Auto-Start Recording
Start recording as soon as a meeting begins, with no setup.
On this page
Groupthink can start recording the moment your meeting begins, and move you smoothly between back-to-back meetings, so you never lose the first few minutes of a conversation to manual setup.
Two behaviors work together:
- Desktop app, in the background: while the desktop app is open, it starts private notes for your meetings on its own, even when its window is hidden
- On an agenda page: when you are on the agenda page of a meeting that is in progress, recording begins based on your calendar attendance preference
Plus a third behavior for chained meetings: a transition card on the recap when your next meeting is starting soon.
Private Notes Start on Their Own in the Desktop App
While the desktop app is open, it keeps an eye on your calendar. Within about half a minute of a meeting that Groupthink takes private notes for beginning, the app opens that meeting's agenda and starts recording. It does not bring its window to the front or take over your screen, so this works with the window hidden in the tray.
It starts a meeting only when all of these are true:
- The meeting is one Groupthink takes private notes for.
- Your attendance setting is not Let Me Choose Each Time.
- The calendar event has a video meeting link. A focus block or lunch with no link is never recorded.
- The meeting is in progress and is no longer than six hours.
- You have not already ended or removed Groupthink from that meeting.
When the Groupthink notetaker is set to join a meeting, it joins on its own. The app does not need to be open for that.
Opening Groupthink during a meeting does not take you to that meeting. Open its agenda page yourself, and if your attendance setting calls for it, recording starts there.
How Auto-Start Works on an Agenda Page
Once you are on an agenda page with an in-progress meeting, what happens next depends on your calendar attendance setting.
| Attendance setting | In-progress meeting | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Privately Take Notes | Yes | Private recording starts (desktop app only) |
| Automatically Join All Meetings | Yes | The Groupthink bot joins and starts recording |
| Let Me Choose Each Time | Yes | No auto-start. You see the manual prompt as before |
| Any | No | No auto-start |
The setting lives in Today > Calendar & booking. See User Settings or your calendar integration page (Google Calendar, Outlook) for how to set it.
A few details:
- Private recording requires the desktop app. If your attendance is set to Privately Take Notes but you are on the web, Groupthink will not auto-start (you cannot record privately from a browser). Open the desktop app instead.
- One start per agenda. Auto-start fires once per agenda visit; it will not re-fire if you stay on the same page.
- URL triggers still work. Opening an agenda with
?start=1still starts recording, the same as before. - No meeting link, no bot. If the notetaker would need to join but the meeting has no video link, nothing starts and the page says "There is no meeting link to record. Start the call in your conferencing app first, or start notes manually to use a Groupthink room."
Back-to-Back Meeting Transitions
If your next meeting starts within 10 minutes of your current one ending, Groupthink shows a transition card at the top of the recap.
The card shows how soon the next meeting starts and includes an Open notes button that takes you to the next agenda.
| State | What you see |
|---|---|
| Next meeting 3+ minutes away | Blue card: "Starts in X min" |
| Next meeting 1 to 3 minutes away | Blue card: "Starting now" |
| Next meeting less than a minute away, or started in the last 2 minutes | Yellow card: a line that starts with "Started", such as "Started a minute ago" |
When you click Open notes, you land on the next meeting's agenda. If your attendance setting auto-starts recording, the recording begins there as well.
How to Turn It Off
Auto-start follows your calendar attendance setting. To stop meetings from auto-recording:
- Go to Today > Calendar & booking
- Change the attendance setting to Let Me Choose Each Time. It saves as soon as you pick it.
Groupthink will no longer start recording until you click the button yourself, on an agenda page or in the desktop app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I auto-start the bot but not private recording (or vice versa)? Yes, by choosing the right attendance setting. Set the calendar to Automatically Join All Meetings for bot-only auto-start, or Privately Take Notes (with the desktop app open) for private-only auto-start.
What if I have multiple calendars connected with different settings? Choosing Privately Take Notes copies that setting to every calendar you have connected, so a meeting that syncs through a second account stays private too. Choosing Automatically Join All Meetings turns private notes off on your other calendars too, so any of them that already join automatically send the bot instead. It does not start auto-joining on a calendar that was set to join manually. Let Me Choose Each Time does not change your other calendars. The per-calendar Auto-join toggle stays separate (see Google Calendar). On an agenda page and in the desktop app, auto-start follows the setting of your main calendar. When the notetaker joins on its own, it follows the calendar the meeting is on. Opening the agenda page of a meeting on another of your calendars does not send the notetaker on its own when that calendar's Auto-join is off or that calendar is set to Privately Take Notes.
Does auto-start work on shared agendas? Yes, the same rules apply. If the meeting is in progress and your attendance setting calls for auto-start, recording begins regardless of whether you created the agenda or someone else did.
What if I missed the transition card and ended up on the wrong meeting? The card shows on the recap from 10 minutes before the next meeting starts until about 2 minutes after. During that time you can click Open notes, or navigate to the next meeting from your calendar.