Google’s new meeting assistant can capture microphone and system audio, expand shorthand notes and search private files without sending that work to cloud servers, according to its AI Edge Foresight announcement. The downloadable Mac app combines those capabilities in a local-first workflow powered by EmbeddingGemma 2 and Gemma 4.
Introduced on October 6, 2026, Foresight is an experimental AI Edge application. It is a separate Mac release showcasing on-device models, not an announcement that these features are broadly available in Gemini.
For privacy-conscious users, the appeal is practical: Google says meeting information stays on the device, the AI workflow can operate offline, and there are no cloud subscription costs. The more consequential feature is how Foresight connects the current conversation with the notes and documents a user already has.
Meeting Capture Works Across Platforms
Foresight captures audio through the Mac’s microphone and system audio, without relying on a particular meeting service. Google says this lets it work across meeting platforms, while microphone capture also makes it relevant to in-person conversations.
With recording handled at the computer level, users aren’t limited to taking notes inside one video-calling product. Their meeting history can become searchable alongside other material in Foresight.
Google’s “any meeting platform” language is a vendor claim, however, not evidence that every combination of app, audio configuration and Mac hardware has been independently tested. Anyone considering Foresight for important meetings should check capture behavior with their own setup before relying on it.
The assistant’s processing can work offline; an internet-based meeting still needs its network connection. Local operation is useful for in-person discussions and for working with captured information afterward, including when connectivity is unavailable. It doesn’t make a remote call itself an offline activity.
Google describes Foresight as handling note-taking, indexing and recall locally. Keeping all three stages on the Mac separates it from a workflow that captures audio locally but uploads it for AI processing.
Shorthand Gives Users a Way to Direct the Notes
Users can write short notes during a meeting, and Foresight enriches that shorthand with details retrieved from the ongoing conversation.
TechCrunch’s reporting describes a split-screen interface with manual shorthand on one side and AI-generated notes on the other. Users can also view the meeting transcript. The publication compares this arrangement with Granola, which similarly combines manual notes with AI assistance.
