Take Notes in Google Meet Without a Bot
A Google Meet note taker records your call and turns it into a transcript with AI notes. ScreenApp’s Chrome extension that records tab, screen, mic and camera does this by capturing your own tab or screen, so no bot joins the call as a participant. It works the same way whether you sign in with a personal Gmail account or a Google Workspace account, because it never connects to the meeting itself. If you would rather have a bot join automatically, the Google Meet bot joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls from your calendar.
13,126 meetings were recorded on ScreenApp in the last 90 days. Google Meet’s own “Take Notes for Me” feature does the same job natively, but only for accounts on Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard or Enterprise Plus, and only in one of 8 supported languages at a time.
What you get with every recording:
- A transcript with speaker identification
- AI notes: action items with an owner and deadline, and decisions listed separately
- chapters with timestamps, so you can jump to the part of the call you need
- AI chat with any recording, so you can ask a question instead of re-reading the transcript
- Export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT
- Free plan: 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each
How to Take Notes in Google Meet Without a Bot
- Install the Chrome extension: Add the Google Meet recording extension and pin it to your toolbar.
- Start recording before or during your call: Join your Google Meet as normal, then click the extension icon and choose your tab, window, or screen with audio.
- Read the notes after the call: The transcript, AI summary, and any action items are ready a few minutes after you stop recording.
Accuracy depends on the audio each participant sends, so a call with several people talking over each other or a poor connection will have more gaps than a clear one-on-one. See how we measure accuracy.
Google Meet Note Taker vs Other Apps
| Feature | ScreenApp | Google Gemini (Native) | Otter.ai | Krisp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | Included in eligible Workspace edition | 300 min/month | 7-day trial, no ongoing free plan |
| Requires | Any Google account | Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard or Enterprise Plus | Any Google account | Any Google account |
| Bot joins the call | Optional: meeting bot, or record bot-free | No | desktop app records without a bot joining the call | No |
| Languages | 100+ | 8, one at a time | 6 | 16 |
| Paid plan | $19/month annual | Not stated | $8.33/month annual | $8/month annual |
Sources, checked 2026-09-17: knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/meet/let-google-meet-ai-take-notes-for-my-users, support.google.com/meet/answer/14754931, ScreenApp pricing, otter.ai/pricing, krisp.ai/pricing/, otter.ai/otterpilot, screenapp.io/accuracy#languages
- vs Google Gemini (native): Gemini’s “Take Notes for Me” only works on Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard or Enterprise Plus, so a personal Gmail account or a Business Starter Workspace plan cannot use it. It also transcribes 8 languages, one at a time, and saves a Google Doc emailed to the organizer and the person who started note-taking. ScreenApp’s extension works on any Google account.
- vs Otter.ai: Otter’s OtterPilot desktop app records without a bot joining the call to join Google Meet calls, and its free plan caps out at 300 minutes a month. ScreenApp’s extension does not add a participant to the call, and the free plan is 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each.
- vs Krisp: No bot; works in the background on your device, similar to ScreenApp’s extension, but Krisp has 7 days free and then requires a paid plan from $8 a month billed annually. ScreenApp has an ongoing free plan.
Who Uses a Bot-Free Google Meet Note Taker
Personal Gmail users cannot access Google’s native notetaker at all, since it needs an eligible Workspace edition. Recording the tab with an extension gets them the same transcript and summary without a Workspace subscription.
Client-facing teams record sales calls and client meetings where a visible bot participant can look unprofessional or raise questions from the other side. Capturing their own tab keeps the call looking like any other Google Meet.
Consultants and freelancers keep a record of what was agreed on client calls, then pull quotes and action items from the transcript when writing up a summary.
Support and customer success teams record troubleshooting calls so the details are written down, not remembered, and can be searched later when the same issue comes up again.
Students and interviewers use the same extension for other tab-based calls, since it captures any tab’s audio, not just Google Meet.
Related Tools
- Google Meet Recording Extension - Record any Google Meet, bot-free
- Google Meet Bot - Calendar auto-join bot for Google Meet
- AI Meeting Assistant - Bot or bot-free, works with Zoom, Teams, and Meet
- Automatic Notetaker - Universal meeting transcription
