Kimiko
Kimiko is a desktop app for Apple silicon Macs and 64-bit Windows 11 PCs. It runs beside Teams and records your microphone and the call audio playing on your computer. No bot joins the meeting.
Kimiko works separately from Teams’ own recording and transcription. It doesn’t start them, and nothing in Teams tells the others it’s running, so tell people you’re recording. With the recommended local models, Kimiko transcribes and summarizes on your computer by default. Setup downloads, updates and license checks still use the internet. See what stays on your computer.
Before the call: set up Kimiko and allow audio access
Download Kimiko, open it and follow the short setup. Choose Allow for microphone access, and on a Mac for system audio too. Let the speech model download, and choose Add beside Built-in AI for local summaries, tasks and chat.
On a Mac
A Teams call needs two permissions:
- Microphone hears your voice.
- System audio hears everyone else on the call.
If you declined a prompt, open Settings → Permissions in Kimiko and choose Open Settings on that row. Each row names the macOS switch to turn on. Use Test on the System audio row while something plays.
On Windows
Allow microphone access when setup asks. If it’s blocked, Settings → Permissions names the Windows switch that’s off, such as “Let desktop apps access your microphone”. Capturing the call audio needs no separate permission on Windows.
Pick your microphone
Open Settings → Transcription → Input device and choose the mic you use for Teams. Recheck it after plugging in a headset, then make a short test recording. The permissions guide has more help.
Start recording alongside Teams
Join your Teams meeting as usual. When Teams starts using your microphone, Kimiko can notice and show a Meeting detected prompt. Choose Start. Kimiko never listens to detect a meeting. It only spots calls while it’s running, so consider Start Kimiko at login in Settings → General.
The arrow beside Start offers Always record for Teams, or Ignore. Change it later under App rules in Settings → Detection. An always-record rule starts on its own, with 10 seconds to undo.
If no prompt appears, open Kimiko and choose Record a meeting note. Either way, check that both sides show up in the transcript: your lines appear as You, and the other side as speaker labels or Them.
When Kimiko knows the call app, it captures that app alone. Microsoft Teams on Windows is the exception: per-app capture isn’t possible there, so Kimiko records everything playing through your speakers or headset. Mute other sound you don’t want transcribed, such as a video in another window.
Tell people you’re recording
Say it at the start, or paste Kimiko’s ready-made line into the Teams chat:
Quick note before we start: I’m recording this call for my own notes. Let me know if you’d rather I didn’t.
Copy it with the megaphone button (Copy consent announcement) on the Meeting detected prompt, or press ⌘⇧1 on a Mac or Ctrl+Shift+1 on Windows. Edit the wording in Settings → Privacy & data → Consent. For a reminder every time, turn on the megaphone beside Teams in Settings → Detection. Consent rules for recording vary by place, so follow local law and your organization’s policy.
Write your own notes as you go
Type in the meeting note while the transcript fills in the conversation. Your notes are timestamped, so you can find the moment later.
To keep Teams in front, press ⌘⇧K on a Mac or Ctrl+Shift+K on Windows (Quick notes). A small notes window opens, and what you type attaches to the meeting, timestamped while you record. It also works just after, until your next recording. Change the keys in Settings → General → Keyboard shortcuts.
Live summaries are on by default, every 5 minutes; change or turn them off in Settings → Transcription → Meetings. They fill the Live Summaries tab as the meeting goes on, so your AI model needs to be ready.
Kimiko’s downloaded speaker model can separate up to eight remote voices, and you can name them after the call.
Use the right mute: Teams or Kimiko
Teams and Kimiko each have their own mute. Teams’ mute decides what people on the call hear. Kimiko’s microphone button decides what Kimiko records from your mic.
- Muted in Teams only: the call can’t hear you, but Kimiko can still record your voice.
- Muted in Kimiko only: Kimiko stops recording your mic and keeps recording the call audio. People in Teams still hear you.
- Muted in both: a side conversation stays off the call and out of your transcript.
- Paused in Kimiko: Kimiko records neither your mic nor the call audio until you choose Resume. The break won’t appear in the transcript.
To mute in Kimiko, click the microphone button beside the recording controls, or the microphone icon next to You in the transcript. Muted appears beside You. Click either button again to unmute.
Stop the recording and review
Choose Stop when the meeting ends. If you started from the Meeting detected prompt, Kimiko also stops when Teams releases your microphone, or after the quiet period set in Stop after silence under Settings → Detection. Recordings you start yourself run until you stop them.
Let processing finish, then read the summary alongside the transcript. Check names, numbers, decisions and commitments before you share anything. Rename speaker labels when you know who’s who. With Remember this voice checked (the default), Kimiko can suggest that name in later meetings; remembering voices is experimental and needs a downloaded voice model.
Choose Keep for the suggested tasks you want to track and Dismiss for the rest. Then add the meeting to a project, ask a follow-up question, or choose Export… from the note menu to save the summary, notes or transcript as PDF, Word or Markdown. See the tasks guide and export guide.
If something is missing
| What you notice | What to check |
|---|---|
| Your voice is missing | Whether You shows Muted, then microphone access and Settings → Transcription → Input device |
| Other people are missing | That Teams plays through this computer. On a Mac, System audio in Settings → Permissions, and Test between recordings |
| Other sounds in the transcript | On Windows, Kimiko records your speaker or headset output during Teams calls. Mute other apps |
| The same words appear twice | Use headphones, and check Echo cancellation in Settings → Transcription |
| No Meeting detected prompt | That Kimiko is running, and Settings → Detection. Meanwhile, start with Record a meeting note |
More fixes are in the troubleshooting guide.
Questions
Does Kimiko use Teams’ built-in recording or transcription?
No. Kimiko records the audio on your computer and writes its own transcript, summary and suggested tasks. It doesn’t start Teams’ recording or transcription, and it doesn’t need them.
Will other people see a bot in the meeting?
No. Nothing joins the call or appears in the participant list. Kimiko listens through your own microphone and computer audio, so it’s up to you to tell people you’re recording.
Do I need to connect Outlook or my Microsoft account?
No. Recording a Teams call needs only audio access. Connecting Microsoft Outlook in Settings → Connections is optional: it lists upcoming meetings with one-tap Record and labels your notes with guest names from invites. It uses the internet, so it’s off in local-only mode.
Does it work with Teams in a web browser?
Yes. Kimiko can notice calls in a browser too, and asks before it records. For an always-record rule to start on its own on recognized meeting tabs, turn on Check browser window titles in Settings → Detection; on a Mac, this needs Screen Recording access.
Can I keep the audio from the call?
Not by default: Kimiko transcribes the audio without saving it to disk. To keep it, choose a period in Settings → Transcription → Keep session audio before the meeting. The audio is then kept encrypted on your computer and deleted when the period ends.
Kimiko is free to try, no credit card needed, so download it before your next Teams call.
Download for Windows