Solution

AI meeting notes without a meeting bot

Roundtable can create AI meeting notes for a fully in-person meeting without inviting a bot to Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet.

Participants join from the phones and laptops already in the room. Roundtable captures the conversation across those devices and turns it into a structured record of what was discussed, decided and assigned.

For hybrid meetings, Roundtable can also use a meeting bot to capture remote participants while the devices in the room capture the people meeting in person.

The capture method depends on where the participants are.

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A meeting bot only captures the call

Most AI note-taking tools were built for video conferencing.

A bot joins the meeting as another participant, captures the audio available through the video-call platform and creates a transcript or summary afterward.

That approach can work well when everyone joins individually through Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet.

It becomes less reliable when several participants are sitting together in one physical room.

The bot may receive the audio from one shared conference-room laptop, but it does not automatically know:

  • who is speaking in the room;
  • where each person is sitting;
  • which participant made a particular comment;
  • whether someone at the far end of the table was captured clearly;
  • when several people in the room speak over one another.

A meeting bot can capture the online call. It does not, by itself, solve the problem of capturing a physical room.

Fully in-person meetings do not need a bot

A fully in-person meeting may not have a video-call link at all.

Creating a Zoom or Teams call solely so that a note-taking bot can attend adds unnecessary setup without improving how the room itself is captured.

Roundtable takes a different approach.

Participants open a shared link on the phones and laptops already in the room. Those devices capture the discussion from different positions, giving Roundtable several perspectives on the same conversation.

Roundtable then turns the meeting into:

  • a transcript;
  • a summary of the main topics;
  • decisions made during the discussion;
  • action items;
  • responsible owners;
  • unresolved questions.

For a meeting held entirely in one physical location, no bot is required.

Learn more about AI meeting notes for in-person meetings.

Hybrid meetings need to capture two environments

A hybrid meeting involves two different audio environments:

  1. the physical room, where several people may be sharing the same space; and
  2. the video call, where remote participants join individually.

These environments should not be treated as though they are the same.

Roundtable can use the devices distributed around the physical room to capture the in-person discussion. It can also use a bot in the video call to capture the remote participants.

This gives Roundtable access to:

  • clearer audio from people sitting around the room;
  • the individual audio streams available from remote participants;
  • contributions made on both sides of the meeting;
  • a combined record of the full discussion.

The bot remains useful for the online part of the meeting. It is simply not expected to act as the only microphone for everyone sitting in the room.

Use the right capture method for each meeting

Fully remote meeting

When every participant joins independently through a video platform, a meeting bot can capture the call.

Fully in-person meeting

When everyone is in the same physical room, Roundtable can capture the meeting through the phones and laptops distributed around the room. No meeting bot is required.

Hybrid meeting

When some participants are together in a room and others join remotely, Roundtable can combine distributed capture in the room with a bot on the video call.

This avoids forcing every meeting into a bot-only model.

Why teams search for meeting notes without a bot

Some teams are not opposed to AI-generated notes. They are frustrated by having to introduce a bot into every meeting, even when it adds no value.

Common concerns include:

  • creating a video call for a meeting that is happening entirely in person;
  • admitting the bot through a waiting room;
  • company settings blocking third-party bots;
  • unfamiliar bots appearing in external meetings;
  • several different note-taking bots joining the same call;
  • bots remaining connected longer than expected;
  • tools that work for online meetings but perform poorly when several people share one room.

Roundtable does not require a bot where one is unnecessary.

At the same time, it can still use a bot where the video call contains participants who need to be captured.

How Roundtable works for an in-person meeting

01

Create the meeting

The organiser creates a Roundtable session and shares the joining link with the people in the room.

02

Join from the room

Participants open the link on their phone or laptop.

There is no need to create a separate video call solely to allow a note-taking bot to attend.

03

Capture the discussion

Roundtable records the meeting through the devices distributed around the room.

Each device hears the conversation from a different position, helping capture speakers who may be too far away from one shared microphone.

04

Review the meeting record

After the meeting, Roundtable produces a transcript and structured summary showing what was discussed, decided and assigned.

