How to Take Notes During a Zoom Call as Host or Participant

To take notes during a Zoom call, shrink Zoom to its floating video window, type into a short template with three headings (decisions, action items, open questions), and switch on whichever of Zoom's own capture features your plan and the host allow. Then spend five minutes after the call turning those notes into named owners and dates.

Which Zoom features you can use depends on the meeting's plan and on whether you are the host, and several were renamed or replaced in 2026. This guide covers the current names, who controls each one, a screen layout for typing on camera, and turning notes into follow-ups.

Zoom's note-taking features in 2026, and who controls them

Four changes explain why older advice is confusing:

• Built-in features no longer carry the AI Companion name. Since June 2026, Zoom calls meeting summaries, transcription and the rest by what they do, and says eligible paid plans "continue to include core AI features at no additional cost" (Zoom blog). The in-meeting button now reads Start Zoom AI. Our guide covers what changed when Zoom dropped the AI Companion name.
• Zoom Notes is being deprecated. Zoom's support page tells users to move to My Notes (Zoom support).
• Zoom Docs is now Zoom Canvas. The rename took effect on May 18, 2026 (Zoom developer changelog).
• Captions can no longer be saved. Since late May 2026, nobody can save captions after a meeting ends. A written record now comes from the separate meeting transcript, which is off unless a host or admin turns it on (Zoom support).

Here is what each option gives you and who has to say yes first, according to Zoom's own support and product pages.

The pattern is the useful part. What is private to you (your own typing, My Notes, live captions) mostly works without asking. What records the whole meeting (a summary, a saved transcript or a recording) needs the host or a co-host.

Set up your screen so you can type and still look present

On a video call, people can see you look away to type. A few minutes of layout fixes most of that.

Use the floating video window. Click the minimize icon (top-right of the meeting window on Windows, top-left on macOS) and Zoom shrinks to a small video panel that stays on top of your other apps, with the mute and video buttons still on it. Drag it to the top center of your screen, just under the webcam, so your eyes stay near the lens when you glance at the speaker.

Put your notes directly below it. Typing then means looking slightly down, not off to one side, which reads as attention.

Hide your own video before you minimize (View, then Hide Self View), so the small window shows the other people rather than you.

With two screens, keep Zoom and your notes on the screen with the camera. If people present slides, Zoom's Dual window mode (Settings, then Meetings & webinars, then Meeting window view, then Dual window) puts the video and the shared screen on separate monitors.

Keep keyboard noise out of the call. Turn on "Keep my microphone muted" (Settings, then Meetings & webinars) so you join every meeting muted. Click the mute button on the floating window to speak, and click it again when you finish, because once you are unmuted your typing is heard too. Zoom's push-to-talk setting ("Press and hold Space key to temporarily unmute") only works while the Zoom window is in focus, so it does not help while you are typing in your notes.

Then say it once: "I'm typing notes, so if I look down, that's why."

If you are a participant

What you can do without asking anyone:

• Type in your own notes app, which nobody else can see.
• Use My Notes, if your account includes it: click the My Notes icon at the top of the meeting window, then Start taking notes. My Notes has to be switched on for the account (web portal, Settings, then Notes), and on the free Basic plan AI note-taking is limited to 3 uses a month. The notes are private to you by default, though Zoom says authorized account admins can view them through the admin portal. If the meeting supports it, transcription starts as soon as you click Start taking notes, so the host and participants see a banner and a transcription indicator, and the host can stop it. If transcription needs the host's approval, My Notes shows a Send request option instead, which is asking the host.
• Click Show captions to follow along live. Since May 2026 captions cannot be saved, and you can scroll back only 3 minutes.
• Read the chat, which is often where links, figures and dates land.

What you have to ask for:

• The meeting summary. Hover over the AI icon and click Ask host to start Zoom AI. Whether you receive the summary afterward depends on the host's sharing setting, and Zoom says people who join without being on the invite do not automatically receive it.
• A meeting transcript. Open More, then Transcript. If transcription is off, click Request transcription and the host can accept or decline. If the meeting's settings let you save it, Save transcript at the bottom of the panel downloads a .txt file (Zoom support).
• A recording. You can ask the host for permission to record to your own computer (a local recording), if the account lets participants send that request. Cloud recordings can only be requested.
• Co-host rights. Ask the host to make you a co-host. A co-host can start the meeting summary (Zoom support) and a cloud recording (Zoom support).
• Saving the chat, which only works if the host's settings allow it (steps in the FAQ below).

