Each major video platform now has its own AI note taker — Gemini in Google Meet, AI Companion in Zoom, and Copilot in Microsoft Teams — with different licences, permissions, and limitations. Below is the exact setup for each one, what it costs, where it falls short, and a free way to get the same notes on every platform without a bot joining your call.
If your whole team lives on one platform and already pays for the right tier, use the native tool: Gemini in Google Meet, AI Companion in Zoom, Copilot in Microsoft Teams. If you're on a free plan, join meetings other people host, or bounce between platforms during the week, use a device-side note taker such as AI Meeting Companion — it never asks for the host's permission because it never joins the call.
| Meet (Gemini) | Zoom (AI Companion) | Teams (Copilot) | AI Meeting Companion | |
| Needs a paid plan | Yes | Yes | Yes + Copilot licence | Free tier available |
| Who can start it | Organizer | Host | Licensed user | You, always |
| Adds a bot | No | No | No | No |
| Visible to others | Banner | Indicator | Transcript notice | Nothing shown |
| Works off-platform | No | No | No | Any call, plus in person |
| Action items | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, with owners |
| Mobile notifications | Email only | Email only | Teams app | Push reminders |
Available on Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise, Education Plus, and accounts with the Gemini add-on.
Where it falls short: nothing on free Gmail accounts, language support is limited on most tiers, external guests usually don't receive the summary, and if the organizer forgets to click the pencil there is no way to recover notes afterwards.
Included at no extra cost on paid Zoom plans. Produces a post-call summary with next steps and smart chapters, and can answer questions about what was said mid-meeting.
Where it falls short: only the host controls it, the admin toggle blocks many teams for weeks, and if you're a guest in a client's Zoom you get nothing at all.
Copilot in Teams generates a recap, action items, and follow-up questions after any meeting, working from live transcription or a recording.
Where it falls short: the licence cost (around $30/user/month) is the highest of the three, notes require transcription to have been started, and external meetings hosted outside your tenant are often out of reach.
Most teams touch two or three platforms weekly. That means three summary formats, three places to hunt for action items, and quality that depends on whoever happens to be hosting.
AI Meeting Companion listens to whatever audio your machine is playing, so Meet, Zoom, Teams, Webex, phone calls, and in-person conversations all land in the same place with the same structure: summary, decisions, and owned action items.
Bot-based note takers join as an extra participant, which clients and candidates notice — and many companies block them outright. On-device capture avoids that, but it doesn't remove your responsibility: in two-party-consent regions and under most company policies you should say at the start of the call that you're taking notes with an AI assistant.
For legal, medical, HR, and deal conversations, prefer a tool that generates the summary without keeping a full cloud recording, and check who in your workspace can see the notes afterwards.
Does Google Meet have a built-in AI note taker?
Yes — 'Take notes with Gemini' is available on paid Google Workspace tiers (Business Standard and above, or with the Gemini add-on). It transcribes the call and emails a summary to the organizer, saving a Doc to Drive. On free Gmail accounts the feature does not appear at all, so you need a third-party tool like AI Meeting Companion.
Does Zoom have an AI note taker?
Zoom AI Companion is included on paid Zoom plans and generates meeting summaries, next steps, and smart chapters. It must be enabled at the account level by an admin and then started by the host in each call; guests on free accounts cannot turn it on.
Does Microsoft Teams have an AI note taker?
Yes — Copilot in Teams writes a recap, action items, and follow-up questions after any meeting, but it requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license (about $30/user/month) on top of your Teams plan. Intelligent Recap also requires a Teams Premium license.
What's the best AI note taker that works across Meet, Zoom, and Teams?
A platform-agnostic tool like AI Meeting Companion listens on-device, so it works identically across Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and in-person meetings — no bot joins the call and no host permission is needed.
Do I need to record the meeting to get AI notes?
No. On-device tools capture audio locally to generate the summary without storing a full recording in the cloud, which is better for privacy-sensitive conversations such as legal, medical, or HR calls.
Is there a free AI note taker for Google Meet?
Gemini notes are not free, but AI Meeting Companion has a free tier with up to 600 transcription minutes per month and up to 45 minutes of active recording per meeting, which covers most standups, one-to-ones, and client calls on any platform.
Will other participants know an AI note taker is running?
Native tools announce themselves: Meet shows a 'Notes are being taken' banner, Zoom shows an AI Companion indicator, and bot-based tools appear as an extra participant. An on-device tool adds no participant and no banner — you should still tell people you are taking notes where local law or company policy requires consent.
Can I get AI notes when someone else hosts the meeting?
Not with the native tools — Gemini, AI Companion, and Copilot all depend on the host's license and settings. An on-device note taker runs on your own machine, so you get your own notes as a guest in anyone's meeting.
Do these AI note takers work in languages other than English?
Coverage varies by platform tier and changes often. AI Meeting Companion transcribes and summarizes multilingual meetings and presents the app in English and Spanish.