Sales AI notetaker integration guide: Connecting to Salesforce, HubSpot & your tech stack

TL;DR: AI notetaker integrations fail when they auto-dump unverified summaries directly into CRM records, creating data nobody trusts. The right approach is AI capture, human verification, then a deliberate sync. Granola's workflow combines bot-free transcription with your own review before anything touches your system of record, preventing database pollution and keeping confidential conversations private. All CRM integrations require Granola's Business plan at $14 per user per month.

The gap between a meeting ending and an accurate CRM record appearing is where deals slip, context collapses, and follow-up falls through the cracks. Without a structured capture-and-verify process, your pipeline data accumulates noise that nobody trusts. AI notetakers promise to close this gap, but the integration strategy matters as much as the tool itself.

Most integrations fail not because transcription doesn't work, but because they auto-dump unverified summaries directly into CRM records. The right approach is AI capture, human verification, and then a deliberate sync. This guide walks through how to connect AI notetaking to Salesforce, HubSpot, and your broader tech stack while keeping your data clean and your conversations confidential.

The problem with "set it and forget it" CRM integrations

When automation pollutes your data

Fully automated sync appeals because the meeting ends, a summary appears in Salesforce, and you never touch a keyboard. The problem is that raw AI summaries are rarely structured the way your CRM expects. When tools push unedited transcripts or generic summaries into deal records, they create fields filled with noise, missed context, and occasionally inaccurate details.

The principle is simple: garbage in, garbage out. You can't use a Salesforce opportunity record that contains a 2,000-word transcript instead of a clean "next steps" field and a verified budget figure. It's clutter your team will stop reading and eventually ignore.

Granola's product documentation on AI-enhanced notes describes the alternative clearly: "Bot-based tools start with everything and try to summarize. We start with your judgment about what matters. You jot 'Pricing concerns' during the conversation. When the meeting ends, you click 'Enhance notes' and Granola finds every pricing discussion in the transcript and adds relevant quotes." You've verified the note before it goes anywhere near your CRM.

Core integration workflows: How to connect your stack

Connecting to Salesforce

Granola does not offer a native Salesforce connector as of early 2026. The supported path runs through Zapier, which routes enhanced notes into Salesforce objects like Opportunities, Contacts, and Tasks. Granola also connects through Zapier to Notion, Google Docs, Airtable, Google Sheets, and Asana.

The practical Salesforce workflow:

1. Run the meeting. Jot rough bullets in Granola during the conversation, flagging key moments like pricing objections or next steps.
2. Click "Enhance notes." Granola's AI fills in your bullets with relevant quotes and context from the transcript.
3. Review and edit. Read the enhanced note, correct any inaccuracies, and delete anything that isn't relevant to the record.
4. Trigger the Zap. The configured Zapier workflow pushes the verified note into the correct Salesforce fields.
5. Verify in Salesforce. Confirm the data landed in the right object before closing.

This verification step is what separates a clean CRM from a cluttered one.

Connecting to HubSpot

HubSpot has a native integration in Granola accessible directly through Settings. The setup requires a Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 account and is not available for personal Gmail or Outlook.com accounts.

Setup steps:

1. Open Settings: Navigate via your avatar in the bottom left.
2. Select Integrations: Click HubSpot.
3. Complete OAuth: Connect in the browser window that opens.
4. Sync after meetings: Open the note and click the HubSpot option in the top right.
5. Choose contact: Select the HubSpot contact to associate with the note. Granola adds the note to that contact's record.

One important detail: the sync is manual per note, not automatic. You choose which notes go to HubSpot and when, which keeps the human-in-the-loop workflow intact rather than pushing every meeting into the CRM automatically.

If the integration stops working, the HubSpot help documentation recommends disconnecting and reconnecting through Settings > HubSpot, and confirming your Granola and HubSpot accounts share the same email address.

Using MCP for custom workflows

Granola's MCP integration connects your meeting notes to AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT using the Model Context Protocol, an open standard that lets AI applications query external data sources on your behalf. Think of it as a secure bridge between your private meeting history and any MCP-compatible AI tool.

With MCP enabled on a Business plan, you can ask Claude questions like "Using my Granola notes from the last two weeks, draft an account summary for the Acme Corp renewal highlighting their stated priorities, objections raised, and agreed next steps" and get a response that pulls directly from your actual transcripts rather than generic context.

Granola's integrations overview describes the capability: "Connect Granola to AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT using MCP. Query your meeting notes, search by date range, and get detailed transcripts directly in your favorite AI tools."

