Meeting Bots vs Botless Recorders
The short answer: A meeting bot is an AI notetaker that joins your video call as a visible participant and records from inside the meeting. A botless recorder captures the meeting without joining — it records the audio from your own browser tab or device instead. Meetbook offers both: its Chrome extension records the meeting tab with no bot in the call, and its calendar notetaker joins as a participant for meetings you are not on a browser for. The trade-off is visibility: a bot is obvious to everyone but runs hands-off, while a botless recorder is invisible but usually needs you to be present and start it yourself. Teams with sensitive external calls — sales, recruiting, legal, consulting — tend to pick botless recording so the participant list stays clean. Prices in this article were checked on 4 Nov 2026.
The wrong choice shows up in the first minute of a call: someone asks, "Why is there a bot in this meeting?"
| Tool | How it records | Free plan | Paid plan (from) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meetbook | Browser tab, no bot, plus a calendar notetaker that joins and an Android app | 300 min/mo, no card | $13.99/mo (Solo) |
| Otter | Bot (OtterPilot) joins, plus direct device recording | Free, limited minutes | $8.33/user/mo (annual) |
| Fireflies | Bot ("Fred") joins | Free | $10/seat/mo (annual) |
| Fathom | Bot joins, plus a local recorder | Free, unlimited recordings | $15/user/mo |
| tl;dv | Bot joins | Free | $18/user/mo |
| Granola | Local notepad, no bot | Free, 30 days of notes | $14/user/mo |
| Tactiq | Chrome extension, live captions, no bot | Free, 10 transcripts/mo | $8/user/mo (annual) |
What is the difference between a meeting bot and a botless recorder?
A meeting bot is a third-party account that joins your call the way a human guest would. It appears in the participant list under a name like "Otter.ai" or "Fireflies Notetaker," and most platforms show a "has joined the meeting" notice when it arrives. It captures audio and screen from inside the call. A botless recorder never joins. It captures from your side — the microphone and tab audio on your own computer — so it works the same on Google Meet, Zoom, Teams, and Webex without being admitted to anything.
The transcript quality can be nearly identical. What changes is who can see the recorder, whether it can be kicked out, and whether you have to be in the room.
How does a meeting bot join a call?
A bot joins the way any invited guest does. You connect your calendar to the notetaker, and it follows the meeting link from the invite, or you paste the meeting URL into the tool yourself. Otter's assistant (OtterPilot) and Fireflies' bot (called Fred) both work this way. On Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams the bot shows up as a visible participant; some organizations require it to be admitted from the waiting room, and some IT admins block unknown bots entirely.
The advantage is hands-off recording. If you are double-booked, the bot still shows up and records. The cost is that everyone in the call can see it, and a host can remove it at any time.
How does a botless recorder capture the meeting?
Two common ways. A browser extension captures audio from the tab you are in — Meetbook's Chrome extension and Tactiq's extension both work this way. A desktop or notepad app captures from your device's microphone and system audio — Granola (Mac, Windows, and iPhone) and Krisp do this. Neither route needs to be admitted into the meeting, which is why botless capture works even when a host has disabled third-party recording apps.
The trade-off: a botless recorder usually needs you to be in the meeting and start the recording yourself, so it will not cover a call you skip.
What does a bot see that a tab recorder misses?
A bot captures the meeting's own audio stream, so it hears every speaker the way a participant does, and it typically gets clean per-speaker attribution. It also keeps recording if your laptop drops, because the bot lives in the meeting, not on your machine. What a bot misses is context outside the call: side conversations, a screen that is not being shared, anything said in the room but not into the call.
A tab or device recorder captures what your computer hears, which can include audio that never reached the meeting, but it also stops when you mute yourself, close the tab, or disconnect. If you want a transcript that survives a dropped connection, a bot is more reliable. If you want to keep the call private and still get notes, botless is the way.
How do I get an AI notetaker without a bot?
Install a browser extension or desktop app, join the meeting normally, and start the recording. Meetbook's route: install the Chrome extension, open the meeting in the tab, and let Meetbook record the tab audio — no bot joins, and the transcript appears in the Meetbook panel as the call runs. Tactiq and Krisp follow the same idea with their own extensions and apps.
Does Meetbook use a bot?
Yes and no — Meetbook ships both, deliberately. The Chrome extension records the meeting tab with no bot in the call: nothing joins, nobody is admitted, and the participant list stays exactly who you invited. Separately, Meetbook's calendar notetaker joins as a participant for meetings you are not on a browser for, and the Android app records in-person meetings from your phone. The extension is the botless path; the calendar notetaker is the bot path. You choose per meeting.
