Calendly Joins the Ring: Entering the World of Meeting Note-Taking Solutions
The importance of note-taking has surged in the productivity sector, with numerous software companies developing AI technologies to streamline tasks derived from meeting discussions. Calendly, a well-known scheduling platform, is now venturing into the realm of note-taking with a new product.
Similar to other tools in the market, Calendly’s note-taking solution is designed to join meetings, capture audio and video, and produce transcripts. It will also be capable of creating summaries, extracting actionable items, and composing follow-up emails. Additionally, the company is experimenting with a feature akin to Granola that utilizes system audio for transcription.
Furthermore, Calendly intends to introduce an AI assistant named Callie. This assistant will leverage the existing framework of meetings and scheduling to arrange new meetings, check participants’ availability, and provide context from previous discussions. Earlier this year, a note-taking startup named Read AI introduced a similar email-based assistant.
Calendly’s CEO, Tope Awotona, emphasized that the intention behind these innovations is to enhance workflow automation for primary users—particularly professionals in sales and marketing roles who often have packed schedules filled with meetings.
However, the competition within this market is fierce. On one side, there are dedicated note-taking applications like Granola, Fireflies, Read AI, Otter, and Fathom. On the other side, broader productivity platforms such as Notion, ClickUp, and Wispr have also integrated note-taking features into their offerings.
Despite the competition, Awotona believes there is significant potential for improving post-meeting task automation following transcriptions.
“While numerous applications excel at recording and transcribing notes, considerable work remains after the meetings conclude. We see this as an area where our note-taking solution can truly add value,” he stated.
In light of privacy concerns surrounding some competitors like Otter and Granola, Awotona assured that Calendly’s note-taker will notify users when a meeting is being recorded. The recording assistant will send a chat message to announce its presence, and participants will have the option to request its removal from the conversation. Additionally, the assistant can alert users before a meeting begins, thanks to its integration with Calendly’s scheduling system.
