Direct answer
What is Grain?
Grain is an AI meeting recorder and conversation intelligence platform that captures calls with or without meeting bots, transcribes dialogue in over 130 languages, and syncs summaries to CRMs and AI tools.
Grain is an AI notetaker and conversation intelligence platform designed to capture and process meetings across video conferencing tools and desktop audio. It offers dual capture modes: desktop-based bot-less audio transcription for subtle note capture, and bot-based video recording when attendees want full video playback or need coverage for calls they cannot attend. Once a call finishes, Grain generates automated transcripts, structured meeting recaps, action items, and shareable video clips. Transcripts support over 130 languages and can be exported as structured Markdown directly into LLMs such as Claude and ChatGPT, or queried programmatically through Grain's Model Context Protocol (MCP) server and REST API. For sales and revenue teams, Grain automatically maps call takeaways and fields into records inside Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive. Workspaces can be structured into open or private teams with customized auto-record and auto-share rules. Billing operates on a hybrid model where organizations only pay for members who record, upload, or import calls, while colleagues can join as free viewer seats to access notes, transcripts, and video clips.
Grain differentiates itself by offering bot-less desktop audio capture alongside standard meeting bots, combined with native agent export workflows including clean Markdown downloads and an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT.
Product capabilities
Key features
Dual Capture (Bot-less & Bot Recording)
Captures computer audio locally without sending a visible bot to the meeting, or deploys a bot to capture video recordings even if you cannot attend.
Multilingual Transcription & Markdown Export
Transcribes calls in over 130 languages and formats transcripts into clean, participant-enriched Markdown for direct export into Claude and ChatGPT.
MCP Server & Developer API
Exposes an MCP server and API allowing custom AI agents to query cross-meeting libraries, search call histories, and extract citations.
CRM Synchronization
Automatically pushes structured meeting summaries, action items, and custom properties to deals and contacts in Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.
Cross-Meeting AI Search
Lets team members ask natural-language questions across the entire workspace meeting repository and receive answers with timestamped citations.
Video Highlights & Clip Sharing
Enables users to trim, tag, and bundle key meeting moments into shareable video snippets for internal teammates and external clients.
Workflow
How Grain works
- Connect your Google Workspace or Microsoft O365 calendar to configure recording rules for internal and external calls.
- Capture calls using Grain's desktop audio recorder without inviting a bot, or let the Grain bot join video meetings across Zoom, Meet, Teams, or Webex.
- Receive AI-generated summaries, transcripts, action items, and participant insights automatically after the meeting.
- Sync meeting summaries and structured fields directly to CRM deals in HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive.
- Export enriched transcripts to Claude and ChatGPT via clean Markdown downloads or query them live via Grain's MCP server and API.
Practical fit
Who should use Grain?
Sales Call Intelligence & CRM Hygiene
Record prospect discovery and demo calls, summarize pain points automatically, and sync notes to HubSpot or Salesforce deal stages without manual data entry.
User Experience & Customer Research
Capture user interviews, tag key customer feedback, and compile video clip reels of customer pain points to share directly with product development teams.
Post-Meeting AI Agent Execution
Export enriched meeting transcripts through Grain's MCP server into Claude or ChatGPT to draft follow-up scopes, emails, and ticket assignments.
Customer Success Hand-offs
Share call recordings, transcripts, and action items across team channels to transition closed accounts from sales representatives to onboarding specialists.
Editorial assessment
Pros and limitations
Where it is strong
- Bot-less capture option avoids awkward bot presence in sensitive client conversations.
- Free viewer seats let entire organizations view and search calls without paying for every user.
- Native MCP server and Markdown exports streamline integrations with Claude and ChatGPT.
- Automatic CRM sync with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive reduces administrative work.
- Transcribes in over 130 languages with speaker recognition.
Where to be careful
- Free plan enforces a 45-minute meeting length limit and 90-day retention window.
- Full video playback requires deploying a meeting bot rather than using bot-less desktop capture.
- Advanced coaching and interaction insights require higher-tier paid plans.
Commercial context
Grain pricing
Pricing snapshot as of September 2026. Grain provides a free forever tier alongside paid tiers (Starter, Business, and Enterprise) starting at $15 per seat/month billed annually ($19 billed monthly). Free viewer seats are available for non-recording collaborators. Verify terms on the official Grain pricing page.
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 / per seat/month billed annually or monthly | |
| Starter | $15 / per seat/month billed annually ($19 monthly) |
Pricing, limits, taxes, model access, and regional availability can change. Verify the purchase-critical details on the official pricing page linked under Sources.
Transparent ranking
Why Grain scores 72.7
Each factor is scored on a 100-point scale, then combined using the public ToolsRank weights. Engagement and momentum stay at a neutral baseline until measured signals exist, so no tool can gain or lose position from numbers nobody recorded.
Compatibility
Languages, platforms, and integrations
Languages
- English
- Spanish
- French
- German
- Italian
- Portuguese
Platforms
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
Integrations & surfaces
- Zoom
- Google Meet
- Microsoft Teams
- Webex
- Slack
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Pipedrive
- Claude
- ChatGPT
- Zapier
Community
Reviews and questions
No approved member reviews yet. Editorial factors above are the only rating on this page.
Reviews and questions come from Google-signed members and are checked by an editor before they appear.
Frequently asked
Grain FAQ
What is the difference between bot-less capture and bot recording?+
Bot-less capture transcribes computer audio directly from your desktop without a visible Grain participant joining the call. Bot recording sends a virtual Grain bot into the video conference room, which allows full video capture and enables recording even when you cannot attend.
What is included in Grain's free plan?+
Grain's free plan offers unlimited meeting recordings, transcripts, basic AI notes, collaborative workspace access, and desktop capture, subject to a 45-minute limit per meeting and a 90-day meeting history window.
How does Grain charge for workspace members?+
Grain only charges for Paid seats—users who actively record, import, or upload meetings. Other colleagues can join the workspace as Free viewer seats at no charge, allowing them to search, view, and read shared meeting notes.
Does Grain train AI models on meeting recordings?+
According to Grain's documentation, neither Grain nor its subprocessors use customer meeting data or call transcripts to train AI models.
What meeting software and calendars does Grain support?+
Grain works across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Slack huddles, and connects to both Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 calendars for automated scheduling and recording rules.
What security certifications does Grain maintain?+
Grain holds SOC 2 Type II certification, is GDPR compliant, hosts all data within a dedicated AWS VPC in the United States, conducts annual third-party penetration testing, and supports Google, Microsoft, and SAML-based SSO for enterprise accounts.
