Trigger

The Meeting Bot

Join any corporate call today and there’s a good chance a gray, faceless circle named “Notetaker AI” will join right after you.

You pretend not to notice it, but it changes the way you behave.

People talk less freely. People make fewer jokes.

They turn every conversation into a monitored event. This kills sales calls, makes recruiting impossible, and makes you less money.

AI Meeting notetaker in a Zoom call

The Problem with Bots that Join

The first generation of AI meeting tools tried to be helpful, but they got the interaction model wrong.

AI meeting notes are really helpful. One of the most useful applications of AI, actually.

But when you see a notetaker sitting in the participant list, it goes a step in the wrong direction and sends the wrong signal:

You’re being recorded.

It’s like having a third person standing in the corner of your living room, silently watching your conversation. Even if the intent is pure and no different than if I were taking notes on a notepad, the presence itself creates pressure.

This is why sales reps turn off bots, why candidates tense up in interviews, and why deals get killed before leads are even qualified. Humans don’t collaborate well when they feel they are being watched.

The Surveillance Feeling

“Surveillance” doesn’t require bad intent.

In fact, the intent of any notetaker is very very simple, and something everyone does in corporate meetings anyways: take notes.

It’s the presence of meeting bots that feels like surveillance, not the intent.

The irony is that the people who need AI notetakers the most: those in soles, recruiters, and education, are the ones least likely to use them because today’s tools feel intrusive.