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 7 steps:
Open the review or check-in in Appraisd
Click on the new 'AI notetaker tool' section of the review's left hand menu
Click “Start Notetaking” when your in person meeting begins (see below for remote meetings)
Choose if you are conducting the meeting in person or as an online meeting
Select your microphone and check audio levels
Have your conversation naturally (pause if needed)
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 Your Meeting (In-person)
Starting a Recording
When you’re ready to begin your check-in or performance review meeting:
Navigate to the check-in or review in Appraisd
Click on the AI Notetaker Tool section on the review page's left hand menu
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:
Grant microphone permission when your browser prompts you
Selecting your microphone and the “Start Notetaking” button remains disabled until permission is granted
Select your microphone from the dropdown menu
All available audio input devices are listed
Choose the one closest to where you’ll be sitting
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:
Click “Start Notetaking” (primary blue button)
The dialog closes and recording begins immediately
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
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 centre 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
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:
Click the Stop button (⏹) in the control bar
Recording automatically pauses
A confirmation dialog appears:
[Screenshot: Stop recording confirmation dialog]
After clicking “Stop recording”:
Control bar shows “processing” state
Recording cannot be restarted
Automatic upload begins:
Your audio file uploads
AI transcription and note generation start
Warning: Don’t close your browser until the upload completes.
7. Email notification sent when notes are ready:
Usually arrives within 5-10 minutes
Uploading Pre-recorded Audio 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
Click “Upload & notetake” button in the AI Notetaker Tool section
The “Upload for notetaking” dialog opens
Upload your file using either method:
Drag and drop:
Drag your file from your computer
Drop it onto the blue upload zone
Browse files:
Click “Upload files” or anywhere in the upload zone
Select your file from the file browser
Click “Open”
Upload progress is shown
Progress bar indicates upload status
File name and size displayed
Trash icon (🗑️) allows you to remove file and choose another
[Screenshot: File uploaded with progress bar]
Select speakers in the “Speaker identification” section
Same as live recording (checkboxes for each participant)
Default: Reviewee and Reviewer selected
Check all participants who speak in the recording
Click “Generate notes”
Dialog closes automatically when processing starts
Email notification sent when notes are ready
Usually arrives within 5-10 minutes (longer for large files)
Tip: Phone 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:
Review the AI notes for the question
Click “Insert notes” to add the notes to your answer
Edit and customize the inserted notes
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
Issue | Solution |
“Start Notetaking” button is disabled | Grant microphone permissions in your browser. Look for the camera/microphone icon in the address bar and click “Allow”. |
No microphones appear in dropdown | Check browser privacy settings for microphone access. Ensure microphone is connected (for external mics). Try refreshing the page. |
Audio level bars not moving | Speak louder and check if bars respond. Switch to a different microphone in the dropdown. Check system volume settings aren’t muted. Ensure correct audio input selected in system settings. |
Low volume warning keeps appearing | Switch to a better microphone. Move closer to your microphone. Increase system input volume. Check for mute settings on physical microphone. |
“Are you still recording?” dialog appeared | This triggers after 60 seconds of silence. Click “Continue Notetaking” if still in meeting. Click “End Notetaking” if finished but forgot to stop. |
Browser closed during recording | Recording is lost if browser closed before upload completes. You’ll need to re-record or use “Upload & notetake” if you saved audio elsewhere. Always wait for upload completion. |
Recording doesn’t appear in Meeting History | Refresh the page. Check your email for error notification. May have been deleted accidentally. Upload may have failed – check internet connection and try uploading again. |
Notes not generated after recording | Check email for “Notes generation failed” notification. May need to re-upload recording. Contact support@appraisd.com if issue persists. |
Cannot insert notes into response | Ensure the review is at a stage which allows you to answer the question. Verify question has a text input field (some question types don’t allow text answers). |
File upload fails | Check file size is under 100 MB. Verify file format is supported (see supported formats list above). |
Upload stuck at “Processing” | Processing can take 5-10 minutes for longer recordings. Wait for email notification. If stuck for over 30 minutes, refresh page and try re-uploading. |
Screen share recording only captures my voice | Verify you selected "Screen Share with System Audio" from the microphone dropdown. Ensure you checked "Share tab audio" when the browser prompt appeared. If the issue persists, stop and restart the recording, carefully following the online call recording steps. |
No audio captured from online meeting | When sharing your screen, make sure you selected the entire screen (not browser tab or window) where your meeting is running. Check the "Share tab audio" or "Share system audio" checkbox in the browser prompt. Try using Chrome or Edge browsers for best compatibility. |
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
FAQs
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.