AI notetaker

What is AI Notetaker?

AI Notetaker is your personal meeting assistant that automatically captures and organizes notes from performance review conversations and check-ins. It records your discussions, transcribes them, and generates intelligent notes for each question you cover.

Why Use AI Notetaker?

Save Time: Cut post-meeting admin and write up time by 50% or more.

Stay Focused: Be fully present in the conversation instead of juggling a notepad or laptop. Let AI handle the note-taking.

Accurate Recall: Never miss an important point or misremember what was discussed. AI Notetaker captures everything.

Better Feedback: Spend your time on insights and coaching, not trying to remember what happened.

Who Can Use It?

AI Notetaker is available to reviewees and any reviewers conducting the performance reviews and check-ins. It works for both in-person meetings and online video calls (Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, etc.). Note that some organisations may initially limit access to select employees – if you'd like to be added to that list you'll need to speak with your HR team.

Protecting Review Meeting Privacy

There are some important things to know:

• Conversation topics unrelated to the review questions won’t be included and off-topic discussions won’t appear in the generated notes.
• Meeting recordings, transcripts and the notes generated from them are only visible to the reviewee and reviewers on this review. Only people named on the specific review or check-in can access the recordings and notes.

This includes:

- Reviewee

- Reviewer(s)

No access:

- ❌ HR (unless they are a named reviewer)

- ❌ Hierarchy managers (your manager’s manager etc.)

- ❌ Other employees in the organization

Quick Start Guide

New to AI Notetaker? Get started in 5 steps:

1. Open the review or check-in in Appraisd
2. Click on the new 'AI notetaker tool' section of the review's left hand menu
3. Click “Start Notetaking” when your in person meeting begins (see below for remote meetings)
4. Choose if you are conducting the meeting in person or as an online meeting
5. Select your microphone and check audio levels
6. Have your conversation naturally (pause if needed)
7. Click “Stop” when finished – AI Notetaker does the rest!

You'll receive an email when your notes are ready (usually within a few minutes).

Are your review meetings done online (Teams, Zoom, Google Meet)? You can now record these calls directly using AI Notetaker by sharing your screen with system audio - no need to upload transcripts separately!

Recording an in person meeting

Starting a Recording

When you’re ready to begin your check-in or performance review meeting:

1. Navigate to the check-in or review in Appraisd
2. Click on the AI Notetaker Tool section on the review page's left hand menu
   
3. Click the “Start Notetaking” button
   
4. The Start Notetaking dialog will open and select that you are conducting the conversation in person
   
5. You'll need to select your device's microphone and identify who is present for the meeting in the speaker identification
   

Tip: The first time you use the AI notetaker tool your device will ask you for permission to access your microphone - you must allow access to use the feature

Selecting Speakers

The “Speaker identification” section shows checkboxes for each person involved in the review:

• ☑️ Reviewee
• ☑️ Reviewer
• ☐ Matrix manager
• ☐ Sign-off manager

By default, the Reviewee and Reviewer are selected.

Tip: Select all participants who will be speaking in the meeting. This helps the AI attribute notes to the correct people.

Configuring Your Microphone

The “Configure microphone” section helps you set up your audio:

1. Grant microphone permission when your browser prompts you
   • Selecting your microphone and the “Start Notetaking” button remains disabled until permission is granted
2. Select your microphone from the dropdown menu
   • All available audio input devices are listed
   • Choose the one closest to where you’ll be sitting
3. Test your audio levels
   • Speak at a normal volume
   • Watch the level bars respond to your voice
   • Aim for bars reaching about 60-80% of the way across
   • Too quiet? Speak louder or choose a different microphone
   • Too loud? Move back from the microphone or reduce system input volume

Tip: Where possible try to ensure you're in a quiet space before starting. Background noise can affect transcription quality.

Starting the Recording

Once your microphone is configured and showing good audio levels:

1. Click “Start Notetaking” (primary blue button)
2. The dialog closes and recording begins immediately
3. The recording control bar appears at the bottom centre of your screen

Recording Online Calls (Teams, Zoom, Meet)

You can record online meetings directly through AI Notetaker without needing to use your conferencing platform's recording feature or upload transcripts separately.

