How do I disable AI notetakers from joining our meetings?
To disable AI notetakers like Otter, Fireflies, or Read.ai, block them at several levels: in a live meeting, remove the bot or type its stop command in chat; as a host, use a waiting room and admit each guest yourself; and as an admin, restrict external apps and bots in your Zoom, Meet, or Teams console.
Why — the first-principles explanation
AI notetakers get into meetings one of two ways: someone on your team invited one by connecting their calendar, or an external guest brought their own bot into your call. Disabling them means closing both doors, and each door has a different lock.
The internal door is closed with app and calendar controls. If a coworker's Otter or Fireflies keeps auto-joining, they (or an admin) switch the notetaker to manual-join or disconnect the calendar, and an admin can disable those apps account-wide in the platform's marketplace or admin console. The external door is closed with meeting-entry controls: waiting rooms, 'only authenticated users can join,' and requiring the host to admit each participant. A notetaker bot appears as a participant, so if nothing joins without host approval, unknown bots get stopped at the gate.
The strongest approach is layered: entry controls stop stranger bots, admin policies stop internal ones, and in-meeting removal handles anything that slips through. Because these bots are visible participants, you always retain the manual option, typing the stop command or ejecting the participant, as a last line of defense.
An example that makes it click
Think of your meeting like a private dinner. A gatecrasher (an outside AI bot) is kept out by a doorman who only lets in people on the guest list, that's the waiting room and host approval. A family member who keeps inviting a robot helper (a coworker's notetaker) is handled by a house rule, that's the admin setting. And if a bot somehow ends up at the table anyway, you can still ask it to leave. Lock all three, and no uninvited note-taker gets in.
How to do it
- In a live meeting: remove the notetaker as a participant, or type its stop command (e.g., 'stop otter') in the chat.
- As host: turn on the waiting room and require the host to admit each participant before they join.
- Restrict entry to authenticated or internal users so anonymous bots can't join automatically.
- As a Zoom admin: sign in at marketplace.zoom.us and disable notetaker apps under Admin App Management.
- In Google Workspace or Microsoft Teams admin: restrict third-party apps and external bots from meetings.
- Tell staff to set their own notetakers (Otter, Fireflies, Read.ai) to manual-join or disconnect calendars.
Key facts
- AI notetakers enter either via a team member's calendar connection or as an external guest's bot.
- Waiting rooms plus host-admits-each-participant stops unknown bots from auto-joining.
- Zoom admins can disable specific notetaker apps account-wide in the Zoom App Marketplace.
- Any participant can remove Otter mid-meeting by typing 'stop otter' in the chat.
- Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams admins can restrict third-party apps and external bots in meetings.
Live meeting transcription, notes, and summaries.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.▶ The 60-second explainer (script)
How do you keep AI notetakers, Otter, Fireflies, Read.ai, out of your meetings? Think of it as locking three doors. Door one, right now in the meeting: any bot shows up as a participant, so you can remove it, or just type its stop command, like 'stop otter,' in the chat. Door two, as the host: turn on the waiting room and require the host to admit each person. If nothing joins without your approval, unknown bots get stopped at the gate, and restrict entry to authenticated users too. Door three, as an admin: in the Zoom App Marketplace you can disable specific notetaker apps for the whole company, and Google Workspace and Teams admins can block external apps and bots. Finally, tell your team to set their own notetakers to join only meetings they manually pick. Lock all three doors and uninvited note-takers stay out.
What authoritative sources say
People also ask
Can I block all AI bots at once?
The closest single control is meeting entry: use a waiting room and admit each participant manually, plus limit to authenticated users, so no unknown bot joins automatically.
How do I stop a coworker's notetaker from joining?
Ask them to set it to manual-join or disconnect their calendar, or have an admin disable that notetaker app account-wide in the platform's marketplace.
Does removing a bot delete what it already captured?
No. Removing it stops further recording, but anything captured before removal stays in that tool's owner's account until they delete it.
Is there a quick in-meeting fix?
Yes. Remove the bot as a participant, or type its stop phrase in chat, for Otter that's 'stop otter,' which any attendee can send.