Bold: Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items. Shadow: A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Bold when capturing in-person meetings without sending a meeting bot matters most, and Shadow when privacy-conscious teams that prefer on-device transcription matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items.
A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant.
Bold (Bold: AI Meeting Note Taker) is an AI meeting assistant from Bold App Studios that records conversations directly on the user's device and then automatically transcribes and summarizes them rather than sending a bot into the call. It offers one-tap recording with real-time transcription, can capture audio in the background whether the screen is on or off, and supports uploading existing audio files for transcription. The app performs speaker detection and diarization across multiple participants, and its AI writes concise summaries that surface action items, decisions, and key insights. Notes are searchable and can be filtered by date, speaker, topic, or keyword, and recordings include replay with smart navigation. Bold supports shareable web links and integrations including Google Meet calendar connection, Notion, Slack, email, and PDF export, with customizable templates for organizing notes. The vendor states the app supports several languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Japanese, and offers end-to-end encryption and privacy controls. Bold is available across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, with a free tier plus premium subscription options, and is actively maintained in 2025/2026. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Shadow is a bot-free AI meeting assistant for macOS that captures meetings by listening to your computer's audio in the background rather than joining the call as a visible participant. Because transcription runs locally on the Mac, the audio does not need to leave the device for that core processing step, which the company positions as a privacy advantage. Shadow can automatically detect when a meeting starts, transcribe the conversation with speaker identification, and turn the discussion into structured notes, summaries, and follow-up items. It also captures on-screen content alongside the spoken audio, so material shared during a call (slides, dashboards, or shared windows) can be reflected in the output. The tool works across common conferencing platforms including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, Slack, and Discord. Users can configure customizable prompts (described as Skills) to generate notes, summaries, or drafted emails, and connect outputs to other tools via webhooks. It is aimed at professionals and teams who want meeting capture without adding another bot to the call. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Bold is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Shadow is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Bold | Shadow |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | One-tap on-device recording with real-time transcription | Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participant |
| Standout feature | Speaker detection and diarization for multiple participants | On-device (local) transcription on macOS |
| Team usage | AI summaries highlighting action items and decisions | Speaker identification during transcription |
| Integrations | Background recording with screen on or off, plus audio-file upload | Captures on-screen content in addition to spoken audio |
| Languages & capture | Searchable, filterable notes with shareable web links | Customizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails |
| Best-fit workflow | Integrations with Google Meet, Notion, Slack, email, and PDF export | Webhook integration to connect outputs to other tools |
Bold
Choose Bold if you need capturing in-person meetings without sending a meeting bot — strengths include bot-free, on-device capture for in-person and virtual meetings.
Shadow
Choose Shadow if you need capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining — strengths include does not add a visible bot to meetings.
Bold
Shadow
It depends on your workflow. Bold is strong for capturing in-person meetings without sending a meeting bot, while Shadow is strong for capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Bold is a free tier with paid upgrades and Shadow is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Often yes: teams combine tools when one handles capture and another handles analysis.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Bold and Shadow.
Bold: Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items. Boostlingo: Language access platform whose AI Pro engine delivers live AI captioning, translation, and transcription for meetings, webinars, and events. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Bold: Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items. BriefMe: Italian mobile app that records conversations, transcribes them automatically, and generates AI summaries with key points, decisions, and action items. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
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Bold: Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items. Calendly Notetaker: An AI meeting notetaker built into the Calendly scheduling platform that records meetings and generates summaries, transcripts, and action items. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Bold: Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items. CallBro: Bot-free AI meeting assistant that transcribes calls from system audio and produces structured notes without joining the call. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Bold: Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items. Callabo: Korean AI meeting-notes service from Return Zero that records, transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes meetings for individuals and teams. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
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