**Meeting Notes Without a Bot: Meet, Zoom, Teams | SozAI**
Source: https://sozai.app/meeting-notes/without-a-bot/

No bot

# Notes from your Google Meet, Zoom or Teams call, without a bot in the meeting

Record the call on your side, from its browser tab in Chrome or Edge or with the Mac app, which also hears desktop meeting apps. Nobody new shows up in the participant list.

[Record a call in my browser](https://web.sozai.app/)

## The short answer

SozAI records the call on your own computer, so no bot enters the meeting and nothing asks for your calendar. In Chrome or Edge, the web version at web.sozai.app records the browser tab that holds a Google Meet, Zoom or Teams call (“Tab audio”), or that tab plus your microphone (“Both”), then writes a transcript with speaker labels and notes with decisions and tasks. On a Mac with macOS 14 or later, the SozAI app records the Mac’s sound, so it also hears the desktop Zoom and Teams apps, and transcribes on the Mac itself, without automatic notes. The first 30 minutes of transcription are free, once; the catch is that somebody has to press record.

## Which way fits your call

What decides it is where the call runs on your computer, not which meeting service you use.

| Your call runs in | Record it with | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A browser tab in Chrome or Edge | The [web version](https://sozai.app/web-version/), source “Both” or “Tab audio” | Transcript with speaker labels; notes and tasks after it |
| The Zoom, Teams, Webex or Slack desktop app on a Mac | The [Mac app’s meeting mode](https://sozai.app/meeting-notes/mac/) | Transcript with timestamps, made on the Mac |
| A desktop meeting app on Windows | Open the same meeting in Chrome or Edge, then use the web version ([details for Windows](https://sozai.app/meeting-notes/windows/)) | Same as a browser call |
| Safari or Firefox | Only your microphone can be recorded there | Your side clearly, the others only as your mic picks them up |
| Your phone | Not possible: a phone app can’t capture a call held in another app | Move the call to a computer |

A call that already happened needs no recorder at all. If the meeting tool saved a recording, upload that file (up to 500 MB); [here is where Zoom keeps its recordings](https://sozai.app/where-zoom-recordings-are-saved/).

## Recording a browser call with the web version

This is the route to take when the call is in a browser and you want notes afterwards.

1. Open [web.sozai.app](https://web.sozai.app/) in Chrome or Edge on a computer and sign in with the account you use in the app.
2. Go to Record. Under “Audio source”, pick “Both” to get you and the others, or “Tab audio” to get only the call.
3. Set “Recording type” to “Meeting” if you know it is one; “Auto” works too.
4. Press “Start recording”. The browser asks what to share: pick the tab with the call and turn on “Also share tab audio”. The browser offers the picture as well, but SozAI keeps only the sound.
5. Keep the SozAI tab open while you talk. It shows a red dot.
6. When the meeting ends, press “Done — transcribe”.

If you press “Stop sharing” halfway through a “Both” recording, it goes on with your microphone. In “Tab audio” mode it stops, and what was recorded is kept. One recording stops by itself after 3 hours, or earlier if your transcription minutes run out, with a warning 2 minutes before. Until you press “Done”, the recording lives in that tab, and if the upload fails there is a “Save file” button.

After the upload, the recording is transcribed on our servers with speaker labels and timestamps. A one-hour file is usually done 1 to 2 minutes after it has uploaded. Then come the meeting notes. They hold a summary and the decisions, plus tasks with an owner when someone named one, open questions and a draft follow-up email. Notes need your one-time consent to AI processing, which the app asks for on first sign-in.

![SozAI web recorder with the audio source switch: Microphone, Tab audio or Both, and the minutes left](https://sozai.app/wp-content/themes/sozai/assets/images/screens/en/web-recording-lecture.webp)

## Recording a desktop app with the Mac app

The browser can only hear its own tabs. On a Mac, the SozAI app’s meeting mode listens to the whole Mac instead, so the call can be in any program.

1. Install [SozAI for Mac](https://sozai.app/download/macos/) (macOS 14 or later) and sign in with the same account you use elsewhere.
2. Start a new meeting. The first time, SozAI downloads its speech recognition once.
3. Choose what to record: “You and the others” for a call, “Microphone only” for a room, “Mac sound only” for a webinar you just listen to.
4. macOS asks for permission twice: for the Microphone and for Screen & System Audio Recording. Without the second one, only your microphone is recorded.
5. Press “Start recording”. The text appears on screen during the meeting, a few seconds behind the speech.
6. Press “Stop”, then “Finish”. The text is saved to your account and opens on your other devices.

Here the transcription runs on the Mac. The audio is not uploaded, and these meetings don’t use your transcription minutes. Two things are missing compared with the web version: the transcript has no speaker labels, and no AI notes are made automatically. If you need the notes and the call can run in a browser, use the web version for that call.

