Calendly Takes on the Meeting Note-Taking Space

Calendly, a renowned scheduling and meeting booking software company, has entered the competitive meeting note-taking arena with its own note-taking product. This move is a significant development in the productivity space, where many companies are racing to automate tasks based on action items created from meeting transcripts.

The company’s note-taker joins meetings, records audio and video, and transcribes it. It can then generate a summary and action items, and even draft follow-up emails. Furthermore, Calendly is testing a feature that uses system audio to transcribe meetings, similar to Granola.

Introducing Callie, the AI Assistant

Calendly is also planning to release an AI assistant named Callie, which taps into the company’s existing meeting and scheduling stack to set up meetings, check people’s availability, and surface context from prior meetings. This feature is similar to Read AI’s email-based assistant launched earlier this year.

According to Calendly CEO Tope Awotona, the company aimed to automate workflows for its top users: people in outward-facing roles like sales and marketing whose workdays are typically inundated with meetings. Awotona emphasized that the opportunity lies in automating tasks after the meeting is transcribed.

A Competitive Space with Opportunities

The meeting note-taking space is highly competitive, with companies like Granola, Fireflies, Read AI, Otter, and Fathom vying for dominance. Additionally, productivity companies like Notion, ClickUp, and Wispr have added note-taking assistants and features to their suites.

Awotona acknowledged the competition but expressed confidence in Calendly’s note-taker, stating that it will inform users that their meeting is being recorded. The recording assistant will send a message in the chat to inform everyone of its presence and activity, and any user can ask the app to leave the conversation.

Calendly’s note-taker will also inform people before the meeting starts that the call will be recorded, thanks to its integration with Calendly’s scheduling system. This feature addresses concerns about privacy, as some companies in this space, like Otter and Granola, have faced allegations of violating user privacy.

Awotona believes that there is a big opportunity in automating tasks after the meeting is transcribed, and Calendly’s note-taker is poised to capitalize on this opportunity.

In conclusion, Calendly’s entry into the meeting note-taking space is a significant development that is sure to shake up the industry. With its innovative features and commitment to user privacy, Calendly’s note-taker is an exciting addition to the market.