How Roundtable works for a hybrid meeting

01

Participants in the room join Roundtable

The devices in the room capture the in-person discussion from several positions.

02

Remote participants join the video call

Remote attendees participate through the normal video-conferencing platform.

03

Roundtable captures the remote side of the meeting

A Roundtable bot can join the video call to capture the contributions made by remote participants.

04

Roundtable combines the meeting record

The in-room and remote contributions can be brought together into a single transcript and structured summary.

This creates a more complete record than relying only on the audio from the shared conference-room computer.

What the output looks like

Sample meeting summary

Client implementation review

The team discussed the proposed launch timeline, data requirements and responsibilities before the next client workshop.

Decisions

  • The pilot will begin with one business unit.
  • The initial reporting period will cover eight weeks.
  • Weekly implementation reviews will be held during the pilot.

Actions

  • Amelia: Confirm the pilot-team members with the client.
  • Daniel: Prepare the revised implementation timeline.
  • Ravi: Review the required data fields before the next workshop.
  • Laura: Send calendar invitations for the weekly review meetings.

Open questions

  • Whether the client’s existing reporting template can be reused.
  • Who will approve changes to the pilot scope.
  • Whether additional onboarding sessions will be required.

This is an illustrative example rather than the output of a customer meeting.

No bot does not mean invisible recording

A meeting should not be recorded without participants knowing.

For a fully in-person meeting, the absence of a visible meeting bot does not remove the need to tell everyone that Roundtable is being used.

The organiser should explain that the meeting will be recorded, why the recording is being made and how the resulting notes will be used.

For hybrid meetings, participants should also be informed that the video call and physical room are being captured.

Roundtable can be incorporated into an organisation’s existing meeting-consent, privacy and information-handling processes.

Who is Roundtable for?

Schools

Schools hold leadership meetings, staff meetings, faculty discussions and planning days in physical rooms.

Roundtable can capture those meetings without requiring the school to create a video call purely for a note-taking bot.

It can also support hybrid meetings where some staff members join remotely.

Professional services firms

Client meetings, project reviews and internal discussions may be fully in person, fully remote or hybrid.

Roundtable can adapt the capture method to the meeting rather than relying on one bot-only workflow.

Boards and leadership teams

Boards and leadership teams need clear records of decisions, responsibilities and unresolved issues.

Roundtable can capture people gathered around the table while also including directors or executives joining remotely.

Bot-based tools and Roundtable are not the same thing

A bot is useful for capturing participants whose audio already exists inside a video call.

It is less effective as the sole recording source for several people sharing a physical room.

Roundtable is designed around that distinction.

It can use:

  • distributed device capture for the physical room;
  • a meeting bot for remote participants;
  • both methods together for a hybrid meeting.

The goal is not to avoid bots in every situation. It is to avoid relying on a bot where it cannot capture the meeting properly.

Frequently asked questions

Does Roundtable always use a meeting bot?

No.

A fully in-person meeting can be captured through the phones and laptops already in the room, without a bot.

A hybrid or remote meeting may use a bot to capture participants joining through the video-call platform.

Do we need to create a Zoom or Teams meeting for an in-person meeting?

No.

A fully in-person Roundtable meeting does not require a separate video call.

How does Roundtable capture a hybrid meeting?

Devices distributed around the physical room capture the in-person participants.

A meeting bot can capture the remote participants through the video-call platform.

These sources can then be used to create a combined meeting record.

Can people tell that the meeting is being recorded?

They should be told before the recording begins.

Whether or not a bot appears in the meeting, the organiser remains responsible for making the recording clear to everyone involved.

Does every in-person participant need to use their phone?

Not necessarily.

The important factor is having enough devices distributed around the room to capture the people speaking. The appropriate number will depend on the room and the number of participants.

Related solutions

Capture the whole meeting, not just the call

Roundtable can document fully in-person meetings without a bot and hybrid meetings using a combination of in-room devices and video-call capture.

If your organisation holds important meetings in physical rooms, online or across both environments, you can request access to the pilot.

Request pilot access