In short
Gemini's "Take notes for me" writes meeting notes inside Google Meet, saves them to the organiser's Google Drive and attaches them to the Calendar event. If you organise meetings on an eligible Google Workspace edition, it is the most direct way to get notes from a Meet call.
If you are a guest, your organisation's edition does not include it, or the meeting is not on Meet, you need something else.
This guide describes what Google's documentation says the feature needs and does, as of September 2026, then the alternatives, including a recorder on your Mac such as Notey.
What "Take notes for me" does
From Google's help centre (Take notes for me in Google Meet):
- Eligibility. "This feature requires an eligible Google Workspace edition or Google AI plan." Google's admin help lists Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus among the editions. (Google Workspace admin help)
- Who starts it. The organiser; with host controls on, "only the host and co-hosts can start and stop taking notes." Organisers can set it to start automatically for meetings they host.
- Who is told. "Google Meet informs all meeting participants that notes are being taken and the pencil icon appears on all participants' screens."
- Where notes go. To "the meeting organizer's Google Drive in the 'Google Meet' folder", attached to the Calendar event, and emailed to the organiser and whoever started note-taking. The organiser chooses whether to share them with all guests, internal guests, or hosts only.
- Languages. English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, one language at a time.
- Admin control. Workspace admins control it in the Admin console.
When it is the right tool
If you organise your meetings in Meet on an eligible edition, Gemini's notes have real advantages: nothing to install, everyone can see notes are being taken, the notes are filed with the meeting in Calendar and Drive, and they fall under your organisation's Workspace retention policies.
When it doesn't work
- You are a guest. The organiser owns the notes, and they go to the organiser's Drive. You receive them only if the organiser shares them.
- The edition does not include it, or the admin has turned it off.
- The meeting is not on Meet. Zoom, Teams, Slack and phone calls need another tool.
- The language is not supported, or the meeting switches languages.
- You want the recording or the full transcript. Those are separate Meet features with their own edition requirements; how to record a Google Meet call on a Mac covers them.
- You don't want the meeting processed in a cloud service. Some clients and contracts require that.
The alternatives
Another platform's assistant
Zoom and Teams have their own equivalents, with the same dependence on plan and organiser. See Zoom AI Companion alternatives and alternatives to Copilot meeting notes in Teams.
A notetaker bot
A third-party bot can join the Meet call if the organiser admits it. It works across platforms, records into the vendor's cloud, and is visible to everyone. Some organisations block it.
A recorder on your Mac
A recorder on your own computer captures your microphone and the sound your Mac plays, whatever the Workspace edition and whoever organised the meeting. Meet does not know it is running and shows no notice, so telling people is up to you.
How Notey fits
Notey is a recorder of that kind, for Macs with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later.
- Meet in Chrome, Safari, Arc or Edge. Notey notices a browser call when the browser uses the microphone, and asks on its floating button: "Call in Chrome started". It names the browser rather than the service, because from outside a Meet tab and any other call look the same. Nothing is saved until you press Allow.
- Two tracks. Your microphone and the Mac's audio are recorded separately, so the transcript knows your side from theirs.
- Transcribed on the Mac. Live transcription covers ten languages, including Chinese and Cantonese; the audio stays on your disk.
- AI notes when you ask: a summary and action items, minutes, a follow-up email, tough questions, or where the two sides differed. Only transcript text is sent, to Notey's service and on to OpenAI as a processor; not used for training, not kept by Notey. Everything the AI wrote is labelled.
What it does not do: show participants that notes are being taken, file notes in Drive or Calendar, or share them with guests. The red dot and timer are visible to you, not to the call; you tell people you are recording, and you share notes by exporting them as Markdown.
Recording, transcription and search are free and need no account; AI notes are paid by the hour. See pricing.
Which fits
Gemini's "Take notes for me" is likely the better fit if you organise meetings in Meet on an eligible edition, want everyone to see notes being taken, and want the notes filed in Drive and Calendar.
A Mac recorder such as Notey is likely the better fit if you are often a guest, your organisation's edition does not include Gemini, your meetings are spread across apps, or you want the recording and transcript kept on your own Mac.
For the full field, see the best AI notetakers for Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Who can turn on "Take notes for me" in Google Meet?
The organiser, and with host controls on, the host and co-hosts. It needs an eligible Google Workspace edition or Google AI plan, and the admin can control it for the organisation.
Where do Gemini's meeting notes go?
Google says they are saved to the meeting organiser's Google Drive, in a Google Meet folder, and attached to the Calendar event. They are emailed to the organiser and the person who started note-taking; the organiser can choose to share them with guests.
Do other participants know Gemini is taking notes?
Yes. Google says Meet informs all participants that notes are being taken, and a pencil icon appears on everyone's screen.
Which languages does "Take notes for me" support?
Google lists English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, one language at a time.