Before You Start

Important: Ensure your video conferencing platform is open and the meeting has started before beginning the AI Notetaker recording.

How to record online calls

1. Follow steps 1-3 in "Starting a Recording" above to open the Start Notetaking dialog, then select 'Online call' option
   
2. In the "Configure microphone" section, select "Share System Audio" button 
   
    
3. Follow these instructions in the browser popup:
   • Select the screen where your video call is running (i.e. screen with the Teams/Zoom/Google Meet call)
   • Toggle on the "Share system audio" - this is critical!
   • Click "Share"
4. You will see audio level bars next to both system audio (audio from other online call participants) and microphone (you). Ensure both are showing good levels when you and online call participants are speaking. Once you're ready to start the recording press the 'Start notetaking' button
5. The recording control bar appears - audio levels will show the meeting audio being captured
6. Conduct your meeting normally
7. Click "Stop" when the meeting ends

Tip: The audio level bars will show the combined audio from all meeting participants. Make sure you see the bars responding when people speak to confirm the recording is working.

Troubleshooting Online Call Recording

No "Share tab audio" option appears:

• This feature requires a modern browser (Chrome 105+, Edge 105+, or equivalent)
• Firefox and Safari have limited support - use Chrome or Edge for best results
• Ensure you're selecting "Entire screen", not a "Tab" or "Window"
• Online call recording is not available on mobile, please use a computer or tablet or record the call through your meeting provider's software and upload it for notetaking once complete (see below)

Recording only captures your voice:

• Ensure that you have set your devices audio output to the same device as the online call, if they do not match we cannot receive the audio from the other online call participants
• Ensure the video call has audio playing (unmute yourself or wait for others to speak)
• You likely selected a physical microphone instead of "Screen Share with System Audio"
• Stop and restart, selecting "Screen Share with System Audio" from the microphone dropdown

Privacy Note: When using screen share with system audio, the AI Notetaker only accesses the audio from the selected tab - it does not record your screen visually in any way.

Recording in Progress

Once recording starts, a floating control bar appears at the bottom center of your screen and stays visible while recording

Microphone selector – Allows you to change your microphone device

• Click to open a menu of available audio input devices
• Switch microphones during recording if needed
• Current device shows “(Selected)” next to its name

Audio Level Bars - Real-time visualization of your voice input - bars that light up as you speak. If bars aren’t moving, your microphone may not be working

Recording Duration - Shows elapsed recording time.

Control Buttons:

⏸ Pause Button - Temporarily stops recording. Use when you need a break, there’s an interruption or you want to discuss something that the notetaker shouldn’t make notes about. Recordings can be resumed from the same point.

Tip: When paused, the review page is intentionally obscured to remind you that recording is paused. This prevents accidentally continuing with the review conversation without resuming the notetaking.

▶️ Resume Button - Appears after pausing. Continues recording from where you left off.

⏹ Stop Button - Ends the recording completely. Warning: You cannot restart the recording after stopping

Stopping Recording

When your meeting is finished:

1. Click the Stop button (⏹) in the control bar
2. Recording automatically pauses
3. A confirmation dialog appears:
4. [Screenshot: Stop recording confirmation dialog]
5. After clicking “Stop recording”:
   • Control bar shows “processing” state
   • Recording cannot be restarted
6. Automatic upload begins:
   • Your audio file uploads
   • AI transcription and note generation start

💡 Warning: Don’t close your browser until the upload completes.

1. Email notification sent when notes are ready:
   • Usually arrives within 5-10 minutes

Uploading Pre-recorded Audio, Video or Transcripts

Already have a recording from a video call, written notes from a meeting or an existing transcript You can upload it for AI note generation.

