Google Meet's 'Take notes for me' feature lands on web and smartphone

Google has expanded the availability of the "Take notes for me" feature in Meet, powered by Gemini, to its AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, both on web and mobile platforms. The goal is to relieve users from the burden of taking notes during calls, allowing them to stay focused on the ongoing discussion while the AI captures the most important details.

The functionality, which relies on Gemini's advanced capabilities, transcribes conversations in real-time during video calls. At the end of the meeting, it generates a detailed summary that includes key points and action items. These notes are automatically saved in a Google Docs document within the user's Google Drive. Additionally, participants receive a summary email sent directly from "Gemini," containing the recap and actionable items.

Subscribers can enable the "Take notes for me" feature for the meetings they host. On the web, activation occurs via the pencil-shaped icon located in the top right corner of the Google Meet window. On Android and iOS devices, the option is available through the menu. It is also possible to set automatic activation of Gemini for all calls directly from the Google Meet settings. It is important to note that all participants in the call are always informed when the tool is active.

Google has also provided some flexibility regarding the level of detail in the generated summaries. Users can customize the "Level of detail for recap," choosing from options like Summary, Decisions, Next Steps, and Details. This function, first introduced in 2024 for a selected group of Workspace users and then refined, can also be enabled during the scheduling of meetings via Google Calendar.

Currently, the tool supports a list of eight languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. However, only one language can be used at a time; meetings with multiple spoken languages are not yet supported.

The availability of "Take notes for me" is limited to subscribers of Google AI Pro, which costs €21.99 per month, and the Ultra level. For business or educational accounts, IT administrators have full control over the availability of the function and can require explicit consent from participants for note-taking, recording, or transcription, ensuring compliance with internal policies and privacy.

With this move, Google Meet further aligns itself with the competition in terms of integrated AI features. Rivals like Microsoft Teams already offer Copilot and intelligent summarization tools capable of synthesizing meetings and highlighting key points. Similarly, Zoom with its AI Companion generates meeting summaries from both desktop and mobile.