Can meeting participants see AI bots?

Yes. When Otter, Fireflies, or similar tools join a Zoom or Teams call, they appear as named participants in the meeting room.

Is SideClue visible to other meeting participants?

No. SideClue runs as a private overlay on your Windows desktop. It does not join the meeting and is not visible to other attendees.

Does SideClue record calls to the cloud?

No. SideClue processes audio locally for real-time coaching. It is not designed as a cloud recording or meeting archive tool.

Why do companies block meeting bots?

Compliance, customer trust, and data residency policies often restrict third-party recording bots on external-facing calls.

Meeting Bot Privacy: Why SideClue Never Joins Your Call

Meeting bot privacy is a growing concern on sales and customer-facing calls. When an AI notetaker joins your Zoom room as "Fireflies.ai Notetaker" or "Otter.ai," everyone in the meeting sees it — and many organizations have policies against exactly that.

What meeting bots actually do

Most AI notetakers work by joining your meeting as a participant:

They appear in the Zoom, Teams, or Meet participant list
They record audio (and sometimes video) to the cloud
They process the recording after the call for transcripts and summaries

This model works well for internal meetings and documentation. On external revenue calls, it creates friction:

Prospects may ask why a bot is recording
Legal and compliance teams may block third-party bots on customer calls
The bot's presence signals "this call is being recorded" before you have context to explain why

SideClue's approach: private desktop overlay

SideClue never joins your meeting. It is a Windows desktop application that:

Captures audio at the operating system level (mic + system audio)
Transcribes and analyzes the conversation in real time
Displays coaching cards in a private overlay only you can see

Other participants do not see SideClue in the participant list. They do not receive a recording notification from SideClue. The coaching layer is between you and your screen.

Privacy comparison: bot vs bot-free

| | Meeting bot (Otter, Fireflies) | SideClue (desktop overlay) | |---|---|---| | Visible in participant list | Yes | No | | Cloud recording | Yes | No full call archive | | Works on external sales calls | Often blocked | Designed for it | | Output | Post-call transcript | Live coaching cards | | Platform | Web / integrations | Windows desktop |

When bot-free matters most

Bot-free coaching is especially important when:

Prospect trust is fragile — early-stage discovery or enterprise deals where recording signals change the dynamic
Compliance restricts bots — financial services, healthcare, or government-adjacent sales
You need live help, not a recording — the value is what to say next, not a transcript afterward

SideClue is not a stealth recording tool. It is a performance tool for the person on the call. The privacy model matches that purpose: help the rep, not document the room.

Alternatives without bots

If you are evaluating bot-free options, compare based on output:

Live coaching → SideClue
Bot-free notes → Granola (comparison)
Post-call transcription with bot → Otter (comparison)

Try it on your next call

Download SideClue for Windows. Start a session before your call, join Zoom or Teams normally, and see coaching cards when something important happens — with no bot in the room.