![SozAI for Mac writing a meeting transcript live while the recording timer runs](https://sozai.app/wp-content/themes/sozai/assets/images/screens/en/mac-meeting-live.webp)

## Bot note takers and recording on your side

Most AI note takers send a bot into the meeting. That is a reasonable design with its own costs. The table compares the two approaches as categories, not product by product; individual tools differ, and some offer more than one way to record, so check each vendor’s own page.

|  | Bot note takers (Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, Read and others) | SozAI, recording on your side |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How it gets the audio | A bot enters the meeting as a participant | Your browser tab or your Mac records what you hear |
| Visible to others | Yes, as an extra name in the participant list | No; you tell people yourself |
| Calendar access | Usually, so the bot knows which meetings to attend | None |
| Starts on its own | Yes, for meetings it can find | No, you press record |
| Host can remove it | Yes, like any participant | Nothing to remove |
| Meetings in a room | No call to attend | Yes, using the microphone of a phone or laptop |
| Meeting services | The ones the vendor supports | Any call you can hear in a Chrome or Edge tab, or on your Mac |

Our view: if nearly all your meetings are scheduled video calls and you never want to think about recording, a bot will serve you better, because forgetting to press record is the usual way a recording on your side fails. Recording on your side wins when a bot would be unwelcome, say on a client call or in a meeting run by another company, or when some of your meetings happen in a room. The [meeting notes page](https://sozai.app/meeting-notes/) shows what the notes look like.

## Tell the people on the call

A bot announces itself by appearing in the list. Recording on your side announces nothing, so the job falls to you. Say at the start that you are recording and what the notes are for, and stop if someone objects. Rules on recording conversations differ between countries, and within some countries between states, and the place that counts may be where the other person is. Follow the rules that apply to you and to them; we don’t give legal advice and can’t tell you which law applies to your call.

## What doesn’t work, and what to do instead

- A desktop Zoom or Teams call and the web version. The browser can’t hear another program. Join the meeting from the browser instead. Or use the Mac app, or let the meeting app record and upload its file.
- “Tab audio” in Safari or Firefox. Those browsers don’t share a tab’s sound, so the option is shown inactive with “Works in Chrome and Edge”. Open the call and SozAI in Chrome or Edge.
- Phones and tablets. They can’t capture the audio of a call in another app, and a mobile browser has no tab audio. If the call plays through a speaker in the room, a phone on the table can record the room, with lower quality for the remote voices.
- A Mac that goes to sleep stops the meeting recording. The text up to that moment is kept.
- Meetings longer than 3 hours in the web version. The recording stops and goes to transcription; start a second one.

## When SozAI is not a fit

- You want every meeting in your calendar captured with nobody pressing anything. That is what bots are for.
- You need notes from a call held entirely on your phone.
- Someone on the call has not agreed to be recorded.
- Your company requires sign-in through its own identity provider or a security certification; we have neither. The [security page](https://sozai.app/security/) lists what we do have.

## Where the recording goes

A web recording travels over HTTPS and is stored on our servers in Germany (Hetzner); speech recognition and the AI features are run by partners, and every one of them is on our [sub-processor list](https://sozai.app/subprocessors/). A Mac meeting stays on the Mac until it is turned into text; only that text is saved to your account. You can delete any recording yourself in the app or on the web.

Updated October 27, 2026 By [Merey Tleugazin](https://sozai.app/about/merey/)

Answers

## Frequently asked questions

Does SozAI join my Zoom, Google Meet or Teams meeting?

No. SozAI never enters a meeting as a participant and doesn’t need your calendar. You record on your side: the web version in Chrome or Edge records the call’s browser tab, and the Mac app records the Mac’s sound.

Can I get notes from a Google Meet call without a bot?

Yes. Open Meet in Chrome or Edge, start a recording at web.sozai.app with the source “Both”, pick the Meet tab and turn on “Also share tab audio”. After you press “Done — transcribe”, you get a transcript with speaker labels and then notes with decisions and tasks.

Can SozAI record the Zoom or Teams desktop app?

On a Mac, yes: the meeting mode of the SozAI Mac app records the Mac’s sound, so the meeting app doesn’t matter. The web version can’t, because a browser only hears its own tabs. On Windows, open the meeting in Chrome or Edge, or upload the recording Zoom or Teams saved.

Will the other people know I’m recording?

Not from SozAI. Nothing appears in the meeting, so tell them yourself at the start and follow the recording-consent rules that apply where you and they are.

Is it legal to record a meeting without a bot?

It depends on where you and the other participants are, not on the tool. Some places allow recording when one participant agrees, others need everyone’s agreement. We don’t give legal advice; announcing the recording and asking for agreement covers you in most situations.

Does recording without a bot work in Safari or Firefox?

Only from the microphone. “Tab audio” and “Both” work in Chrome and Edge on a computer. Everywhere else, phones included, the web version records the microphone alone.

Do I get AI meeting notes automatically?

From the web version, yes. Notes with decisions and tasks follow the transcript, once you have given consent to AI processing. From the Mac app’s meeting mode, no: you get a timestamped transcript made on the Mac, without automatic notes.

How much does it cost?

The first 30 minutes of transcription are free, once, with no card. After that, Premium is from $4.99 a week in the apps, or Pro is $9.99 a month on the web, with up to 700 hours of transcription. Meetings recorded with the Mac app’s meeting mode don’t use transcription minutes.

Turn your next recording into text

Record, upload a file or paste a link. You get the transcript, speakers and a summary back.

 [Record a call in my browser](https://web.sozai.app/)

Free on iOS and Android. No account required for YouTube transcripts.


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