Supported File Types

Audio recordings: - MP3 (.mp3) - MP4 audio (.mp4) - M4A (.m4a) - WAV (.wav) - FLAC (.flac) - WebM (.webm) - OGG (.ogg)

Text transcripts: - JSON (.json) - SubRip (.srt) - Tab-separated values (.tsv) - Plain text (.txt) - WebVTT (.vtt)

Maximum file size: 100 MB

Uploading a File

1. Click “Upload & notetake” button in the AI Notetaker Tool section

   

2. The “Upload for notetaking” dialog opens

   

3. Upload your file using either method:
   1. Drag and drop
   2. Browse files
4. Upload progress is shown
   
   • Progress bar indicates upload status
   • File name and size displayed
   • Trash icon (🗑️) allows you to remove file and choose another
5. Select speakers in the “Speaker identification” section
   • Same as live recording (checkboxes for each participant). Check all participants who speak in the recording
6. Click “Generate notes”
   • Dialog closes automatically when processing starts
7. Email notification sent when notes are ready
   • Usually arrives within 5-10 minutes (longer for large files)

💡 Tip: Phone audio recordings work great! If you recorded your review on your phone you can log into Appraisd and upload it directly to the review

Using Your AI-Generated Notes

Where Notes Appear

Once your notes are ready they’ll appear directly the review below each relevant question.

💡 Tip: Notes are displayed by default in expanded state so you see them immediately, but they can be collapsed by clicking on the arrow on the right hand side.

What Questions Get Notes?

AI Notetaker generates notes for most question types, but excludes:

• Objectives questions
• Feedback and recognition streams
• File upload fields
• Calculated scores

Inserting Notes into Your Response

Instead of manually copying, you can use the one-click insert feature:

1. Review the AI notes for the question
2. Click “Insert notes” to add the notes to your answer
3. Edit and customize the inserted notes as your own answer
   • Add your own commentary and context
   • Rewrite in your own voice
   • Remove sections that aren’t relevant
   • Add additional observations not in the notes

💡 Best Practice: Use AI notes as a foundation, not a final answer. Add your managerial perspective, specific examples, and forward-looking feedback to create complete, personalized responses.

Working with Multiple Recordings

If you recorded multiple meetings for the same review (e.g., initial discussion and follow-up):

• All notes appear together under each question
• Each recording’s notes are separated by line breaks
• Insert notes button includes all notes from all recordings

Privacy and Access Control

Who Can See Recordings and Notes?

Only people named on the specific review or check-in can access the recordings and notes. This includes:

- Reviewee

- Reviewer(s)

No access:

- ❌ Other employees in the organization

- ❌ HR (unless they are a named reviewer)

- ❌ Hierarchy managers (your manager’s manager etc.)

What Employees See

Employees have the same access to recordings and notes as you do:

• Can view AI Meeting Notes under each question
• Can access recordings in Meeting History
• Can download audio files and transcripts
• Cannot delete recordings they didn’t create

💡 Best Practice: Let employees know at the start of the meeting that they’ll have full access to the recording and notes. This builds trust and encourages open conversation.

Data Retention

Current policy: 

• Recordings stored indefinitely until manually deleted 
• Transcripts stored with recordings 
• AI notes stored indefinitely

Your control: 

• You can delete recordings at any time
• Employees can delete recordings they created
• HR may configure retention policies in the future

Off-Topic Discussions

The AI is designed to exclude off-topic conversation from notes:

• Only discussion relevant to review questions is included in notes
• General chit-chat filtered out
• Sensitive personal topics mentioned briefly are typically excluded
• Full transcript still contains everything (notes are selective)

💡 Best Practice: If discussing something highly sensitive or unrelated to the review, use the Pause button to temporarily stop recording.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues and Solutions

Still Having Problems?

Contact support: 

• Email: support@appraisd.com
  • Include: 
    • What you were trying to do
    • Error message received (if any)
    • Browser and version you’re using
    • Whether issue is consistent or occasional

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Q: Do I need to use AI Notetaker for every review?

A: No, it’s completely optional. Use it when you find it helpful. Some managers prefer traditional note-taking for certain types of conversations.

Q: Can I use AI Notetaker for check-ins too?

A: Yes! AI Notetaker works for both formal performance reviews and informal check-ins. It’s a great way to document ongoing development conversations.

