Google Meet is a video meeting platform built into Google Workspace that makes it easy to host and join video calls from your browser, Google Meet app, or other Google apps. Getting started is straightforward. Running meetings that actually produce results is a different problem, and that's where most teams lose time.
This guide shows how to use Google Meet, from setting up your Google account to starting a new meeting, sharing a Google Meet link, and joining a video chat from any device.
Getting people on a call is easy. Getting anything useful out of it is harder. A sales team finishes a discovery call, the AE writes up notes from memory that evening, the CSM who joins the account next quarter never sees the customer's original pricing objection. A product team debates scope for 40 minutes, lands on a decision, and by Friday two engineers are building against different interpretations. The call happened. The record didn't.
Read AI closes that gap. It joins your Google Meet as a visible participant, captures everything said, and delivers a structured summary, full transcript, and action items the moment the call ends. No manual notes. No follow-up emails reconstructing what happened. Your whole team gets a searchable record they can query days or weeks later.
To host a Google Meet call, you need a Google account. Free accounts support up to 100 participants with a 60-minute limit on group calls. One-on-one calls have no time limit. Google Workspace plans extend both. Guests can join using a meeting link with no sign-in required.
On a desktop, open Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox and go to meet.google.com. On mobile, download the Google Meet app. Before joining, confirm your camera and microphone permissions are enabled in your browser or system settings. You can access Google Meet from a web page on your computer, through the Android app or iOS app, or directly inside other Google apps like Google Docs and Gmail.
Go to meet.google.com in a browser tab or new browser window and click the New meeting button. You can create a meeting link, start immediately, or schedule through Google Calendar. For quick calls, the instant meeting option is fastest.
If you already have Gmail open, click the Google Meet icon in the sidebar and select new call or meeting. Click New meeting to generate a link you can start or share immediately.
Create a new event in Google Calendar or the Google Calendar app, then schedule it in Google Calendar by adding your guest list and clicking save. Google automatically adds a Meet link. This is the best option for recurring meetings, and invites go out with the link included.
Click the Google Meet link or meeting link, then click "Join the meeting,” check your audio and video in the preview screen, then click Join now.
Go to meet.google.com or open the app, enter the meeting code to quickly join a meeting without a full link.
Most host controls exist to keep the meeting focused and secure. The toolbar in the lower right corner gives you access to host controls, camera, microphone, screen sharing, and chat messages. Use the three-dot icon in the bottom right corner to access extra features like breakout rooms, settings, and layout options. Hosts who aren't taking notes themselves run better calls, so keep the controls minimal and let a meeting assistant handle the record.
Hosts can mute participants, restrict screen sharing, manage access, and adjust permissions during the meeting. Use these to keep sessions focused and secure.
Turn on closed captions from the three-dot menu by selecting Settings, then Captions. This helps participants follow along in noisy environments and supports accessibility.
Enable camera and microphone permissions before joining on mobile. Use the camera switch button to toggle between front and rear cameras. Access background effects and screen sharing through the in-call menu.
Meetings tend to end without a clear record of what was decided or who owns the next steps. 71% of senior managers say that meetings are unproductive and inefficient; not because the conversations aren't valuable, but because the information doesn't go anywhere after the call.
Read AI is an AI copilot that sits across your entire work OS, meetings, emails, messages, and documents, and connects all of it into something your team can actually use. It joins your Google Meet as a visible participant (consent first, by design) and automatically produces:
Search Copilot lets anyone on your team ask questions like "What did we decide about the Q3 roadmap?" or "What did the client say about pricing on Tuesday's call?" and get an answer in seconds, with the source cited.
Read AI is platform agnostic. It works across Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. That independence is the point: Platform-native AI (Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot) only sees what happens within its own ecosystem. Read AI connects intelligence across all three, regardless of where your team works.
Knowledge workers reclaim 20+ hours per month with Read AI. The result is that the intelligence from every Google Meet call stops living in one person's notes and starts compounding across the team.
Avoid sharing meeting links publicly. Use calendar invites to control access and enable approval settings for sensitive sessions. Restrict screen sharing and chat permissions when the meeting requires it.
Check browser or system permissions and restart your browser. If the issue persists, confirm no other application is using the camera or microphone.
Use a stable wired or Wi Fi connection. Close unused applications and browser tabs to free up bandwidth.
Double-check the code for errors. If problems continue, ask the host to share the full meeting link directly.
Google Meet handles the mechanics of getting people on a call. What it can't do is make sure the work that happens in those calls actually moves forward. Decisions get made, context gets shared, and action items get assigned, then most of it disappears the moment the call ends. Read AI closes that gap. Every meeting becomes a searchable record your team can act on, whether they attended or not. That's not a note-taking feature. It's a different way of working.
You need a Google account to host meetings. Guests can join using a meeting link without signing in.
Create a meeting and copy the link, or send a Google Calendar invite; the Meet link is included automatically.
Yes. Google Meet works in a browser on a desktop without installing anything. The app is required for mobile.
Recording is available on paid Google Workspace plans. Use the three-dot icon in the bottom right corner to access settings, layout options, and features like breakout rooms (available on paid Workspace plans). Recordings save to the host's Google Drive. For teams that want the record to be searchable and structured rather than a video file to scrub through, a meeting assistant like Read AI captures the transcript, decisions, and action items automatically.
Free accounts support up to 100 participants. Higher limits are available on paid Workspace plans.
Read AI joins your Google Meet as a visible participant. It captures the conversation, produces a structured summary with action items, and adds everything to a searchable knowledge base your team can query at any time. It also works across Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
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