Does Zoom have a built-in AI note taker?
Yes, two. The main one is Meeting summary with AI, and it sits under the Zoom AI settings (the settings page is labelled Zoom AI, though some Zoom pages, such as the pricing page, still mention AI Companion). The host starts it, Zoom writes the summary from the meeting transcript, and it is sent after the meeting ends. No extra participant joins: participants see the Zoom AI diamond icon change colour while AI features are running, according to Zoom's Using Meeting Summary with AI article (checked 5 Nov 2026).
The second, My Notes, is personal. Zoom's Using My Notes article says the notes you create aren't automatically shared with the host or other participants, and it works in Zoom meetings, in person and, except on the mobile app, in meetings on third-party platforms. In someone else's Zoom meeting, transcription depends on the host, who can see who is using My Notes and stop or allow it for one participant or everyone. The article lists Pro, Business, Enterprise or a My Notes standalone account; the pricing page also lists 3 uses a month on Basic.
Which plans get it depends on the page you read. The enable or disable article lists Zoom Workplace Pro, Pro Plus, Business, Business Plus, Enterprise, Enterprise Plus and Enterprise Bundle accounts. Zoom's pricing page also lists "Meeting summaries (for 3 hosted meetings per month)" on the free Basic plan, and unlimited meeting summaries on Pro. Both checked 5 Nov 2026.
| Zoom plan (US pricing page, 5 Nov 2026) | Price | Meeting summaries |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free, 40 minutes per meeting | 3 hosted meetings per month |
| Pro | $14.16 per user per month billed annually, or $16.99 billed monthly | Unlimited |
| Business | $18.33 per user per month billed annually, or $21.99 billed monthly | Unlimited |
How do I turn on AI note-taking in Zoom?
Switch it on once in the web portal, then start it in each meeting (or set it to start on its own). These steps are from Zoom's two help articles, checked 5 Nov 2026.
Turn the setting on (web portal, any computer)
Sign in to the Zoom web portal, open Settings from your profile picture, click Zoom AI, and under Meeting turn on Meeting summary with AI. If the toggle is grey, your admin has locked it at the group or account level. Admins use Admin Center, then Settings, then Zoom AI for the whole account.
Pick who gets it
On the same page, choose an option under Automatically share summary with, and tick Auto-start when meeting starts if you don't want to remember each time. Click Save.
Start it in the meeting (desktop app on Windows, macOS or Linux)
Hover over the Zoom AI icon in the top-right corner of the meeting window, tick Meeting summary (and Generate transcript if you want one), then click Start Zoom AI.
Start it in the meeting (iOS or Android app)
Tap the Zoom AI icon in the top-right corner, turn on the Meeting summary toggle, optionally turn on Retain meeting transcript, then tap Start Zoom AI.
Only the host and co-host can start or stop it. Anyone else can hover over the icon and click Ask host to start Zoom AI. If you run the same kind of call every week, the meeting summary templates article adds a Meeting summary template drop-down when scheduling (the article lists Business, Business Plus, Enterprise or Education accounts and desktop app 6.4.0 or later; the pricing page also lists 8 custom meeting summary templates a month on Pro). For the full walkthrough of Zoom's own notes, see our sibling guide to turning on Zoom AI meeting notes.
Who sees the Zoom summary, and does Zoom train on it?
The host decides. The Automatically share summary with setting has four options: only the meeting host; host, co-hosts and alternative hosts; host and meeting invitees in your organisation; or all meeting invitees including people outside it. Zoom's article says only originally invited participants receive it: people who joined from a forwarded link or an in-meeting invitation don't.
Afterwards the summary arrives by email (subject matches the meeting topic). In the web portal it is under My account, then Summaries, with tabs for My Summaries and Shared with me.
On data, the same Zoom article says Zoom does not use customer audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like content to train Zoom's or third-party AI models. It also says that when a summary is created, the meeting transcript is sent to the relevant model, which may be a third-party one.
How do third-party AI note takers join Zoom meetings?
Bot-based tools join as a participant: Zoom's developer pages call them Meeting SDK apps that join as participants. Zoom changed the rules for them this year. Its developer changelog of 10 November 2025 says apps joining meetings outside their own Zoom account must be attributed to a user and can no longer join anonymously. Zoom's OBF token FAQ gives the enforcement date as 2 March 2026 and spells out what that means in practice (checked 5 Nov 2026):
- The app can only join on behalf of a participant who has authorised it and is already in the meeting.
- When that person leaves, the app's session ends.
- For continuous recording, Zoom points developers to Realtime Media Streams (RTMS), which needs the host's authorisation and shows the app's name on the user's meeting tile, not as a separate entry in the participant list.
So sending a Meeting SDK note bot to a customer's Zoom while you skip the call no longer works: Zoom's FAQ says the app can't join until its authorised user does. If you need notes from meetings you don't attend, the host has to authorise an RTMS app, or you need a recording the host shares.
How do hosts allow or block AI bots in Zoom?
Zoom's help pages describe recording permissions and participant controls, not a single bot switch (checked 5 Nov 2026). These are the controls a host or admin has:
| Control | Where (per Zoom's help page) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Allow Record or Forbid Record | In the meeting: Participants, then More next to the name | Grants or removes one participant's permission to record to their computer (Zoom article) |
| Who can request host permission to record? | Account Settings, Recording & Transcript tab, General | Lets internal participants, external participants or named domains ask to record, each with an optional auto-approve box (Zoom article) |
| Allow Zoom AI to join third-party meetings | Settings, Zoom AI | Controls whether your own Zoom AI can join Teams or Google Meet calls as a participant (Zoom article) |
| Stop transcribing in My Notes, or the Allow transcribing in My Notes toggle | In the meeting (desktop): Participants, then More options next to the name; or Host tools, Advanced, My Notes | Stops or allows My Notes transcription for one participant or for everyone (Zoom article) |
When a recording starts, Zoom asks participants for consent: on desktop and mobile they click OK, or Leave to exit (Zoom's consent article). That article doesn't say whether the prompt covers third-party apps.
