agreements, client data and where recordings are kept. Some IT and security teams block note-taking bots from joining their meetings for this reason. We looked at one popular service’s data practices in is Otter.ai safe?.

Bot-free ways to get meeting notes

If you’d rather not bring a bot, there are several alternatives. Each has strengths and limits.

1. Your meeting platform’s built-in transcript

Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet can all record and transcribe meetings themselves on some plans, and they show everyone that recording is on. This is often the simplest option inside one company. The limits: it depends on your plan and the host’s settings, it only works in that one platform, and the recording is stored in that platform’s cloud. Our guides cover transcribing a Zoom meeting, transcribing a Teams meeting and Google Meet transcription.

2. Desktop apps that capture your computer’s audio

A growing group of apps record what you hear and say on your own computer, so they work in any meeting app without joining it. Some, like Granola, send the audio to the cloud for transcription; others transcribe on the computer. Our pages on Granola alternatives and AI note takers without a bot compare the options.

3. Browser extensions

Some tools, such as Bluedot, record browser-based meetings through an extension instead of a bot. They’re convenient if all your meetings are in the browser. See our Bluedot review.

4. Record now, transcribe later

You can record a call with a general audio tool and transcribe the file afterwards. That works anywhere but takes more effort, and you lose live notes. Our guide to recording computer audio explains how.

5. Bot-based tools with bot-free modes

Several bot-based note takers have added desktop apps or bot-free recording options. If you already like one, check its current documentation before switching.

Where Hark fits

Hark is in the second group. It records your microphone and your computer’s audio on Windows and Linux and transcribes both locally, so the audio isn’t uploaded and nothing joins the call. It also learns voices, so it can name people in future meetings. The trade-offs are that it’s English only, it needs a one-time model download of about 730 MB, and on a Mac it currently records the microphone only. The recording, transcription and speaker recognition are free. More in introducing Hark.

Recording without a bot is not a licence to record secretly

There’s an uncomfortable side to bot-free recording: a bot at least announces itself. When you record from your own computer, nobody else can see it. That puts the responsibility for telling people squarely on you.

Know the law where you are

Recording laws vary. In the United States, some states allow recording when one person in the conversation consents (which can be you), while others require everyone’s consent. When people are in different places, the stricter rule is the safer one to follow. Other countries have their own rules, and workplaces often have policies too. Our guides on recording consent laws by state and whether it’s illegal to record someone without permission explain the basics. They aren’t legal advice; if it matters, ask a lawyer.

Simple etiquette that works

Whatever the law requires, these habits keep everyone comfortable:

• Say it at the start. “I record our calls so I can take notes; is that okay?” takes five seconds.
• Put it in the invite. A line in the calendar invite gives people a chance to object before the call.
• Offer to stop. If someone hesitates, stop recording and take notes by hand. A meeting is more valuable than its transcript.
• Explain where it goes. People relax when they hear “it stays on my laptop” or “it isn’t shared outside our team”.
• Pause for sensitive parts. Most recorders, including Hark, let you mute or stop at any time.
• Share notes, not recordings. A short summary sent afterwards is usually more welcome than a link to the audio.

Be considerate with external meetings

Clients, candidates and partners are the people most likely to be uneasy about recording, and the least likely to speak up about it. Ask explicitly, and accept a no gracefully.

The bottom line

Meeting bots aren’t evil. They’re a practical way to get notes from a cloud service, and for some teams they’re the right tool. But they change the feel of a meeting, they put a third party in the room, and they’ve become common enough that people notice and object.

If you’d rather keep your notes without the extra guest, there are good bot-free options. Just remember that without a bot, you’re the one who has to tell people.

If you want to try one, Hark is a free download for Windows, macOS and Linux.