Google’s new Mac app transcribes meetings completely offline

If you want AI to take your meeting notes but your company's privacy policy bans uploading sensitive audio to the cloud, Google has a new workaround.

Google just released Google AI Edge Foresight, an experimental note-taking app that transcribes meetings entirely offline. First reported by TechCrunch, the free app runs on Google's on-device EmbeddingGemma 2 model and is currently optimized for Macs with Apple Silicon.

Notes that never touch the cloud

Similar to popular tools like Granola and Wispr Flow, Foresight transcribes your conversations and lets you jot down shorthand bullet points, which it then polishes into structured notes using the transcript.

It also comes with a built-in assistant that can answer questions about the meeting or reference other local files stored on your Mac. Google explicitly noted that your audio, files, and notes never leave your computer.

Why it matters

For anyone dealing with confidential conversations, legal reviews, or sensitive client calls, an entirely offline AI notetaker solves the biggest roadblock holding people back from using meeting tools. Mac users get a capable, free alternative to paid cloud transcription services with zero privacy risk.

From an industry view, it shows how on-device models are getting competent enough to disrupt lightweight SaaS startups. By bringing EmbeddingGemma 2 directly to Apple Silicon, Google is showing that not every AI utility needs an expensive API backend. We think it is a smart play on Google's part to address enterprise privacy fears, though its reach is currently limited by being Mac-only.