Earlier this year, Google introduced an AI-powered dictation tool designed to run using local models. Now, the same team has launched a new AI meeting note-taker called Google AI Edge Foresight, positioning it as a competitor to tools such as Granola.

 

The Mac app is designed to work completely offline, using Google’s EmbeddingGemma 2 model with 740 million parameters to capture and organize meeting notes. It can be used for virtual meetings as well as in-person conversations.

 

The interface is similar to Granola, featuring a split-screen layout where users can write shorthand notes on one side while AI-generated notes appear on the other.

 

Users can also take their own notes while the meeting is being transcribed. Afterward, they can review the full transcript or interact with an AI assistant to ask questions about the discussion.

 

The app also allows users to upload documents—including PDFs, Google Docs, Microsoft Office files, plain text, Markdown files, and web bookmarks—to create a personal knowledge base.

 

That knowledge base can then be combined with meeting notes. If a relevant topic comes up during a conversation, users can ask questions and receive answers based on the information stored in their documents and previous meeting notes.

 

According to Google’s FAQ, AI Edge Foresight is optimized for Apple Silicon and can operate entirely offline. This could make it particularly useful for people working while traveling or in locations with limited or no internet connectivity.

 

Google’s earlier local dictation experiment did not gain widespread adoption, so AI Edge Foresight may also serve as a showcase for what the company’s Gemma family of on-device models can accomplish.

 

However, Google could eventually bring a consumer-focused version of the technology to its Gemini ecosystem, potentially enabling meeting notes across popular video-calling platforms while using cloud-based AI models.

 

The AI meeting note-taking market is already highly competitive. Several companies have recently introduced their own solutions, including dictation startup Wispr and scheduling platform Calendly. Productivity company Superhuman, formerly Grammarly, has also expanded into the space through its acquisition of YC-backed meeting note-taking startup Fathom.

 

With Google now experimenting with a local-first approach, the competition is increasingly shifting toward private, offline AI assistants that can understand meetings and personal knowledge without constantly sending data to the cloud.