How to Use Granola 2 to Take Better Meeting Notes

Granola 2 is a note-taking app that sits beside your meetings, transcribes them, and combines its own summary with whatever you type. The point is that your notes stay yours while the AI fills the gaps.

What is Granola 2?

Granola 2 is the 2026 version of Granola, an AI meeting-notes tool for macOS and Windows. It captures system audio and your microphone, transcribes the call, and generates a summary with action items. Unlike bots that join the meeting, Granola runs locally on your machine — no bot appears in the participant list. Free tier includes a limited number of meetings; paid plans start around $18 per month.

How do you set it up?

1. Install Granola 2 and grant microphone plus system-audio permissions.
2. Optionally connect your calendar so meetings appear automatically.
3. Start a note before the call begins.
4. Type rough notes as you listen — the app enhances, it does not replace you.
5. Review the generated summary after the call and copy actions out.

Why type notes if it transcribes everything?

Because the AI summary is generic and your scribbles are not. Granola 2 merges the two, so a line like “pricing objection — revisit tiering” becomes part of the structured summary while the transcript only has the raw words. The people who get value from it are the ones who type a little and let the model do the formatting.

How accurate is the transcription?

Strong on clear audio in a quiet room. Accuracy drops with heavy accents, crosstalk, or a noisy café, and it struggles with dense jargon unless you add terms to its dictionary. Speaker labels are good but not flawless when voices are similar. Always skim the transcript for names and numbers before you rely on it.

Is it private enough for work calls?

Granola processes audio on-device for transcription and stores notes locally, which is a big advantage over bot-based tools that route everything through a server. Check the current privacy terms for what syncs to the cloud, and confirm your company allows recording before you hit start — consent rules vary by region.

Where does it fall short?

It cannot join the room to screen-share or present, so it is a companion, not a participant. Very long calls produce long transcripts you still have to scan. And the best summaries come from meetings where you typed something — a recorded call you never annotate yields a bland recap. Used that way, Granola 2 saves the tedious formatting without taking the thinking away.

Quick Summary

• Granola 2 transcribes meetings locally and merges AI summaries with your notes.
• No bot joins the call; it runs on your machine.
• Free tier is limited; paid plans start near $18/month.
• Transcription is strong on clear audio, weaker with accents and crosstalk.
• Type rough notes to get much better summaries.