Google releases a new local-first Granola competitor
Quick Answer
Google has launched Google AI Edge Foresight, a new offline AI note-taker competing with Granola, utilizing the EmbeddingGemma 2 model with 740 million parameters.
Quick Take
The Mac app allows users to capture meeting notes, upload documents, and interact with an AI assistant, all while functioning without an internet connection.
Key Points
- The app features a split-screen for shorthand and AI-generated notes.
- Users can upload various document formats to build a knowledge base.
- Optimized for Apple Silicon, it works completely offline.
- Real-time question answering is available based on uploaded data.
- The meeting note-taker market is becoming increasingly competitive.
DeepSignal Analysis
What happened
Google has introduced Google AI Edge Foresight, an offline AI note-taker designed to compete with Granola. This Mac application utilizes the EmbeddingGemma 2 model, which has 740 million parameters, to facilitate note-taking during meetings without requiring an internet connection.
Key evidence
- Google AI Edge Foresight operates offline and employs the EmbeddingGemma 2 model, which has 740 million parameters, to capture notes from various applications.
- The app features a split-screen view, allowing users to take shorthand notes on one side while generating AI-assisted notes on the other.
- Users can upload various document formats, including PDFs and Google Docs, to create a knowledge base that the app can reference for real-time answers.
Why it matters
The launch of Google AI Edge Foresight highlights Google's ongoing efforts to innovate in the competitive note-taking market. By providing an offline solution, Google addresses the needs of users who may not always have internet access. This move could also showcase the capabilities of Google's Gemma series of models, potentially paving the way for future consumer applications that integrate cloud functionalities.
📖 Reader Mode
~2 min readEarlier in April, Google released an AI-powered dictation tool that worked with local models. Now, the same team has released a new competitor to the AI note-taker Granola and others, which it calls Google AI Edge Foresight.
The Mac app can work completely offline, utilizing the on-device EmbeddingGemma 2 model, with 740 million parameters, to capture meeting notes across apps, including those from in-person meetings.
The app is similar to the popular AI note-taker Granola because it has a split-screen view with the ability to write shorthand notes on one side and AI-generated notes on the other side.
Like Granola, it also lets you take manual notes while transcribing the meeting. Plus, in Google’s app, you can view the transcript of the meeting or chat with the Gemma 4-powered assistant to get answers.
In addition, users can upload documents including PDFs, Google Docs, Microsoft Office formats, plain text, Markdown, and web bookmarks to build a knowledge base. Using your meeting notes and documents, the app can answer questions in real time if a point related to data in the knowledge base comes up.
On its FAQ page, the company specified that Google AI Edge Foresight is optimized for Apple Silicon and can completely work offline. This means you can work with your meeting notes when you are traveling or in a place without an internet connection.
While Google’s earlier dictation app was an experimental one that didn’t make it to mainstream usage, its new meeting note-taker could be just to showcase the ability of its Gemma series of offline models.
However, Google could very well release a consumer version of meeting note-taker that works across video calling apps through its Gemini apps while relying on its cloud models.
The meeting note-taker space is competitive and crowded. But that hasn’t stopped companies from creating their own tools. In the last few months, dictation company Wispr and scheduling company Calendly released their own note-takers. Meanwhile, productivity startup Superhuman (formerly Grammarly) acquired YC-backed note-taker Fathom last month.
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Ivan covers global consumer tech developments at TechCrunch. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web.
You can contact or verify outreach from Ivan by emailing im@ivanmehta.com or via encrypted message at ivan.42 on Signal.
— Originally published at techcrunch.com
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