Granola
AI notepad that transcribes meetings locally and enhances your notes
Last reviewed 2026-06-19
Granola is an AI notepad for back-to-back meetings. Instead of sending a bot to join the call, it runs locally and captures system audio plus your mic to transcribe what is said, then enhances the sparse notes you type into structured notes with summaries, action items, decisions, and quotes. Per Granola's docs there is no meeting bot and it does not save audio or video; it works across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and others because it listens to the device's combined audio stream rather than integrating per platform. An iPhone app extends this to in-person and phone-call notes. Around the meeting, Granola builds calendar-driven briefs beforehand, transcribes silently during, and produces action items, follow-ups, and draft emails after. Notes become a searchable knowledge base you can question with AI chat, and via MCP support external clients such as Claude and ChatGPT can query meeting history. The product has expanded from a single-user prosumer notepad toward a team and enterprise workspace with shared folders, templates, and admin controls.
What it can do
Transcribe meetings locally with no bot
AssistantCaptures system audio and mic on your device to transcribe meetings across any conferencing app, without a bot joining the call.
sourceEnhance your typed notes
CopilotTurns the sparse notes you type into structured summaries, action items, and decisions after the meeting.
sourceGenerate briefs and follow-ups
CopilotBuilds pre-meeting briefs from calendar context and drafts post-meeting follow-ups and emails for you to review.
sourceAnswer questions across past meetings
AssistantLets you query your meeting history with AI chat, and exposes notes to external AI tools over MCP.
source
Strengths
- +No bot in the call: local system audio works across any meeting app
- +Enhances your own notes rather than dumping a raw transcript
- +Privacy-forward (no audio or video saved) with a usable free plan plus MCP and API
Limitations
- −Capture is desktop-only and tied to local system audio; the web app cannot transcribe
- −Relies on third-party LLM APIs with US/AWS processing, which limits data residency options
- −Free tier limits meeting history; full value needs a paid seat
Overview
Granola is an AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings. It runs locally, transcribes from system audio without a bot, and enhances the notes you type into clean summaries and action items.
What it does
It builds pre-meeting briefs from your calendar, transcribes silently during the call, and produces summaries, action items, decisions, and draft follow-ups afterward (copilot). Notes become a searchable knowledge base you can question with AI chat, and MCP lets external AI tools query your meeting history. It does not act on its own.
Integrations & setup
Mac, Windows, and iPhone apps; the web app is view and edit only. Connects to calendars and, on higher tiers, to Slack, Notion, HubSpot, and Zapier, with MCP and an API.
Pricing
Freemium per seat: a free Basic plan, a Business plan around $14/user/mo, and enterprise tiers.
Best for / not for
Best for founders, VCs, salespeople, and consultants who live in meetings and want clean notes without a bot. Less ideal where capture must run on the web or where strict non-US data residency is required.
Alternatives
Fireflies records and summarizes meetings via a bot; Mem and Superhuman target adjacent knowledge and inbox productivity.
What people are saying
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FAQ
Does Granola send a bot to my meetings?+
No. Granola runs locally on your computer and captures system audio, so no bot joins the call and, per its docs, it does not save audio or video.
Is Granola autonomous?+
No. It assists and augments: it transcribes and enhances notes and drafts follow-ups for you to review, so it operates as an assistant/copilot rather than taking actions on its own.
Sources
- Granola (official site) · accessed 2026-06-19
- Granola pricing · accessed 2026-06-19
- Granola transcription (docs) · accessed 2026-06-19
- Granola raises $125M at $1.5B valuation (TechCrunch) · accessed 2026-06-19
Last reviewed 2026-06-19