Comparisons and alternatives

Zoom AI Companion alternatives for meeting notes

Zoom's AI meeting summary depends on the host's plan and settings and runs in Zoom's cloud. When that works well, when not, and what a Mac recorder changes.

By the Notey team at AInject · · · 6 min read

In short

Zoom AI Companion's meeting summary is the simplest option for meeting notes if you host on a paid Zoom plan with it turned on: it is built into the call, everyone can see it is running, and the host can send the summary to attendees.

It stops being an option when you are not the host, when your organisation has not enabled it, when the meeting is not on Zoom, or when you do not want the meeting processed in Zoom's cloud.

This guide describes what AI Companion's summary does and who controls it, from Zoom's own support articles as of September 2026, then the alternatives: other built-in tools, bot notetakers, and a recorder on your Mac such as Notey.

What Zoom's meeting summary does

From Zoom's support articles:

  • Plans. It is for "a Licensed user on a Zoom Workplace Pro, Zoom Workplace Pro Plus, Zoom Workplace Business, Zoom Workplace Business Plus, Zoom Workplace Enterprise, Zoom Workplace Enterprise Plus, or Enterprise Bundle account", with meeting summary enabled. (Zoom: using meeting summary)
  • Who turns it on. Account owners and admins can enable it for the account or groups; users can enable it in their own settings unless an admin has locked it. There is an option to start it automatically when meetings start. (Zoom: enabling meeting summary)
  • Who starts it in a meeting. "Only the meeting host and co-host can start or stop the Meeting summary." Any participant can request it; the host receives the request.
  • Who is told. Participants see the AI indicator change colour while AI features are active.
  • Where the summary goes. It is sent by email and, if enabled, posted to the meeting's group chat. The host chooses who receives it, from only the host up to all invitees including external ones. Recipients may save and share it.
  • Training. Zoom says it does not use customer audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like content to train Zoom's or third-party AI models.

When it is the right tool

If you host most of your meetings on a qualifying Zoom plan, AI Companion's summary has real advantages:

  • nothing to install, and nothing extra joining the call;
  • everyone in the meeting can see it is on, which does part of the consent work for you;
  • the host can send the same summary to all participants;
  • it is covered by whatever agreement your organisation already has with Zoom.

For a team that runs on Zoom, that is often enough.

When it doesn't work

  • You are not the host. You can ask, but the host decides. As a guest in another company's meeting, you may not even have that. Recording a Zoom call when you're not the host covers what is and is not allowed.
  • The account does not include it, or an admin has turned it off.
  • The meeting is not on Zoom. Your Teams, Meet, Slack and phone calls need a different tool, and your notes end up in several places.
  • You don't want the meeting processed in a cloud service. AI Companion runs in Zoom's cloud. Some clients and contracts rule that out.
  • You want the recording or the transcript, not just the summary. Those are separate Zoom features with their own plan and permission rules; how to record a Zoom meeting on a Mac covers them.

The alternatives

Other built-in assistants

Microsoft Teams and Google Meet have their own equivalents, with similar dependence on licences and organiser settings. See alternatives to Copilot meeting notes in Teams and alternatives to Gemini's "Take notes for me".

A notetaker bot

Services such as Otter, Fireflies, Fathom and tl;dv can send a bot into the meeting. A bot works across Zoom, Teams and Meet and does not need the host's AI plan, but it is a visible participant that the host can refuse, and it records into the vendor's cloud. Several of them now also offer desktop apps that record without a bot.

A recorder on your Mac

A desktop recorder captures the call from your own computer: your microphone and the sound the Mac plays. It works in any meeting app, whether or not you are the host, and does not depend on the host's plan. Zoom does not know it is running, so Zoom shows no notice; telling people is up to you.

How Notey fits

Notey is a recorder of the last kind, for Macs with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later.

  • Any Zoom meeting, as host or guest. Notey records your microphone and your Mac's audio as two separate tracks. Nothing joins the call and nothing in Zoom has to be enabled.
  • It asks first. When a Zoom call starts, the floating button says "Zoom call started" and "Notey is hearing this call. Nothing is being saved yet." Nothing is saved until you press Allow.
  • Transcribed on the Mac with Apple's on-device speech recognition. The audio stays on your disk.
  • AI notes when you ask. A summary with 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; it is not used for training or kept by Notey. Everything the AI wrote is labelled.
  • The same for Teams, Meet, Slack, FaceTime and any other app the Mac plays.

What it does not do that AI Companion does: show participants an indicator, or send the summary to them automatically. 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.

Notey's recording, transcription and search are free and need no account; AI notes are paid by the hour. See pricing.

Which fits

Zoom AI Companion is likely the better fit if you host on a qualifying plan, your organisation has it enabled, and you want a summary everyone on the call can see being made and receive.

A Mac recorder such as Notey is likely the better fit if you are often a guest, your meetings span several apps, or you want the audio and transcript kept on your own machine.

For a wider comparison, see the best AI notetakers for Mac.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Zoom AI Companion's meeting summary if I'm not the host?

Not to start it. Zoom's support article says only the host and co-hosts can start or stop the meeting summary. Any participant can ask the host to turn it on, and can receive the summary if the host chooses to share it.

Which Zoom plans include the AI meeting summary?

Zoom lists licensed users on Zoom Workplace Pro, Pro Plus, Business, Business Plus, Enterprise, Enterprise Plus and Enterprise Bundle accounts, with the meeting summary enabled. Check Zoom's article for the current list.

Does Zoom train AI on my meetings?

Zoom says it does not use customer audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like content to train Zoom's or third-party AI models.

Do other participants know when AI Companion is summarising?

Yes. Zoom says participants see the AI indicator change colour when AI features, including the meeting summary, are active.