AI Note Taker for Zoom: Marketplace Approval and Encryption Limits
11 vendors, all facts read off the vendor’s own documentation and verified 2026-09-07.
Zoom inverts the Microsoft Teams problem. Almost no tool here needs an org-wide policy change to get a bot into a call, so the tenant fight that dominates Teams mostly does not happen. Two things gate Zoom instead: an account owner pre-approving a Marketplace app, and end-to-end encryption, which blocks recording outright whatever you bought.
The rest is per-tool detail that vendors publish unevenly - a host approval prompt, a waiting room timeout, a caption setting only the host can switch on. Each is quoted below with the page it came from.
The two things that actually block recording on Zoom
Fathom’s Zoom app must be pre-approved by the Zoom admin, and Otter’s Zoom Sync path requires an admin to approve Otter.ai in the Zoom Marketplace. Both are one-off admin actions, not tenant-wide loosening.
Fireflies.ai publishes that end-to-end encryption stops any third-party service, itself included, accessing the meeting audio. If your organisation runs E2EE meetings, no bot-based tool can record them - the only capture left is bot-free, on the device.
Tool by tool on Zoom
Ordered as we assessed them. Every entry carries the vendor’s own sentences, what has to be in place, at least one published limitation, and the page and date we read it on.
Native marketplace app
“an official Zoom Apps Launch Partner”
“passed extensive application and security reviews from the Zoom team.”
“The Fathom Zoom app has limited in-meeting features compared to the Desktop App.”
- The Zoom admin must pre-approve the app at marketplace.zoom.us/user/requests?request_type=pre-approve
The Zoom app carries fewer in-meeting features than Fathom's desktop app, and it cannot be used at all until a Zoom admin has pre-approved it in the Marketplace.
Bot joins the meeting
“Otter Notetaker automatically joins your meeting as a participant to record and transcribe in real time”
“Search for Otter.ai in the Zoom Marketplace, then click Approve”
“You will only be able to connect one Zoom host account per Otter account.”
“Syncing Zoom cloud recordings only works with Zoom meetings that allow for recording. If the meeting host does not allow cloud recording, this feature will not work.”
- Notetaker path: the bot joins as a participant, no Marketplace approval described
- Zoom Sync path: admin Marketplace approval, Otter Business plan, and a Zoom Pro/Business/Enterprise/Education license
Zoom Sync is plan-gated on both sides, admits one Zoom host account per Otter account, and fails entirely where the host disallows cloud recording.
Bot joins the meeting
“Fireflies joins your meeting just like a participant would.”
“You don't have to integrate Zoom with Fireflies - it'll still work!”
“the host may need to approve Fireflies once the first time”
“End-to-end encryption prevents any third-party service, including Fireflies, from accessing the meeting audio to record and transcribe.”
- No Zoom integration required; a first-time host approval may be needed
End-to-end encrypted Zoom meetings cannot be recorded at all, whatever plan the buyer is on.
Bot joins the meeting
“The Notetaker joins Zoom calls as a participant at the scheduled start time.”
“ask your Zoom admin to unlock it for you.”
- Not published by the vendor
The path depends on Zoom account settings a user cannot change alone: MeetGeek's own instruction is to "ask your Zoom admin to unlock it for you". Beyond that, MeetGeek publishes no Zoom-specific limitations.
Bot or local desktop capture
“Notta is requesting to record - click Approve”
“Microphone only - System audio recording is not supported”
- "Record to computer files" enabled
- External participants allowed to request recording permission
The bot path depends on a live host approval each time. The bot-free desktop path is microphone only on macOS 11-12, so on those versions it records your voice and not the other participants.
Bot-free, local device capture
“captures audio directly from your device”
“there's no built-in Zoom announcement to trigger.”
“Screen & System Audio Recording”
- macOS: Screen & System Audio Recording permission
- Windows: system audio is handled automatically by the app and does not require a separate permission step
Zoom's own recording notification does not fire, because Zoom is not recording. That is exactly what bot-free buyers want and exactly why a regulated buyer who relies on the platform notice for consent may not be able to use it.
Bot-free, local device capture
“Jamie works with any video conferencing platform, including Zoom. No more technical issues or extensions are needed.”
- Jamie installed on the device the meeting is taken on
Jamie publishes no Zoom-specific admin requirements or caveats: those are not published by the vendor, and capture depends entirely on the local device.
