What are AI Assistant Bots?

AI assistant bots are software applications designed to join online meetings and automatically transcribe the conversation. Popular examples include otter.ai, read.ai, fireflies.ai, meetrecord.com, sembly.ai, hal.ai, and fellow.app. These bots can be beneficial for capturing detailed meeting notes, but they can also join meetings uninvited, potentially recording sensitive information without permission. 

Learn more about existing AI assistant apps that have been vetted and approved for use. 

What is happening? 

UW-Madison Zoom hosts and attendees are noticing an increase in uninvited third-party AI assistant bots discreetly joining their meetings. This occurs when a host or attendee integrates a third-party AI assistant bot with their Microsoft 365 account by signing up for an account with apps such as otter.ai, read.ai, fellow.app, fireflies.ai. 

Once the AI assistant bot is given permission to read the account’s calendar, the bot will attempt to auto-join every virtual meeting (including MS Teams and Webex) the individual is invited to. This applies to both UW-Madison and external hosts/attendees. 

Most hosts are unaware if an attendee integrated an AI assistant bot with their account and may accidentally allow the bot to join their meeting. The bot will attempt to record the meeting, create a transcript, and more.  Tips on how to mitigate these risks are listed below. 

Reduce the risk of AI assistant bots from joining your meetings

Hosts

You can reduce the risk of unauthorized AI assistant bots joining your UW-Madison Zoom meetings by using the following meeting settings:

• Use the Waiting Room feature.
• Remove unapproved guests using in-meeting host controls.
• Require authentication to join your meeting or webinar.
• View best practices to secure your meetings. 
• Manage third-party AI assistant bots. 
• Block users in specific domains from joining meetings and webinars*
  • *As of February 2025, this account-wide setting is not consistently blocking recently configured third-party AI assistant bots. Please follow the tips above for the time being. 

Hosts/Attendees

Learn how to view and remove third-party app integrations from your UW-Madison Zoom account here.

How to spot AI assistant bots

Identifying AI assistant bots in your Zoom meetings can be challenging, but there are a few signs to look out for:

• Unrecognized Participants: Bots often join meetings as participants with names such as “Name Notetaker (Guest). The following are additional examples:
  • otter.ai: Bucky’s Notetaker (Otter.ai)
  • fireflies.ai: Fireflies.ai Notetaker Bucky (Guest)
  • sembly.ai: Bucky Sembly Agent
  • fellow.app: Bucky’s Fellow Note Taker
• Behavior: Unlike human participants, bots generally do not interact or respond to questions. They may remain silent throughout the meeting. 
• Recording Indicators: Some bots might display recording indicators or notifications that they are transcribing the meeting. 

Support

Limited support is available. Due to the significant number of available AI assistant bot apps and limited admin tools to sustainably block bots from joining UW-Madison Zoom meetings, we recommend sharing feedback directly with Zoom about your experience and report the AI bot, if needed.