Confidential enterprise account documentation workflows

Turning a 60-to-90-minute discovery or negotiation call into a structured deal brief without losing nuance is where integration strategy matters most. Exact pricing sensitivities, executive priorities, competitive objections, and buying committee dynamics are easy to lose in the gap between a live conversation and a written summary.

The friction point most enterprise sales reps describe is the same: back-to-back calls leave no time to write up detailed notes before context fades, and a bot joining a sensitive commercial negotiation signals the wrong tone with a strategic account.

The practical workflow for CRM population:

1. Conduct the call using Granola to transcribe device audio with no visible participant.
2. Jot abbreviated bullets during the call, flagging specific objections, pricing signals, and stakeholder commitments.
3. Click "Enhance notes" after the call to generate a structured deal brief with captured quotes.
4. Review the enhanced note against your recollection and correct any misattributions before anything enters the CRM.
5. Copy the verified summary into your CRM deal record in Salesforce or HubSpot, or sync it directly using the native integration.
6. Query specifics later using Granola's chat function: "What budget figure did the procurement lead mention on the March 12th call?"

Because the enhanced note lives in Granola until you explicitly push it, sensitive commercial details, pricing discussions, competitive intelligence, executive relationships, stay out of your CRM until a rep has reviewed and verified them. That review step is what keeps AI-generated summaries from creating compliance or accuracy problems in your account records.

Granola also connects natively to Notion for teams that organize deal research or account intelligence in Notion workspaces. For other repositories, copy-paste or Zapier workflows cover the gap.

"With Granola I don't have to worry anymore about taking meeting notes, I can just write down things I really care about and let Granola take care of the rest. Love that I can easily share my notes with my colleagues as well, and that we can all chat with the meeting transcript so everyone can see the full context of the meeting, even if they weren't there." - Jess M. on G2

Data privacy, consent, and compliance

Managing consent without a visible bot

Bot-free architecture removes the friction of a visible participant joining your call, but it does not remove the obligation to inform the other party. You should still tell participants you are using Granola, and the practical framing is conversational rather than procedural, as Laura Kinder demonstrates: "Hey, I'm going to have Granola running in the background, do you mind?" That disclosure satisfies consent requirements without the dynamic shift that comes from a named bot appearing in the participant list.

Granola's security documentation is explicit about how the architecture works: "It does not add a bot to your video call." Granola accesses microphone audio and meeting audio on your device, transcribes it in real time, and the audio is not stored. Only the text transcript is retained.

SOC 2 and data residency

Granola achieved SOC 2 Type 2 certification in July 2025. The Vanta case study on the audit process notes completion in just over three months, compared to a typical industry timeline of 12 to 18 months. The SOC 2 announcement attributes the accelerated timeline to the audio-deletion architecture: because audio is never stored, the audit surface is considerably smaller.

Key data protections to verify before deploying any AI notetaker for confidential work:

• Audio handling: Granola transcribes in real time and does not store audio, retaining only text transcripts.
• Encryption: Meeting content is encrypted in transit and at rest.
• AI training prohibition: Third-party AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic) are contractually prohibited from training on your data.
• Model training opt-out: Enterprise plan customers receive organization-wide opt-out from AI model training by default. Users on other plans can disable this manually in Settings.
• GDPR compliance: Confirmed per Granola's security page.

If your compliance team requires a Data Processing Agreement, request it directly from Granola before rolling out on sensitive searches or confidential client work.

Choosing the right AI notetaker for your stack

How the main tools compare

The most meaningful differences between AI notetakers are not transcription accuracy but integration architecture, bot presence, and the level of human control over what enters your systems.

Tool	Bot presence	Integration approach	Best for
Granola	No visible participant, device audio only	Manual-trigger HubSpot, Attio, Affinity natively; Zapier for Salesforce; MCP for AI tools	Confidential calls, strategic account management, high-touch client work
Gong	Bot joins as participant	Deep native CRM sync with Salesforce and HubSpot, editable fields sync back automatically	High-volume sales teams needing revenue analytics
Fathom	Visible "Fathom Notetaker" participant in call	CRM integration focused on sales workflow automation	Sales teams prioritizing automated CRM workflows

Pricing and integration costs

Granola's pricing structure gates all integrations behind paid tiers:

• Free plan: AI-enhanced notes and bot-free transcription to test the core workflow before committing.
• Business plan ($14/user/month): Native CRM integrations (HubSpot, Attio, Affinity), Zapier for Salesforce and other tools, Granola MCP, Slack, and Notion.
• Enterprise plan ($35+/user/month): SOC 2 Type 2 certification, organization-wide AI training opt-out, SSO, admin controls, public API access, and priority support.

