Transcribe Google Meet calls on your Mac, with no bot

Google Meet can transcribe meetings on some Workspace plans, with the file saved to the organiser’s Google Drive. If you are on the wrong plan, not the organiser, or on a personal account, the option is simply not there. Third-party notetakers fill the gap by sending a bot into the call, which everyone sees join.

Trace does neither. It records the meeting audio your Mac plays through a system-audio tap and your mic on a separate track, straight from the browser tab. No bot appears in the call, no extension is installed, and nothing depends on whose Workspace plan the meeting runs on.

Transcription happens on-device, so the audio never leaves your Mac. You get a folder with both audio tracks, a JSON transcript and a markdown transcript, plus the markdown on your clipboard the moment it is done.

Transcribe a Meet call in four steps

1. Install Trace and grant two permissions. Microphone when you first run Trace, and System Audio Recording the first time you record. The audio permission is what lets Trace capture the tab’s sound; it never records your screen.
2. Start recording as the call starts. Press ⌘⇧R, or click Start Recording in the menu bar. Any browser works, because Trace records what your Mac plays rather than plugging into Meet.
3. Star the moments that matter. Press ⌘⇧K for a key moment, with an optional note. They show up inline in the finished transcript.
4. Stop and paste the transcript. Press ⌘⇧R again. Trace transcribes on-device and copies clean markdown to your clipboard.

FAQ

Does this work on a personal Google account?

Yes. Trace does not use Meet’s transcription at all, so Workspace plans and organiser rights are irrelevant. If you can hear the call on your Mac, it works.

Do I need a Chrome extension?

No. Trace is a menu-bar app that records system audio. There is nothing to install in the browser and no bot joining the call.

Will anyone see that I am recording?

No new participant appears and nothing changes inside Meet. Recording consent laws still apply to you, so know the rules where you are.

How accurate is the transcription?

Trace’s default model is Whisper large-v3-turbo, a modern on-device speech model that auto-detects the spoken language across roughly 99 languages, with faster Parakeet models available. Your mic and the call audio are transcribed as separate tracks, which keeps who-said-what clear.

Get Trace

Every Meet call, transcribed on your Mac. One-time purchase, no subscription.

Compare

• Otter alternative: Record on your Mac with no bot in the call, transcribed on-device.
• Offline transcription for Mac: Everything stays on your machine, and it works with the network off.
• Granola alternative: The same record-the-meeting simplicity, without the cloud notebook.
• No-bot transcription: Capture system audio with no extra participant in Zoom, Meet or Teams.
• MacWhisper alternative: Both stay on your Mac. Trace is shaped around meetings first.
• Fireflies alternative: No notetaker joining your calls, and nothing sent to a cloud.
• Record Zoom meetings: A hotkey instead of recording permissions, transcribed on-device.
• Transcribe Teams meetings: No admin policies, no notification banner, transcribed on your Mac.

Related guides

• Record a meeting on a Mac: Capture your mic and the other people on the call as two tracks, no bot required.
• Minutes without typing: Record the call, flag the moments that matter, and write the minutes afterwards.
• All guides: the full library of how-tos and explainers.