Zoom notes without a bot
Yes, Aside works with Zoom on Mac and Windows. It records your microphone and the sound your computer plays, so no bot joins the meeting and nobody gets a join request.
Does Aside work with Zoom?
Yes, without connecting to Zoom
Aside is an app for Mac and Windows that records your microphone and the sound your computer plays. It doesn’t connect to Zoom at all. No bot appears in the participant list, the host never sees a request to admit a notetaker, and there is nothing to install in Zoom or get approved by an admin.
It works the same in the Zoom desktop app and in Zoom in your browser, and whether you host the meeting or join someone else’s. Aside doesn’t depend on anyone’s Zoom plan or on the host’s recording settings. That isn’t a reason to skip asking: tell people you’re recording.
What you get from a Zoom call
A transcript made on your computer by an on-device speech model, for English and 24 European languages (add another language and every call is transcribed online, as on computers too slow to keep up, but for notes-only calls on the free plan). The recording stays on your computer, with playback of both sides in sync: your microphone and the Zoom audio. Speaker names are suggested from clues in the call, like a name said aloud, and the reason is shown. Voices you’ve confirmed before are named for you.
How to record a Zoom call with Aside
On a Mac
1. Install Aside
Download Aside for Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 14.2 or later). It lives in the menu bar. The first time, it downloads its speech model once, about 570 MB, or 720 MB with other European languages. Add a language the on-device model doesn’t know and every call is transcribed online, so only a small model for telling speakers apart downloads. On the free plan, in 13 of those languages, a 990 MB model downloads too, for the calls Aside doesn’t guide.
2. Allow the microphone and Mac audio
On first run, macOS asks to let Aside use your microphone and the sound your computer plays. Allow both. You do this once, not for each call or each app.
3. Record the call
Join the meeting in Zoom as usual. Start recording from the menu bar or press ⌃⌥P. When the call ends, press ⌃⌥X. The transcript has your notes in place, and after a guided call (2 a week on Free, every call on the paid plan) the write-up starts when you stop.
On Windows
1. Install Aside
Get Aside from the Microsoft Store (Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11), then click Open. It lives in the system tray, and the Store keeps it up to date. The first time, it downloads its speech model once, about 920 MB, or 990 MB with other European languages. Add a language the on-device model doesn’t know and every call is transcribed online, so only a small model for telling speakers apart downloads. On the free plan, in 13 of those languages, a 990 MB model downloads too, for the calls Aside doesn’t guide.
2. Check the microphone
Aside hears the sound your PC plays with no prompt. If Windows blocks the microphone, turn it on in Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone. You do this once, not for each call or each app.
3. Record the call
Join the meeting in Zoom as usual. Start recording from the system tray or press CtrlAltP. When the call ends, press CtrlAltX. The transcript has your notes in place, and after a guided call (2 a week on Free, every call on the paid plan) the write-up starts when you stop.
During the call, press ⌃⌥N or CtrlAltN from any app, Zoom included, to type a note. It lands in the transcript at the moment you started typing. Press ⌃⌥P or CtrlAltP to pause for anything off the record; the transcript marks the gap.
Zoom’s own recording and AI
Zoom has cloud recording on paid plans and its own AI features for meeting summaries. They do different jobs from Aside.
Use Zoom’s own tools if…
- You need the video, not only the audio. Zoom’s cloud recording keeps video, audio and chat text.
- You want a recording stored in Zoom’s cloud that you can share from your Zoom account.
- You only use Zoom and your plan already includes the AI summary features you need.
Use Aside if…
- You want English and 24 European languages transcribed on your computer, and the recording kept there.
- You aren’t the host. Zoom’s cloud recording is started by the host or a co-host; Aside records on your own computer.
- You also take calls in Google Meet, Teams, Slack or FaceTime and want one place for all of them.
- You want help during the call, not only notes afterwards.
Where Aside differs
One recorder for every app
Zoom’s tools work inside Zoom. Aside listens to the computer, so the same transcripts, notes and write-ups cover your Zoom calls and everything else. An AI app you connect, like Claude, can then read across all of them.
Help while you talk
Before a call you can set a few goals and ready answers. On a guided call (2 a week on Free, every call on the paid plan), a small pill sits just under your camera: goals fill in as dots as you cover them, one line suggests your next move, and your prepared answer appears when the topic comes up. A playbook can describe how you run that kind of call. Turn guidance off and the pill is only a recording light. See all features.
What Aside doesn’t do
It doesn’t record video, it doesn’t post anything into Zoom, and it has no Zoom-specific features like reading the participant list. It hears what your computer hears. For the trade-offs of meeting bots in general, read bot notetakers vs recording on your computer.
Before you record
Sharing your screen in Zoom
Aside’s pill, cards and note field are hidden from screen sharing, even when you share your whole screen. Only you see them.
Tell people you’re recording
Recording laws differ by place, and many require everyone’s consent. Say so at the start, or post a line in the Zoom chat.
Questions
Does Aside join my Zoom meeting as a bot?
No. Aside records your microphone and the sound your computer plays, so it never joins the meeting. Nobody sees a bot or gets a join request.
Do I need to be the Zoom host to record with Aside?
No. Aside records on your computer, so it works whether you host or join. Tell people you’re recording.
Does Aside work with Zoom in the browser?
Yes. Aside hears the sound your computer plays, so the Zoom desktop app and Zoom in a browser work the same way.
Does Aside record Zoom video?
No. Aside records audio only: your microphone and the sound your computer plays. If you need the video, use Zoom’s own recording.
Is my Zoom audio uploaded anywhere?
Only if you’ve added a language the on-device model doesn’t know (then all your calls are) or your computer is too slow to keep up, and on Free only the calls Aside guides. Aside transcribes English and 24 European languages on your computer with an on-device speech model (add another language and every call is transcribed online, as on computers too slow to keep up, but for notes-only calls on the free plan), and the recording stays on your computer.
Last checked 15 Oct 2026. Products change, so check Zoom’s own pages before you decide.
Sources
Facts about Zoom come from its own help pages, read on 15 Oct 2026.