💡 An AI Tool That Actually Impressed Me (Issue 161)
Are you looking for a more intelligent meeting notes service?
I recently discovered a pretty cool AI tool called Granola. They describe the product as “The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings. Granola takes your raw meeting notes and makes them awesome.”
I have been critical of the AI bubble. Most of the stuff I’m seeing is kind of silly or useless. You push too hard, and the AI tool lets you down or breaks. Granola, however, seems to be the real deal.
I set it up to record audio from my meetings last week. Granola transcribes your device’s audio directly, so no meeting bots join your call. You can also take additional notes manually in the app during the meeting (they provide desktop and mobile applications). The cool thing was that I could focus 100% on the conversation without the distraction of trying to take comprehensive notes during the meeting.
When the meetings ended, Granola generated notes and a structured summary in a nice outline. They also provide other customizable note templates. This was not a direct transcription, unlike some other tools, which do so to varying degrees of success. The output was way more useful!
Features in the free Basic version
AI meeting notes
See limited meeting history
AI chat within and across meetings
Shared folders for collaboration
Customized note templates
Multi-language support
For $14/month, you get everything in Basic plus
Unlimited meeting notes and history
Access to advanced AI thinking models
Advanced integrations with Attio, Notion, Slack, Hubspot, Affinity, and Zapier
Centralized billing & user management
Granola also has an interesting set of tuned AI prompts they call Recipes. It combines your work context (e.g., calendar meetings, notes from recorded meetings) with human expertise (e.g., yours, or that of a notable expert in a specific field).
For example, they have a Recipe created by Lenny Rachitsky that guides you to fill out his PRD template for a feature of your choice. Lenny is a prominent tech writer, investor, and former product leader from Airbnb and Uber, known for his popular Substack newsletter, Lenny’s Newsletter, which offers practical advice on product management, growth, and career development.
I created my own Recipe to generate a follow-up email after I finish the initial Zoom meeting with a potential new client. It leverages data gathered during the meeting, as well as information about my coaching style and approach to working with people. It shows initial promise, but I need to keep tuning it to get it just right.
I also used a Recipe to analyze my calendar and recent meetings. It then provided some helpful advice on how to network with potential new clients, automate more tasks, and create additional templates, among other suggestions. It wasn’t perfect, as it didn’t include all the context of my interactions, tools, and documents. But it provided some cool nuggets of ideas that I want to test!
You can try Granola for free and see what you think! Let me know how it works for you.
➡️ Would you like to brainstorm some ideas with me to optimize your small business? You can schedule a complimentary call.
Larry Cornett is a business coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! If you’re interested in joining my free Invincible Solopreneurs community, please complete this application form, and we’ll get back to you. Thanks!
I know some people would like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee. I get it! So, I set up a ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee to let folks contribute without an ongoing financial commitment. I’m a solopreneur, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your support!
aks. Granola, however, seems to be the real deal.
I set it up to record audio from my meetings last week. Granola transcribes your device’s audio directly, so no meeting bots join your call. You can also take additional notes manually in the app during the meeting (they provide desktop and mobile applications). The cool thing was that I could focus 100% on the conversation without the distraction of trying to take comprehensive notes during the meeting.
When the meetings ended, Granola generated notes and a structured summary in a nice outline. They also provide other customizable note templates. This was not a direct transcription, unlike some other tools, which do so to varying degrees of success. The output was way more useful!
Features in the free Basic version
AI meeting notes
See limited meeting history
AI chat within and across meetings
Shared folders for collaboration
Customized note templates
Multi-language support
For $14/month, you get everything in Basic plus
Unlimited meeting notes and history
Access to advanced AI thinking models
Advanced integrations with Attio, Notion, Slack, Hubspot, Affinity, and Zapier
Centralized billing & user management
Granola also has an interesting set of tuned AI prompts they call Recipes. It combines your work context (e.g., calendar meetings, notes from recorded meetings) with human expertise (e.g., yours, or that of a notable expert in a specific field).
For example, they have a Recipe created by Lenny Rachitsky that guides you to fill out his PRD template for a feature of your choice. Lenny is a prominent tech writer, investor, and former product leader from Airbnb and Uber, known for his popular Substack newsletter, Lenny’s Newsletter, which offers practical advice on product management, growth, and career development.
I created my own Recipe to generate a follow-up email after I finish the initial Zoom meeting with a potential new client. It leverages data gathered during the meeting, as well as information about my coaching style and approach to working with people. It shows initial promise, but I need to keep tuning it to get it just right.
I also used a Recipe to analyze my calendar and recent meetings. It then provided some helpful advice on how to network with potential new clients, automate more tasks, and create additional templates, among other suggestions. It wasn’t perfect, as it didn’t include all the context of my interactions, tools, and documents. But it provided some cool nuggets of ideas that I want to test!
You can try Granola for free and see what you think! Let me know how it works for you.
➡️ Would you like to brainstorm some ideas with me to optimize your small business? You can schedule a complimentary call.
Larry Cornett is a business coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! If you’re interested in joining my free Invincible Solopreneurs community, please complete this application form, and we’ll get back to you. Thanks!
I know some people would like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee. I get it! So, I set up a ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee to let folks contribute without an ongoing financial commitment. I’m a solopreneur, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your support!