If you're running confidential deals or managing sensitive client conversations, evaluate the Enterprise plan's automatic model training opt-out and SOC 2 documentation against the Business plan before deploying at scale.

"The time saved in adding notes to CRM and removed from admin follow ups... the constant work on further embedding this software into the customer journey is amazing." - Rakeem L. on G2

Troubleshooting common integration issues

Most integration problems fall into four categories, each with a straightforward fix.

• Duplicate CRM entries: Search your CRM manually for the existing contact or deal before syncing, then associate the note directly to avoid creating a second record.
• HubSpot sync failures: Confirm your Granola and HubSpot accounts use the same email address, then disconnect and reconnect through Settings > HubSpot. This resolves the majority of cases per the troubleshooting documentation.
• Orphan notes not linked to a CRM record: Open the note, click the HubSpot share option in the top right, and manually select the correct contact before syncing.
• Salesforce Zap errors: Check the Zapier integration setup to confirm the trigger and action fields map correctly to your target Salesforce objects.

"Granola is the one tool I continuously have up during my day whether in a meeting or going back to 'ask questions' about what happened during the meeting. Integrations with other systems is still in its infancy. The team is listening to their users and building based on need." - Andy C. on G2

Building a workflow that works for you

You can now eliminate the gap between what gets said in a meeting and what ends up in your CRM. But the gap persists when integrations run on autopilot, bypassing the judgment that makes meeting data worth storing.

The clean data approach, described in Granola's own design philosophy, builds on a simple principle: you write what matters, AI fills in the supporting detail, and you decide what syncs. That sequence protects data quality and keeps confidential conversations out of shared channels they were never meant for.

Download Granola for Mac or Windows, connect your calendar, and test the "Enhance > Sync" workflow on your next call. For sensitive deals or confidential client work, review the SOC 2 documentation and confirm your consent disclosure approach before rolling out more broadly.

Frequently asked questions

Does Granola automatically update Salesforce fields?

No. Granola routes to Salesforce via Zapier, not a native connector, so you configure which fields receive data through the Zap setup. The sync triggers manually after you review and approve the enhanced note.

Can I use Granola across a sales team with shared accounts?

Yes. Each team member runs Granola individually, but you can standardize note templates and Zap configurations so every rep routes call summaries to the same CRM fields. For shared accounts with multiple stakeholders, reps can tag the relevant opportunity in Salesforce or HubSpot during the review step, keeping all deal touchpoints consolidated under one record regardless of who took the call.

Is my meeting data used to train AI models?

By default, Granola may use anonymized data for model improvement on Free and Business plans. Enterprise plan customers receive organization-wide opt-out automatically, and users on other plans can disable this manually in Settings. Third-party AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic) are contractually prohibited from training on your data regardless of plan tier.

How do I handle consent disclosure for confidential client or prospect calls?

Tell participants conversationally before the call starts: "I'm going to have Granola running in the background to help with notes, is that okay?" This satisfies consent requirements without the friction of a visible participant joining the call.

Does Granola work with Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet?

Yes. Granola captures device audio and transcribes meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams without joining as a visible participant. Setup requires granting microphone permissions during installation.

What happens if notes fail to generate?

Check the notes not generating troubleshooting guide for steps to resolve audio permission issues and background processing conflicts.

Key terminology

AI notepad: Granola's positioning reflects its human-first design, where you jot rough notes and AI enhances them, rather than a fully automated system that generates notes without your input.

Bot-free capture: Transcribing a meeting by accessing device audio directly rather than joining the call as a named virtual participant. Other participants do not see a recording indicator or named bot in the participant list.

MCP (Model Context Protocol): An open standard that lets AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT connect to external data sources, including your Granola meeting notes, to generate contextually accurate outputs on request. Available on Business plans and above.

SOC 2 Type 2: An independent security certification that verifies a vendor maintained adequate data protection controls over an extended audit period.

Human-in-the-loop verification: The workflow step between AI enhancement and CRM sync where you review, edit, and approve note content before it enters your system of record. This step separates clean data from an automated data dump.

Data Processing Agreement (DPA): A contract between your organization and a data processor that governs how personal data is handled. Required for GDPR compliance when meeting transcripts contain identifiable information about third parties.