Google releases local-first AI Edge Foresight, a Granola competitor

Google's team behind its earlier local-model dictation tool has released a new Mac app, Google AI Edge Foresight, that competes directly with the popular AI note-taker Granola.

According to TechCrunch, the app can work completely offline, using a small on-device embedding model to capture meeting notes across apps, including in-person meetings.

The interface resembles Granola's split-screen design, letting users write shorthand notes on one side while AI-generated notes appear on the other, and take manual notes while the meeting is transcribed.

Users can also view the full meeting transcript or chat with the on-device assistant to get answers.

The app accepts uploaded documents — including PDFs, Google Docs, Microsoft Office formats, plain text, Markdown and web bookmarks — to build a knowledge base, and can answer questions in real time when they touch on that material.

On its FAQ page, Google says AI Edge Foresight is optimised for Apple Silicon and can run entirely offline, so meeting notes remain usable while travelling or without an internet connection.

Earlier in April, Google released an AI-powered dictation tool that worked with local models but never reached mainstream use. TechCrunch suggests the meeting note-taker may serve mainly to showcase the capability of the Gemma family of offline models.

The report adds that Google could still release a consumer version of a meeting note-taker that works across video-calling apps through its Gemini apps while relying on cloud models — a possibility worth watching.