Meetbook's extension gives you a live transcript in about 50 languages, Ask AI during the call, and a summary with action items and owners when it ends, with every point linked to its quote, speaker, and timestamp. See Meetbook for Google Meet without a bot and Meetbook for Microsoft Teams without a bot.
Which tools use a bot, and which don't?
Bot-based — the recorder joins as a visible participant: Otter (OtterPilot), Fireflies (Fred), tl;dv, Fathom, MeetGeek, Read AI, Gong, and Avoma. Botless — the recorder stays out of the call: Granola, Tactiq, Krisp, Jamie, Bluedot, and Meetbook's Chrome extension.
A few straddle both. Otter also records directly from your device, Fathom has a local recorder, and Meetbook ships both a botless extension and a joining calendar notetaker. If you only care about the botless side, the Meetbook Chrome extension is the one that never joins.
Which is better for privacy and consent?
Botless usually reads as more private, because nobody sees a recorder and there is no third-party account in the room. But the law does not care whether the recorder is a bot or a tab — consent rules turn on where the people are and what they were told. Before you record a meeting, tell the room and get a clear yes, whether the recorder is a bot in the participant list or a phone on the table.
One caveat: "botless" does not automatically mean local. Most botless recorders still send audio to a cloud service for transcription, so read the vendor's data-use and AI-training terms. Meetbook does not train AI models on customer recordings, transcripts, or notes — the full position is in Does Meetbook train AI on your meetings?.
How much do these tools cost?
Meetbook's Free plan includes 300 recording minutes a month with no card required; Solo is $13.99/mo, Business is $29.99 per seat per month, and Enterprise is self-hosted with custom pricing. Otter's free plan has limited monthly minutes, with paid plans from $8.33/user/mo billed annually. Fireflies has a free plan, then Pro at $10/seat/mo and Business at $19/seat/mo billed yearly. Fathom is free for individuals with unlimited recordings, with Premium from $15/user/mo. Granola's free plan keeps 30 days of notes, with Business at $14/user/mo and Enterprise at $35/user/mo. tl;dv has a free plan, with Pro from $18/user/mo. Tactiq's free plan allows 10 transcripts a month, with Pro from $8/user/mo billed annually.
All prices were checked on the vendors' pricing pages on 4 Nov 2026: Fireflies, Fathom, Granola, and Tactiq. Meetbook's plans are on the pricing page.
When should you choose a bot, and when botless?
Choose a bot when recording has to be automatic — back-to-back calls, or a rep who forgets to hit record — and the room is fine with a visible assistant. Choose botless when the call is external or sensitive: a sales call with a prospect, a candidate interview, a legal or healthcare conversation, or any meeting where you do not want to explain a stranger in the room. Many teams run both: the bot for internal stand-ups and pipeline reviews, botless for anything customer-facing.
FAQ
Does an AI notetaker show up as a bot?
It depends on the tool. Otter, Fireflies, tl;dv, Fathom, MeetGeek, Read AI, Gong, and Avoma join the call as a visible participant. Granola, Tactiq, Krisp, Jamie, Bluedot, and Meetbook's Chrome extension do not join.
Is there an AI notetaker that doesn't join the meeting?
Yes. Meetbook's Chrome extension records the meeting tab with no bot in the call, and Granola, Tactiq, and Krisp capture without joining as a participant.
Does Meetbook join your meeting as a bot?
Meetbook's Chrome extension does not join — it records the tab. Meetbook's separate calendar notetaker does join as a participant for meetings you are not on a browser for. You pick which one to use.
Can a host kick a notetaker bot out of a meeting?
Yes. Because a bot is a normal participant, a host can remove it the same way they remove any guest, and some organizations block unknown bots before they ever join.
Is it legal to record a meeting with a bot or a botless recorder?
The recorder's form does not change the law. Consent rules depend on where the participants are and what they were told, not on whether a bot joined. Tell the room and get a clear yes before you record.
Are botless recorders free?
Some are. Meetbook's Free plan includes 300 minutes a month with no card, Tactiq's free plan allows 10 transcripts a month, and Granola's free plan keeps 30 days of notes. Paid botless plans start around $8/user/mo (Tactiq, annual) and $13.99/mo (Meetbook Solo).
Which is better, a bot or a botless recorder?
It depends on the meeting. A bot is better when recording must be automatic and the room is fine with a visible assistant. Botless is better for external or sensitive calls where you want the participant list to stay clean.