Does the notetaker join if I am not in the meeting?

Yes. The TrackHeros notetaker joins Google Meet and Microsoft Teams meetings whether or not you are in them. It takes the link from the invitation, joins about two minutes before the start under the name you set for the client, records the call, and files the notes under that client as usual. This answer is for TrackHeros users who want notes from a meeting they cannot attend, or who assumed the bot would wait for them. How the bot behaves on each platform is on the Google Meet notetaker and Microsoft Teams notetaker pages.

Does the notetaker need me in the call?

No. It joins from the meeting link as its own participant and does not use your account or your host rights. You can be in another meeting, on a plane, or asleep in another time zone; the transcript, summary and action items appear on the meeting's page afterwards, filed under the client the meeting belongs to.

What can stop it joining when I'm not there?

Five things, and only one of them is about you being absent: who lets it in.

What stops it	What you see or do
Auto-join is off for the meeting, series or account	The meeting page says "The bot will not join this meeting"; switch it back on
The meeting is not filed under a client	A calendar meeting with no client gets no bot by default; file it first
Another TrackHeros bot is already in that call	"Already covered": one bot is enough
The meeting only lets in signed-in accounts, or only the host's organisation	The bot cannot join; the host would have to change the meeting's settings
Nobody admits it	It waits, gives up, and the meeting reads "Not let in", with "Try again"

One more rule applies whether you attend or not: a meeting that started more than ten minutes ago is not chased. What a refused or unadmitted bot looks like is in what if nobody admits the notetaker.

Who lets it in if I'm not there?

Whoever the meeting's settings allow, and if that was going to be you, nobody. This matters most when you are the host:

• Google Meet. If the meeting is Trusted, the bot knocks and a host or co-host has to admit it (or, with Host management off, anyone from your organisation). A Restricted meeting, or one where outsiders are not allowed to ask to join, refuses it outright. With "Host must join before anyone else" on, it waits until a host arrives. Make someone a co-host, or, if you are comfortable with anyone holding the link walking in, set the meeting's access to Open for that call.
• Microsoft Teams. The bot waits in the lobby unless the meeting lets it bypass, and by default an anonymous participant waits until someone signed in has joined. Teams' bot detection, on by default, keeps a detected bot in the lobby until an organiser or presenter admits it. Add a co-organiser who will be there.

If a client hosts and you are absent, nothing changes except that you cannot nudge them. Tell the host in advance that the notetaker will knock and ask them to admit it. The settings and where to click are in notetaker stuck in the lobby.

What should I tell the people in the call?

That the notetaker is coming and you are not, before the meeting. A bot arriving on its own with no one to explain it is the quickest way to get it removed. A short message does it:

I can't make Thursday's call, but my notetaker will join and record it so I can catch up. It will appear as "Tom's Notetaker". If anyone would rather it didn't, remove it and I'll get notes from Priya instead.

You can also set a welcome message per client, up to 500 characters with no emoji, which the bot posts in the meeting chat when it joins. Consent rules for recording differ by country and by contract, so check yours; the wider question of joining meetings you do not host is covered in can a notetaker join a meeting you don't host.

Can I send it to a meeting that isn't on my calendar?

Yes. Use Send to meeting in the header, paste the Google Meet or Teams link or the whole invitation, choose a client under "Client (optional)", and press "Send bot". It goes straight away, so do it when the meeting is about to start. Without a client, the meeting is filed under "No client" and the bot is still sent.