Wave vs Zoom AI Companion
Zoom AI Companion is included with paid Zoom Workplace plans, and its My Notes note taker now works in Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and in-person conversations too. Wave is a standalone AI note taker that records all of those plus regular phone calls, from phones and watches, with one searchable archive and a free plan that isn't capped at three uses.
Windows
ChromeIf your organization runs on a paid Zoom account, Zoom’s AI features are a genuinely good deal: they are included at no additional cost on eligible paid plans, generate meeting summaries, let you ask questions mid-meeting, and span Zoom’s suite. In June 2026 Zoom also launched ZoomMate, an agentic add-on that builds on AI Companion.
The bigger change for note-taking is My Notes. Zoom says it works in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and other meeting platforms with no bot, and in in-person conversations from your phone. So the old objection (“it only works inside Zoom”) no longer holds. What remains is the pricing boundary, phone calls, and watches.
How they capture audio
Zoom AI Companion summarizes Zoom meetings in the Zoom client, and My Notes captures notes in third-party meetings and in person on desktop and mobile. On the free Workplace Basic plan, My Notes is limited to 3 uses a month and meeting summaries to 3 hosted meetings a month. Zoom lists call summaries on Zoom Phone, Zoom's business phone service; we found no way to record a regular call on your own mobile number, and there is no watch app.
Wave records five ways, and the notes all land in one archive:
- Calendar meeting bot. Auto-joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams meetings via your connected Google or Outlook calendar.
- No-bot desktop capture. The Wave desktop app for Mac and Windows records mic and system audio from any meeting app, no bot in the call.
- In person, on your phone or watch. Press record on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, or Wear OS and capture the room.
- Phone calls. The Phone Bridge records incoming and outgoing calls on iPhone and Android, both sides transcribed, on every plan (on Free, calls count toward the 30 minutes a month; Wave Pro is unlimited).
- Imports. Audio and video files, YouTube links, and podcasts get the same transcript and summary.
Pricing
Zoom’s core AI features are included with eligible paid Zoom Workplace plans. The ZoomMate add-on is $20 a user per month, or $16.67 billed yearly. Wave is free for 30 minutes a month whether or not you pay for Zoom; Pro is $80 a year on the web or $15 a month in the app stores, with unlimited recording.
Where each tool wins
Pick Zoom AI Companion if: your organization already pays for Zoom Workplace, most meetings happen there, and you want summaries and cross-platform notes with zero additional spend.
Pick Wave if: you are not on a paid Zoom plan, you need regular phone calls recorded, or you want to record from your wrist, and you want one speaker-labeled, searchable archive with AI summaries and action items for all of it. See all the ways to record with Wave.
The bottom line
Zoom’s AI is a strong bundled feature that has grown well beyond Zoom meetings. Wave is a standalone note taker that adds phone calls, watches, imports, and a free plan that doesn’t depend on a Zoom subscription. Comparing more tools? See the best Zoom AI Companion alternatives.
