Everything you need to know to get the most out of your local AI meeting assistant
The first time you open Shmeetings, it may take a few seconds to start up. Then begin by clicking 'Install'.
Once Llama is downloaded, Shmeetings will automatically open.
When you first open up Shmeetings, you will be asked to allow Shmeetings to access your microphone.
To use your system audio for transcription, you need to give Mac permission to record the computer's screen and audio.
Shmeetings only records audio, but this permission is bundled under 'Screen & System Audio Recording.'
You can start and stop recording by clicking the 'Start Recording' button.
After you stop recording, you can then click 'Generate Summary' to create an AI summary of the meeting.
Shmeetings can give you some suggested questions to ask in your meeting, based on the conversation.
Auto Start/Stop listens for audio activity and automatically begins recording when it detects conversation. It stops when the room goes quiet.
After you customize your microphone sensitivity and delay time, you can set it and forget it.
To set your start sensitivity, start speaking at a normal volume and drag the Sound Detection slider until the threshold is just below the current audio level.
To set your stop sensitivity, remain quiet and drag the Silence Detection slider until the threshold is just above the current audio level.
You may need to adjust your microphone input level in your system settings.
When your meeting ends, Shmeetings can automatically generate the AI summary.
To enable this feature, turn on 'Auto generate the summary' in the expanded Settings area.
With Auto Start/Stop and Auto Summarize, you don't need to manually press any buttons for Shmeetings to work for you.
Automatically send transcripts and summaries to your email after each meeting.
To enable this feature, turn on 'Auto email the summary' in the expanded Settings area.
With Auto Start/Stop, Auto Summarize, and Auto Email, Shmeetings becomes a completely hands-off meeting assistant.
Note: This feature sends data through your email server, so it's not 100% offline. But it's your own email settings, so no data is sent to Shmeetings.
In the Settings area, write a custom prompt to get AI meeting summaries tailored to your specific needs and work style.
Be as specific as you want, since Shmeetings uses only local AI processing on your computer.
"I'm a product manager at a SaaS company. Create a summary with sections for: Feature Requests, Bug Reports, Action Items (organized by team), and Key Decisions."
"I run a marketing agency. Focus on client deliverables, deadlines, budget discussions, and next steps. Organize by client name."
Add relevant files to give the AI meeting summary more context about your work, projects, and team.
In the Settings area, you can modify the Context folder where your context files are stored. The default is Documents/Shmeetings/Context. After changing the folder, press the checkmark to save the changes.
You can re-process old meetings with updated summary instructions or context files, giving you better insights from past conversations.
You can transcribe any audio recording simply by dragging it into Shmeetings.
You can download and use other Whisper models if you want higher accuracy or multilingual support.
Shmeetings defaults to the Llama 3.2 model for AI summaries and generated questions, but you can use any GGUF model.
Requires macOS 11.0 or later on Apple Silicon Macs.
Windows support is in development.
Performance Note: Processing time depends on your hardware. An M1 Macbook Air with 8gb ram can take 4-5 minutes to summarize an hour-long meeting, while a Mac Studio with 64gb ram can do it in 30 seconds.
If you need to uninstall Shmeetings, follow these simple steps:
If you have questions not covered in this guide, we're here to help!
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