Note-taking has quickly become an important part of the productivity space, with many workplace software companies chasing the dream of having AI automate tasks based on action items created from meeting recordings. Calendly, known for its scheduling and meeting booking software, is now entering the fray with its note-taking product.
Like others in this space, Calendly’s note takers can join meetings, record and transcribe audio and video, then generate summaries and action items, and draft follow-up emails. The company said it is also testing features like Granola, which uses system audio to transcribe meetings.
Calendly also plans to release an AI assistant named Callie that leverages the company’s existing meeting and scheduling stack to set up meetings, check participant availability, and surface context from previous meetings. (Meeting note-taking startup Read AI launched a similar email-based assistant earlier this year.)
Calendly CEO Tope Awotona said the company wants to automate the workflow of its top users, people in outward-facing roles such as sales and marketing whose workdays are typically busy with meetings.
However, competition in this field is fierce. On the one hand, there are meeting note-taking apps like Granola, Fireflies, Read AI, Otter, and Fathom. Meanwhile, productivity companies like Notion, ClickUp, and Wispr are also adding note-taking assistants and features to their suites.
Still, Awotona says there’s a big opportunity in automating tasks after transcribing a meeting.
“There are a lot of note-takers, and they all do a great job of recording and transcribing notes, but a lot of the work happens after the meeting, and we think that’s where note-takers have an opportunity to be effective,” he said.
Given that some companies in this space, such as Otter and Granola, have faced claims of privacy violations, Calendly’s note taker will notify users that a meeting is being recorded, Awotona said. The Recording Assistant sends a message to the chat to notify everyone of its presence and activity. Users can also ask the app to leave the conversation. Integration with Calendly’s scheduling system also allows you to be notified that your call will be recorded before the meeting begins.
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