In short. Most AI notetakers record online meetings by adding an automated participant, the bot, to the call. There is another way: record, from your own computer, the audio coming out of the video-call app and your microphone. Nobody joins the meeting, it works with any platform and in the room too, but the duty to inform participants stays with whoever records. Here is how it works technically, what changes for participants and when each approach makes sense.
How a bot notetaker works
A bot is a virtual participant that joins the meeting the way a person would. Usually the service reads your calendar, finds the call link and sends the bot a few seconds before the start. The bot receives the audio (and often the video) from the platform, sends it to the vendor's servers, and there it is transcribed and summarised.
It is convenient: nothing to install on your computer, and the bot can attend meetings you are not in. But it has consequences:
- Everyone sees it, nobody invited it. Clients and suppliers find a name like "Mario's Notetaker" in the participant list. Some ask to remove it; some companies block third-party bots.
- It depends on the platform. The bot has to know how to join Zoom, Meet or Teams; with less common platforms, phone calls or in-person meetings it does not work.
- The audio always goes to the vendor. By design, the bot sends the recording to the service's servers: local-only processing is not an option.
- It can join on its own. With auto-join on, it attends meetings nobody thought about.
How bot-free recording works
The alternative works on your computer, not inside the platform. It captures two sources:
- Audio from meeting apps, what you hear in your headphones: the other participants' voices.
- The microphone, your own voice.
On the Mac, since macOS 14.2 Apple provides Core Audio taps: an app can capture the outgoing audio of a process or group of processes, for example only Zoom or only the browser running Meet, without recording notifications or music from other apps. The first time, macOS asks the user for permission to record system audio, and the app must declare why it needs it.
On Windows an app has always been able to capture all audio leaving a device (loopback) and, on recent versions, only the audio of one process and its child processes, for example only Teams. Audio needs no user permission; the microphone does, in Windows' Privacy settings.
Diurna uses these mechanisms: it detects open meeting apps (Zoom, Teams, Webex, Slack and browsers for Meet), captures their audio and the microphone, and transcribes. On a Windows version that cannot isolate a single app, it captures all outgoing audio. For other participants nothing changes: nobody joins the call.
For the full set of options on Mac and Windows, including the platforms' built-in recording and permissions, see recording a meeting on Mac and Windows.
What changes, point by point
| Aspect | With a bot | Without a bot (from your computer) |
|---|---|---|
| Who joins the call | An automated participant | Nobody |
| Platforms | Those the bot supports | Any app that plays audio on the computer |
| In-room meetings | Needs another app | Yes, with the microphone |
| You must attend | No | Yes, your computer records |
| Where the audio goes | Always to the vendor's servers | Can stay on the computer |
| Who informs participants | The bot is visible, but notice is still due | Whoever records, verbally or in chat |
The main limit of bot-free recording is in the fourth row: if you are not in the meeting, you do not record it. If you want minutes of calls you do not attend, a bot is the only way.
Why it matters
For participants
A meeting with a client is a conversation between people. A bot in the participant list changes the tone, even when announced: some people speak more carefully, some ask to switch it off. Without a bot the meeting stays as it is, and whoever records says so in their own words.
For data
If audio does not have to go through a server, you can choose: transcribe on the computer for confidential meetings and use the cloud only when needed. With a bot there is no such choice. The two options are compared in local or cloud transcription.
For quality
The microphone and the call audio are two separate sources: your voice does not mix with the echo of the others. This helps tell who said what and reduces transcription errors when two people talk at once.
No bot does not mean in secret
The point not to get wrong: recording without a bot does not remove the duty to inform participants. Precisely because nobody sees a recorder join, the notice must be explicit: verbally at the start, or with a message in the chat. On the first recording of each meeting series, Diurna asks you to do it and drafts the message to paste.
General rules on consent, notice and retention are in recording a meeting and the GDPR. This is general information: for a specific case, ask a professional.
Frequently asked questions
Will other participants notice I am recording?
When you record from your computer, the platform shows no notice, because you are not using its recording feature. That is why you must tell them yourself, verbally or in chat, before you start.
Does it work with Google Meet in the browser?
Yes. Meet's audio comes out of the browser, and the browser is one of the processes that can be captured. The same goes for the web versions of Teams and Zoom.
Do I need a special permission?
On Mac, yes: the first time you record, macOS asks you to allow the app to record system audio and, separately, to access the microphone. You can revoke both at any time in System Settings, under Privacy & Security. On Windows app audio needs no permission; the microphone must be allowed in Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone, including for desktop apps.
Can I record a meeting I am not attending?
Without a bot, no: your computer records, so you have to be connected. If you need minutes of meetings you do not attend, ask someone who is there to record and share them.
Sources
- Apple Developer, Capturing system audio with Core Audio taps, macOS 14.2 requirement and system audio recording permission, checked 6 October 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Application loopback audio capture, capturing the audio of one process, or everything except one process, on Windows, checked 26 October 2026.