Having just recently run a webinar whereby it was announced in the chat that an AI Bot had entered the meeting, it got me thinking about why do we feel so uneasy about them? Not least that it was a webinar about the data protection and privacy implications of the newly proposed Digital ID but because we were a room of privacy professionals being affected.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how we collaborate. From summarising meetings to generating follow-up actions, AI note-takers such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, and Microsoft Copilot promise efficiency and accuracy that human scribes can’t match. Yet as these tools become commonplace in boardrooms and brainstorming sessions, an important question keeps surfacing: are we giving up too much privacy for convenience?

Below, we explore why employees and organisations alike are uneasy about AI bots quietly joining their meetings.

1. Ambiguity Around Data Ownership

Who owns the meeting data once it’s recorded by an AI? The AI company? The User? Is the vendor providing the service? The individual participants?

The answer isn’t always clear. Many AI note-taking tools store transcriptions and audio on third-party servers, sometimes in different jurisdictions. This introduces risks around data residency, compliance, and control—especially when considering strict data protection laws such as GDPR or HIPAA.

2. Unclear Consent and Transparency

In many workplaces, AI bots are added to calls automatically. Participants are often not asked for consent but just told this is our privacy notice have at it, and some may not even realise the meeting is being recorded or transcribed until halfway through outside of the existing meeting recording software if they haven’t seen the chat box where it was announced.

This lack of control, processing conditions and, transparency is a serious concern. Data protection regulations emphasise having control over your data, meaning people should know what data is collected, how it’s used, and who has access to it. AI note-takers often blur these lines, particularly when recordings are shared across departments or stored indefinitely, crossing barriers around data retention and deletion.

3. Risk of Data Misuse or Breach

AI note-takers frequently capture highly sensitive information—patient case loads, financial updates, HR discussions, client strategies, or proprietary research. If this data were ever leaked, hacked, or misused, the consequences could be severe.

Even without malicious intent, AI models sometimes “learn” from user data unless explicitly restricted, raising fears that private corporate details could unintentionally influence other users’ AI outputs or become part of a broader training dataset.

4. The Feeling of Being Surveilled

When an AI note-taker joins a Zoom or Teams meeting, it’s usually announced as “AI Assistant has joined the call.” For many, that’s a red flag. Even if the bot is only recording and transcribing, its presence can make participants feel monitored, changing how openly they speak.

Employees may self-censor, worried that every offhand comment could be stored, analysed, or misinterpreted later. This sense of “being watched” undermines trust and spontaneity—two ingredients critical for creative problem-solving and candid discussion.

5. The Human Element: Trust and Ethics

Beyond legal compliance, there’s a deeper ethical issue. Conversations—especially internal ones—rely on psychological safety. People need to trust that what they say in confidence stays within the group. Replacing a human note-taker (bound by confidentiality) with a machine whose motives are opaque erodes that trust.

Until AI systems can provide clear guarantees of data minimisation, secure deletion, and ethical use, employees are right to be sceptical.

6. Balancing Efficiency and Privacy

None of this means AI note-takers should be banned outright. They can save hours of manual work, prevent miscommunication, and help teams focus on ideas rather than documentation. But their adoption must be thoughtful.

Here are a few best practices:

  • Obtain explicit consent before recording or transcribing meetings.
  • Limit access to transcripts and recordings to only those who need them.
  • Use secure, compliant platforms that clearly state their data retention and usage policies.
  • Educate teams about how AI assistants work and what data they collect.
  • Regularly audit AI tools for compliance and ethical standards

Final Thoughts

AI note-takers are powerful allies for productivity, but they also bring a new dimension of surveillance to the workplace. As organisations embrace them, they must balance the benefits of automation with the fundamental right to privacy. Members of staff must be instructed not to use any form of AI notes within their daily working day without prior authorisation.  There must be a DPIA done within

The future of AI collaboration won’t just depend on how smart these tools become—but on how responsibly we choose to use them.

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