How do AI notetakers join Google Meet?
An AI notetaker joins Google Meet by opening the meeting link in an automated real browser, entering a bot name, and requesting to join — the host then admits it like any guest. Once inside, it captures the call’s audio (and optionally the screen) until the meeting ends, then processes the recording.
What actually happens under the hood?
Donna’s implementation is representative and concrete: a real Chromium browser, driven by Playwright on a Linux server, opens the Meet URL. The server runs a virtual display (Xvfb) and a virtual audio device (PulseAudio), so the browser behaves exactly as it would on a laptop. Donna fills in her name, asks to join, and waits for the host to admit her. From admission to meeting end, ffmpeg records the virtual audio sink and the virtual screen. When the call ends, she leaves, and the pipeline moves to transcription.
Does the host have to approve the bot?
For external bots, yes — Google Meet holds them in the “asking to join” lobby until a host admits them. This is a feature, not friction: it means an AI attendee is always a visible, consensual participant. Some cloud vendors use calendar integrations so their bot is pre-invited, but admission mechanics and visibility in the participant list remain.
What does the bot capture once inside?
At minimum, the meeting audio — that is what transcription needs. Donna also records the screen, so shared slides, demos, and documents are preserved as evidence alongside the transcript. After the call she compresses the video, transcribes the audio with Whisper large-v3, and runs her two-pass analysis to produce the report.
Related questions
Can a bot join if nobody admits it?
No. Google Meet keeps external participants — human or bot — in the lobby until a host admits them. If nobody lets Donna in, she waits, then gives up and reports the failed join.
Does Donna need a Google account to join?
Donna joins as a guest participant through a real browser session on your server, identified by name in the participant list, and the host admits her like any external guest.
Can the bot join meetings I am not attending?
Yes — that is one of the main reasons to use one. Donna joins from your server independently, so she can cover a meeting you cannot attend and have the full report waiting for you afterward.
Put Donna in your next meeting
Donna deploys onto your own VPS in an afternoon: nginx, pm2, PostgreSQL, your API keys. Early access is open — tell us about your team and we’ll get her a seat at your table.
Request early access