Granola

The distinguishing trick: Granola listens through your machine's own audio rather than dialling into the call, so no extra attendee appears in the participant list and there's nothing to explain to the other side. That also means it is indifferent to the platform — Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or anything else works the same way.

You type whatever shorthand you want during the call, and Granola merges your fragments with the transcript into structured notes when the meeting ends, along with action items and follow-ups. It also reads your calendar to assemble a Brief ahead of external meetings: who is on the call, what came up last time, and which threads are still open. Afterwards you can ask it to list actions, draft a follow-up email or write up a project plan.

Notes stay private unless you share them. There are apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, plus a newer Apple Watch companion, and it is free to download.