The law sits on top of the settings. US federal law (18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d)) allows recording when one party consents, but some states require everyone's consent. Washington's RCW 9.73.030 is one, and it counts a recorded announcement that the call is being recorded as consent. This is general information, not legal advice: check the rules where your attendees are, and say at the start that you're recording.
Which AI note taker should you use with Zoom?
Start with what you already pay for. Prices below are from each vendor's own pricing page in US dollars, checked 5 Nov 2026 (we left out time-limited and card-specific offers).
| Option | How it captures | Free plan | Paid starting price and basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom's Meeting summary with AI | Built in, host starts it | 3 hosted meetings a month on Basic | Included with Pro ($14.16 per user per month billed annually) |
| Zoom's My Notes | Built in, your own notes; transcribes if the host allows | 3 uses a month on Basic | Unlimited with Pro ($14.16 per user per month billed annually) |
| Otter | Joins Zoom, Teams and Meet | Yes, 300 monthly transcription minutes, up to 30 minutes a conversation | Pro $8.33 per user per month billed annually, or $16.99 monthly; up to 90 minutes a meeting |
| Fathom | Bot, or bot-free capture (beta, Mac) | Yes, unlimited recordings | Premium $16 per user per month billed annually, or $20 monthly; Team $15 annually, 2-user minimum |
| Granola | Bot-free, device audio | Yes, 30 days of meeting history | Business $14 per user per month |
Worked example (sample team). Northwind Ltd is three people on Zoom Pro billed annually: 3 × $14.16 × 12 = $509.76 a year, and Zoom's unlimited meeting summaries come with it. Adding a third-party tool for all three costs, per year: Otter Pro 3 × $8.33 × 12 = $299.88; Granola Business 3 × $14 × 12 = $504; Fathom Team 3 × $15 × 12 = $540. If Northwind hosts nearly all its calls, the extra spend buys little. On prospects' Zooms, each person's My Notes, included with Pro, can transcribe their own notes when the host allows it, and an admin can let Zoom AI join Teams and Google Meet calls. The extra $300 to $540 a year buys notes on calls where a host stops My Notes transcription, plus each tool's own features.
What to set up this week
A 20-minute checklist for a small team on Zoom:
- In Settings, Zoom AI, turn on Meeting summary with AI, tick Auto-start when meeting starts, and set sharing to host and invitees in your organisation.
- Add a meeting summary template for sales calls if your plan has templates.
- Decide which calls need a third-party tool: count last month's calls you didn't host.
- Paste this line into your call notes and say it at the start of every recorded call.
Then turn the notes into owners and dates the same day, using our guide to meeting notes that become action items. Send the follow-up with the steps in the first 24 hours after a sales call. If you'd rather not add a bot at all, Siela's meeting notes record on your own device from the desktop app (Windows and macOS) and pull out decisions, owners and follow-ups.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn on auto transcription in Zoom?
When you start Zoom AI in a meeting on the desktop app, tick Generate transcript next to Meeting summary before clicking Start Zoom AI. On iOS or Android, turn on Retain meeting transcript. To have the summary start every time, tick Auto-start when meeting starts in Settings under Zoom AI in the web portal.
Where can I access Zoom meeting notes?
The summary is emailed after the meeting with the meeting topic as its subject. In the Zoom web portal, open My account and then Summaries, where My Summaries holds your meetings and Shared with me holds summaries others sent you. If your account allows chat before and after meetings, it is also posted in the meeting's group chat.
How do I take minutes on Zoom?
Use a meeting summary template. On Business, Business Plus, Enterprise or Education accounts with desktop app 6.4.0 or later, choose a template from the Meeting summary template drop-down in the Zoom AI section when scheduling. Zoom lists options such as Next steps, Stand up and Project update. You can change the template after the meeting and the summary is regenerated.
Can a participant start Zoom's AI summary?
No. Zoom says only the host and co-host can start or stop the meeting summary through the in-meeting controls. A participant can hover over the Zoom AI icon and click Ask host to start Zoom AI, and the host gets a prompt. The summary is then shared according to the host's sharing setting. On Pro or higher you can use My Notes for your own notes instead, if the host allows its transcription.
Can a note-taking bot join my Zoom call without me?
Not through the Meeting SDK when the meeting is in another Zoom account. Since 2 March 2026 Zoom requires such apps to join on behalf of an authorised user who is already in the meeting, and the session ends when that user leaves. Continuous recording needs an RTMS app that the host has authorised.
Sources
- Zoom: Enabling or disabling meeting summary with AI (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom: Using Meeting Summary with AI (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom: Using meeting summary templates (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom: Enabling or disabling Zoom AI to join third-party meetings (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom: Enabling or disabling computer recording (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom: Starting a computer recording (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom: Providing consent to be recorded (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom Workplace pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom Developer Changelog: Requiring authorization for meetings joined outside of an app's account (10 Nov 2025; checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom Developer Docs: FAQ, updates to Meeting SDK authorization (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Otter.ai pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Fathom pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Granola pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- 18 U.S. Code 2511 (Cornell LII) (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Washington RCW 9.73.030 (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Zoom: Using My Notes (checked 5 Nov 2026)