Bot or bot-free mode (vendor gives no further detail)
“Choose bot or bot free mode”
- Not published by the vendor
Krisp publishes no article describing what its Zoom bot mode is, whether it appears in the participant list, or what it requires. Not published by the vendor.
Browser extension, reads platform captions
“The extension only works when you join Zoom in Chrome or Edge, not in the Zoom Desktop app.”
“For now, the native Mac app transcribes Zoom desktop calls only”
- Zoom joined in Chrome or Edge for the extension
- The host must enable Zoom Automated captions - without it captions cannot be turned on at all
Zoom desktop is covered only by a macOS-native app; there is no Windows equivalent. And the whole extension path depends on a setting only the host can turn on.
Bot joins the meeting
“tl;dv joins your call as a bot the moment you're ready to start capturing video and sound.”
“tl;dv simplifies and saves time by letting any user record a Zoom meeting (even if they don't have host permission!)”
- Not published by the vendor
tl;dv publishes no Zoom-specific limitations and no admin requirements, so nothing can be checked before the first meeting.
Bot or browser extension
“Download the Noota extension to your browser to record your Zoom meeting.”
“you can add a bot to your videoconference, which will record everything.”
“Allow the Bot to record by granting the necessary permissions when prompted”
- Not published by the vendor
Noota publishes no admin-configuration article for Zoom at all. noota.io and support.noota.io document calendar connection and an in-meeting permission prompt, and nothing about Zoom account settings. An IT admin has no vendor page to work from.
Teams gates on policy, Zoom gates on approval and encryption
| Microsoft Teams | Zoom | |
|---|---|---|
| What blocks a bot | Tenant policy: anonymous or guest join, lobby bypass, bot detection | Marketplace pre-approval for two tools, and end-to-end encryption for all of them |
| Who has to act | A Microsoft 365 admin, changing settings that apply tenant-wide | Usually the meeting host, occasionally the Zoom account owner once |
| If the change is refused | Every bot-based tool is out; only bot-free capture remains | Most bots still work; only the Marketplace-gated paths and E2EE meetings are out |
| Recording notice | A visible bot participant, or nothing at all with bot-free capture | Zoom’s own announcement does not fire for bot-free capture, because Zoom is not recording |
The Teams side of this, including the exact tenant settings and what each one widens, is on AI note taker for Microsoft Teams.
Questions buyers ask first
Does an AI notetaker work on an end-to-end encrypted Zoom meeting?
No. Fireflies.ai states that end-to-end encryption prevents any third-party service, including Fireflies, from accessing the meeting audio to record and transcribe. No purchase changes this: if the meeting is end-to-end encrypted, a bot cannot capture it.
Which Zoom AI notetakers need admin approval?
Fathom requires the Zoom admin to pre-approve its Marketplace app, and Otter's Zoom Sync path requires an admin to approve Otter.ai in the Zoom Marketplace plus an Otter Business plan and a Zoom Pro, Business, Enterprise or Education license. Fireflies states no Zoom integration is required at all.
Does Zoom announce the recording when a bot-free notetaker is used?
No. Granola captures audio directly from your device, and as Granola puts it, there is no built-in Zoom announcement to trigger. The consent consequence of that is set out in the limitation on Granola's entry above.
Which Zoom AI notetakers publish no admin documentation?
Three: Krisp, tl;dv and Noota. Krisp offers a choice of bot or bot-free mode on Zoom but publishes no article saying what its bot mode does or requires; tl;dv publishes no Zoom admin requirements or limitations; and Noota, whose team edits this site, publishes no admin-configuration article for Zoom at all. With those three an IT admin has no vendor page to check before the first meeting.
Can Tactiq record a Zoom desktop call?
Only on macOS. Tactiq's extension works only when Zoom is joined in Chrome or Edge, not in the Zoom desktop app, and Tactiq states that for now the native Mac app transcribes Zoom desktop calls only. There is no Windows equivalent.
Every fact on this page was verified on 2026-09-07 against the vendor documentation linked beside it. Where a vendor publishes nothing on a point, this page says so rather than filling the gap. Contradictions between a vendor’s own pages are tracked on the vendor claim tracker. The same tools on Google Meet face a different gate again, and the bot-free options across all three platforms are compared on AI note takers that don’t join the meeting.