In a meeting run by another company, their settings apply, not yours. Assume your own typing is the only capture you fully control.

If you are the host

Running a meeting and taking good notes compete for the same attention. Before the call, pick one of these:

1. Name a note-taker in the first minute, give them the three headings below, and make them a co-host so they can start the meeting summary themselves.
2. Start the meeting summary. In the desktop app, hover over the AI icon, select the Meeting summary checkbox and click Start Zoom AI. Participants see an indicator that AI features are active. Your Zoom web settings decide who automatically receives the summary, unless an admin has locked the setting: only you; you, co-hosts and alternative hosts; invitees in your organization; or all invitees, including people outside it (Zoom support).
3. Record, with consent. When recording starts, Zoom prompts participants to consent and gives them the option to leave instead.

Check in advance whether participants may save the chat and the transcript in your meetings; both are set in your Zoom web portal settings, so they are hard to fix mid-call. My Notes transcription is different: you can switch it on or off for everyone during the call under Host tools, then Advanced, then My Notes. On the free Basic plan, almost all meetings you host are limited to 40 minutes, so a long call may end before the decisions do.

Audio-only calls, with people dialing in by phone, need a different approach: see our guide to taking notes on phone and audio-only conference calls.

What to write down during the call

Whatever tool you use, the test for each moment is simple: if this is not written down, could it cause a problem later? If yes, it goes under one of three headings.

Decisions, one line each: "Pricing page goes live on the 14th."

Action items, with task, owner and deadline: "Mike sends the revised budget by Thursday."

Open questions: things raised and not resolved, which will need a follow-up.

Skip the discussion that led to a decision, the small talk, and anything already in a shared document. If someone pastes a link or number into the Zoom chat, write "see chat" and save the chat later.

When a commitment is made, type it into the Zoom chat to everyone as you hear it: "Action: Dana sends the vendor quote by Friday." People can correct it on the spot, and if the host allows saving chat, it ends up in the saved chat file.

For the full method beyond Zoom, see our general guide to taking meeting notes people actually use.

Taking notes without typing: live transcription with no bot

To stay fully in the conversation, Meetings Brief live meeting notes can transcribe the call from a browser tab, with no bot in the participant list. The conditions matter:

• Zoom has to run in a browser tab, joined through the "Join from your browser" link rather than the desktop app, because a web page cannot reach a desktop application's audio. Zoom does not support joining an end-to-end encrypted meeting from a browser, so this will not work if the host has turned on end-to-end encryption.
• Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer only. It does not work on phones.
• Share the Zoom tab with "Also share tab audio" on, and allow the microphone when your browser asks. Shared tab audio carries the other people. Your own voice reaches the transcript only through your microphone.
• The speech model runs on your computer. The audio is not uploaded. The transcript builds about every 30 seconds, is saved on your device, and does not label who said what.

When you stop, you can enter your email address and receive a brief: a summary, topics discussed, action items written as owner, task and due date (marked "Unassigned" when no name was said), open questions, and the transcript attached. To write the brief, the transcript text is sent to Anthropic's API; nothing is used to train models. It is free and needs no account.

Tell people at the start. Consent rules depend on where each participant is: see our guide on whether recording a call is legal where you are.

After the call: five minutes from notes to follow-ups

The most important note-taking happens in the five minutes after the call. First, gather what Zoom saved:

• My Notes: in your Zoom account, under My Notes in Zoom Hub.
• Meeting summary: by email to whoever the sharing setting includes, and in Zoom Hub.
• Saved transcript: a .txt file in the Zoom folder inside Documents.
• Saved chat: a .txt file in Documents, then Zoom, in a folder named with the meeting name, date and time.
• Local recording: the .mp4 and .m4a files in your Zoom recording folder.