Q: How accurate is the transcription?

A: Very accurate when audio quality is good. Speak clearly, use a good microphone, and minimize background noise for best results. Accuracy typically exceeds 95% in good conditions.

Q: Will the AI capture everything we discuss?

A: Yes, the full transcript captures everything. However, the AI notes are selective – they focus on topics relevant to each review question and filter out off-topic conversation.

Q: Can I edit the AI-generated notes?

A: The AI notes themselves can’t be edited, but once you insert them into your response field, you can edit, rewrite, or customize them however you like.

Privacy Questions

Q: Can HR see my recordings?

A: Not by default. Only people named on the specific review (reviewee and reviewers) can access recordings. HR cannot access recordings unless they are a named reviewer, for instance on a probation review.

Q: Can my manager’s manager see recordings or notes?

A: Not unless they are a named reviewer on that specific review. Hierarchy managers don’t automatically get access.

Q: Will employees be uncomfortable being recorded?

A: We designed AI Notetaker with transparency in mind. Employees see the same privacy information you do before recording starts, and they have full access to recordings and notes. Many employees actually appreciate having an accurate record of what was discussed.

Q: What if the employee doesn’t want to be recorded?

A: Recording is optional. If an employee is uncomfortable, conduct the review without AI Notetaker and take notes manually. Focus on building trust and explaining the benefits.

Q: How long are recordings kept?

A: Currently, recordings are kept indefinitely until manually deleted. You can delete recordings at any time. Your organization may implement retention policies in the future.

Q: Is the audio secure?

A: Yes. Audio is processed using Azure OpenAI (Microsoft’s enterprise AI platform) with encryption in transit and at rest. Your audio never leaves secure, enterprise-grade infrastructure.

Q: Can I use AI Notetaker on my phone?

A: You can record on your phone just as you would your computer. Simply log into Appraisd, open the review and start notetaking.

Q: Can I record a video call (Zoom, Teams, etc.)?

A: Yes! You can now record video calls directly using AI Notetaker. Simply select "Screen Share with System Audio" as your microphone source when starting the recording, then share your meeting tab with audio enabled. This captures everyone's audio without needing to use your platform's recording feature or upload files separately. See the "Recording Online Calls" section for detailed instructions.

Q: What's the difference between microphone recording and screen share recording?

A: Microphone recording is best for in-person meetings where you capture audio through a physical microphone in the room. Screen share with system audio is designed for online calls (Teams, Zoom, Meet) - it captures the audio from your video call tab, including all participants. Choose the method that matches your meeting format.

Q: How long does it take to generate notes?

A: Typically 5-10 minutes after recording stops. You’ll receive an email notification when notes are ready. Longer recordings may take a bit more time.

Q: Can I have multiple recordings for one review?

A: Yes! This is useful if you split the review discussion across multiple sessions. All notes will appear together under each question, and all recordings are listed in Meeting History.

Q: What happens if I accidentally close my browser during recording?

A: If you close the browser before the upload completes, the recording is lost. Always wait for the control bar to indicate “processing” is complete before closing your browser.

Q: Can I edit text of the notes after inserting them as my answer?

A: Yes! Once notes are inserted into your response field, they’re just regular text. Edit, rewrite, or customize them as needed.

Q: Do notes replace my written feedback?

A: No, notes are a starting point. You should still add your own observations, context, specific examples, and forward-looking feedback. Think of AI notes as a foundation to build on, not a complete answer.

Q: What if the AI missed something important?

A: You can listen to the full recording or read the transcript to find missed points. Then manually add them to your response. The AI focuses on major discussion points but may miss brief mentions.

Q: Can I delete notes without deleting the recording?

A: AI notes remain even if you delete the recording. If you don’t want to use the notes, simply don’t insert them into your responses.

Q: What if I discuss the same question multiple times?

A: The AI organizes all relevant discussion about a question into notes for that question, even if you talked about it at different points in the meeting.

This guide covers AI Notetaker features available in the current release. Features may be added or updated over time. Check back for the latest information.