Your Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls are being transcribed by AI

May 27, 2026

By Kim Komando

It doesn’t bother me anymore. But it used to.

You’re on a Zoom call in pajama bottoms, and someone casually mentions AI is taking notes. Wait, what? A digital stenographer is logging every word, every awkward pause, every half-baked idea?

Here’s what changed: You don’t need a third-party app for this anymore. It’s built in. Everywhere. And it may already be running on your calls.

Zoom has AI Companion. Microsoft Teams has Copilot. Google Meet runs Gemini. Every major platform baked transcription and AI summaries directly into the product. In many cases, it’s on by default. Your meetings may be transcribed, summarized and stored. You haven’t checked.

🎙️ Check your settings now

Know what’s on, who gets the transcript and who has access after the call ends.

• In Zoom, go to Settings > AI Companion. 
• In Teams, it’s Settings > Copilot. 
• In Google Meet, the host controls notes under Meeting options.

FYI: If your employer owns the account, they may have access to everything it captured. Every. Word. Act accordingly.

🤝 Etiquette still matters

Say so at the start. “Hey, AI note-taking is on” takes five seconds. Not a Bond villain reveal. Just a heads-up.

Share the recap after. People love leaving a meeting with a clear summary of what was decided and who’s doing what. Even the people who were checking Slack the whole time. (Especially them.) 

If someone’s not comfortable being transcribed? Turn it off. No push. No debate. AI doesn’t need warming up or a positive sandwich. It captures what you said, files it and moves on.

Pro tip: Meetings keep recording until every single person leaves. So if you and your buddy are complaining about the workload, that will also be in the transcript everyone gets. Which for some reason reminds me of a conversation.

📕It’s story time! 

A staffer once said to me, “I really need you to give me positive sandwiches.” I asked, “Ahem, what is that?” She said, “Instead of telling me to rewrite the customer service email so it has steps and our phone number, it would be better to say, ‘Sarah, you’re so incredibly talented, and I love having you on the team. You make a wonderful difference every day!’ Then give me the feedback like, ‘Make it more personal and upbeat, like you and your wonderful personality.’ And end with ‘I know you’ve got this, Sarah. You’re amazing!’”

I paused, smiled and said, “Sarah, I think you’re looking for a manager with time to give you a standing ovation and a participation trophy. That’s not me.”

🗣️ TEXT/POST THIS STAT: Zoom, Teams and Google Meet all transcribe your calls automatically with AI. Check your settings, your meetings are probably already on the record. GetKim.com

📩 Send this to someone who has no idea their video calls are being summarized by AI.