Then work through your notes:

1. Add anything you remember that is not captured.
2. Check every action item. Is the owner named? Is the deadline specific? If not, fill it in or flag it.
3. Send the recap by email, or in the meeting's group chat if the account allows meeting chat before and after the meeting, and ask people to reply with corrections the same day.

A same-day recap gets corrected while people still remember the call. Our guide to writing the follow-up email after a meeting covers wording and timing. If your notes are rough, paste them into the free meeting summary generator and choose the follow-up email style for a first draft you then check.

When the call is too important to type through

For a negotiation or a difficult client conversation, decide in advance not to type. Let a capture run in the background (the host's meeting summary, a consented recording, or live transcription), write a recap from memory the moment the call ends, then check it against the record. Memory keeps what mattered; the record catches the details.

If you have a Zoom recording and want the full text, see turning a Zoom recording into a transcript for free. If you are comparing AI note-takers that join Zoom as a participant, our comparison of AI meeting assistants for Zoom sets out the built-in and third-party options.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take private notes in a Zoom meeting?

Yes. Zoom's My Notes lets you type notes inside the meeting window, and they are private to you by default: the host and other participants do not see them, although Zoom says authorized account admins can view them through the admin portal. If the meeting supports My Notes transcription, it starts as soon as you click Start taking notes; others then see a transcription indicator, and the host can stop it.

Can I use My Notes on the free Zoom plan?

Yes, in a limited form. Zoom's product page says the free Basic plan includes AI note-taking with My Notes 3 times a month, and meeting summaries for 3 hosted meetings a month. Zoom's support pages list a Pro, Business or Enterprise account, or a My Notes standalone subscription, for the full feature. My Notes has to be switched on in the Zoom web portal, under Settings, then Notes.

Can a participant get a Zoom meeting summary if they are not the host?

Only the host or a co-host can start a Zoom meeting summary. A participant can hover over the AI icon and click "Ask host to start Zoom AI", which sends the host a request, or ask the host to make them a co-host. Who receives the summary afterward is set in the host's Zoom settings, which an account admin can lock: the host only, the host with co-hosts and alternative hosts, invitees inside the organization, or all invitees. People who joined without being on the invite do not automatically receive it.

How do I save the chat from a Zoom meeting?

In the Zoom desktop app, open Chat, click the ellipsis at the top of the chat window, then click Save Chat. Zoom saves a .txt file in Documents, then Zoom, in a folder named with the meeting name, date and time. It includes messages sent to everyone and messages sent directly to you. Saving only works if the host's settings allow users to save chats.

Can I record a Zoom meeting as a participant?

Only with the host's permission. Local recording is available on Basic and every paid plan, but only in the Zoom desktop app, and a participant must request it and be allowed by the host. It saves an .mp4 video file and an .m4a audio file. Only the host or a co-host can start a cloud recording; other participants can only ask. When recording starts, Zoom prompts participants to consent.

How can I take notes on a Zoom call without adding a bot?

None of these add an extra participant: your own notes app, Zoom's My Notes, Zoom's meeting transcript if the host turns it on, or the host's meeting summary. Meetings Brief's live notes add no bot either. Join Zoom in a Chrome or Edge browser tab on a desktop computer, share that tab with tab audio, allow the microphone, and the speech model transcribes on your machine. You can email yourself a brief when you stop.

How do I take notes on a Zoom call from my phone?

In the Zoom mobile app, tap the My Notes icon at the top of the meeting window, then tap Start taking notes, if your account includes My Notes. The meeting transcript also works in the mobile app when the host has turned it on. Local recording is desktop only, and Meetings Brief live notes need Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer. Otherwise, keep notes in a separate app, or rely on the host's meeting summary.

Is Zoom Notes going away?

Yes. Zoom's support documentation says Zoom Notes is being deprecated and asks users to move to My Notes, which adds optional transcription and AI help to personal notes. Zoom Docs, the shared document tool you could open during meetings, was renamed Zoom Canvas in May 2026. Canvas docs can still be created from the meeting toolbar, subject to the account's sharing settings.