The rise of AI note-takers: If you’re already dreading your first Zoom call of the day, you’re not alone — and you might not need to show up at all. More and more office workers are skipping meetings and sending AI bots in their stead, according to the Washington Post. AI-powered note takers like Otter, Fathom, and Zoom’s built-in tools are being used to quietly transcribe, summarize, and archive meetings — even when their human counterparts are nowhere to be found, with calls sometimes having more bots than people.

These tools were initially meant to help busy professionals keep track of what was said in meetings, but now they’re being used to avoid meetings altogether. In some cases, a bot will join a video call on its own, while the person it represents does something else entirely. That person can later read the summary or listen to the audio without ever having been part of the discussion.

This shift is changing workplace dynamics fast. AI bots can’t contribute ideas or answer questions, but their presence is enough to make some participants wonder if anyone is actually paying attention.

It’s efficient, but not always welcome: Some may welcome the shift as a productivity boost. Others worry that these silent bots are creating surveillance-style work environments where everything is recorded and nothing is forgotten. Some have even been caught off guard, discovering transcripts of meetings they didn’t realize were being recorded — sometimes even shared publicly without their consent.

It could go further: Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has floated the idea of digital twins — fully autonomous AI assistants that can eventually act on a user’s behalf in meetings. The goal is that you’ll never need to attend a video call again — but at what cost? At a time when many are questioning the value of yet another meeting, the rise of AI note takers is forcing companies to rethink how — and why — people gather at all.

The whole structure is shifting by the day: The rise of AI bots in meetings is just one piece of a broader transformation underway. As hybrid and flexible work become the norm, traditional team structures are also evolving, according to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Annual Report.

With people working across time zones, balancing side projects, and shuffling priorities, collaboration is becoming more asynchronous, more distributed, and less tied to the traditional 9-to-5. Teams are no longer expected to function in lockstep — they’re adapting to new rhythms, using tools like meeting recordings, group chats, and yes, AI note-takers to stay connected.

Tags: