Starting a Meeting

Groupthink offers multiple ways to start meetings, whether you're recording private notes, hosting a video conference directly in Groupthink, or connecting to existing Meet, Teams, or Zoom calls. With seamless calendar integration and flexible meeting options, Groupthink ensures your discussions are productive and well-documented.

  • Record private meeting notes for your Meet, Teams, or Zoom conferences
  • Start video meetings directly in Groupthink with built-in notes and transcription
  • Add Groupthink to existing meetings or schedule new ones on your calendar
  • Benefit from automatic meeting starts linked to calendar events

Starting a Meeting Using the "New Meeting Notes" Button

The "New Meeting Notes" button in the sidebar provides several options for starting or joining meetings:

Record Private Meeting Notes

Record and transcribe meetings confidentially from Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom without other participants knowing Groupthink is involved:

  1. Click the "New Meeting Notes" button in the sidebar
  2. Select "Record Private Meeting Notes"
  3. A dialog will appear explaining that Private Recording requires the Groupthink Desktop app

If you already have the desktop app installed:

  1. In the Groupthink desktop app, click "New Meeting Notes"
  2. Select "Privately Recorded Meeting"
  3. When prompted, accept the permission requests for microphone and system audio access
  4. Join your Meet, Teams, or Zoom meeting as usual
  5. The recording stays private on your device and captures both your microphone and system audio
  6. Groupthink will generate notes, transcripts, and summaries automatically

If you need to install the desktop app:

  • Download the app for your platform (macOS 14.4+ or Windows 10+)
  • Follow the installation instructions for setup guidance
  • The download links are available from the dialog or the Downloads section

Important Notes:

  • No Groupthink bot will join your meeting - your use remains invisible to other participants
  • Private Desktop Recording captures ALL system audio (including background media)
  • Your microphone will be recorded even if it's muted in your video conferencing app
  • It is your responsibility to comply with local recording laws
  • For troubleshooting help, see our troubleshooting guide

Start a Groupthink Video Meeting

Host a video conference directly in Groupthink with built-in notes and transcription:

  1. Click the "New Meeting Notes" button in the sidebar
  2. Select "Start Groupthink Video Meeting"
  3. You'll be taken directly to a new meeting room titled "New Meeting"
  4. Configure your camera and audio settings
  5. Click "Join Now" to start the meeting
  6. Share the meeting link with participants (displayed on screen and can be copied with the "Copy meeting link" button)
  7. Groupthink will automatically document the conversation with real-time notes

Add Groupthink to an Existing Meeting

Connect Groupthink to a previously scheduled Meet, Teams, or Zoom meeting:

  1. Click the "New Meeting Notes" button in the sidebar
  2. Select "Add Groupthink to an existing Meet, Zoom, or Teams meeting..."
  3. If you have a calendar connected, a dialog will appear asking for the meeting URL
  4. Paste your Meet, Zoom, or Teams meeting URL in the text field
  5. Click the "Add Groupthink" button
  6. Groupthink will request to join your meeting
  7. You must admit Groupthink to the meeting for the assistant to take notes

Schedule a Calendar Meeting

Create a new calendar event with Groupthink integration:

  1. Click the "New Meeting Notes" button in the sidebar
  2. Select "Schedule a meeting on your calendar..."
  3. A form will appear where you can enter meeting details:
    • Title
    • Date and time
    • Attendees
    • Description
    • Agenda
  4. Click the "Create Event" button to schedule the meeting
  5. The event will be added to your calendar with Groupthink video conferencing capabilities

Connecting Your Calendar

To enable calendar-related features:

  1. Navigate to the Calendar page by clicking "Calendar" in the sidebar
  2. Choose your calendar provider:
    • "Connect" button for Google Calendar
    • "Connect" button for Microsoft Outlook
  3. Follow the authorization steps required by your calendar provider
  4. Once connected, your calendar events will appear in Groupthink
  5. You can now use calendar-related features like scheduling meetings and adding Groupthink to existing meetings

Calendar Integration & Bot Joining

Groupthink can join your calendar meetings in two ways:

Automatic Joining (Optional)

To have Groupthink automatically join meetings:

  1. Connect your calendar (Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar)
  2. Go to User Settings > Calendar
  3. Enable auto-join settings:
    • "Auto-join meetings I organize" - Bot joins meetings you host
    • "Auto-join meetings I attend" - Bot joins meetings you're invited to
  4. When enabled, Groupthink will automatically join meetings based on your settings

Note: You will still need to accept the Groupthink bot when it requests to join your meeting.

Manual Joining (Always Available)

Without auto-join enabled, you can still add Groupthink to any meeting:

  1. Click "New Meeting Notes" in the sidebar
  2. Select "Add Groupthink to an existing Meet, Zoom, or Teams meeting..."
  3. Paste your meeting URL
  4. Click "Add Groupthink"
  5. Accept the bot request when it joins your meeting

Tip: Manual joining gives you full control over which meetings Groupthink attends