If you've ever found yourself frantically scribbling notes during a virtual meeting, only to miss half the discussion, Google Meet's latest feature might be your new best friend. "Take notes for me," an AI-powered tool, is rolling out today to select Google Workspace customers, promising to improve how we engage in online meetings.
Unlike Meet's existing transcription tool, which simply records everything said, this new feature goes a step further. It distills the conversation into a concise summary, capturing the essence of the meeting without the verbatim clutter. Think of it as having a highly efficient assistant in every meeting, jotting down the key points while you focus on the discussion at hand.
To activate this digital note-taker, simply click the pencil icon in the top right corner of your Meet screen. A blue pencil icon will appear for all participants, signaling that AI is on note-taking duty. Note, for now, this feature is only available for English-speaking customers, and you'll need to be on a desktop.
If you're late to a meeting, you can get a quick “summary so far,” which allows you to dive right in without missing a beat. After the meeting wraps up, the organizer and the person who turned on the feature receive an email with the notes. Notes are automatically saved to the meeting owner’s Google Drive and accessible directly from the calendar event.
However, not everyone will see this in their Meet app just yet. The rollout is starting with Google Workspace customers who have the Gemini Enterprise, Gemini Education Premium, or AI Meetings & Messaging add-ons. If you're unsure whether your organization qualifies, it's worth checking with your IT department.
For those lucky enough to have access, the feature is enabled by default, though admins can adjust settings at the organizational or group level. And if you're the type who likes to plan ahead, you can even enable the feature in advance from your Calendar invite.
As someone who's sat through countless virtual meetings, juggling active participation with frantic note-taking, I can't overstate the potential impact of this feature. It's not just about convenience; it's about being present and engaged in discussions that matter. By offloading the task of note-taking to AI, Google Meet is freeing us to do what humans do best: collaborate, innovate, and build relationships.
So the next time you find yourself in a Google Meet call, give the AI note-taker a try. You might just find that without the distraction of note-taking, you're able to contribute more meaningfully to the conversation. And isn't that the whole point of meetings in the first place?