User guide

Verb Desktop for Mac

How to have Verb listen to your meetings on the Mac, and where to read what was said afterwards.

Overview

Verb Desktop is a Mac menu-bar app that listens to your meetings and keeps every word. Each one becomes a transcript, a summary, the people who spoke, the key points and the action items, all synced to your Verb account.

It works with any app that plays audio on your Mac, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack huddles, and Google Meet. Nothing joins your call as a bot. Verb listens quietly in the background from the menu bar, and only when you tell it to.

Requirements and installation

  • macOS 13 (Ventura) or later
  • Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
  • A free Verb account (you can sign up in a minute)

Install Verb Desktop from the Mac App Store. See the download page for the App Store link and step-by-step install instructions.

First-time setup

Open Verb Desktop and sign in with your Verb account. The first time you sign in, a short setup walks you through three steps:

  1. Connect Zoom (optional) — lets Verb label meeting participants by their real names.
  2. Microphone & privacy consent — grant microphone access and acknowledge that your audio is sent to third-party AI services for transcription and insights. Review the privacy policy to see exactly how your data is used.
  3. Calendar reminders (optional) — reminds you about five minutes before a meeting so you never forget to record.

One more permission: Verb also needs macOS Screen Recording permission. This is simply how macOS lets an app capture system audio — Verb never records your screen, only audio, and your volume keys keep working normally. You will be prompted the first time you record; you can also grant it in Settings → Audio.

Recording a meeting

Click the Verb icon in the menu bar to open the popover. Give the session an optional name, then click Start Recording.

While recording, the popover shows:

  • A live timer and a recording indicator
  • How many audio chunks have uploaded
  • A Capture meeting screen button (see below)
  • A Stop Recording button to end the session

You can keep working while it records. Open the main window any time with ⌘O, or quit Verb from the menu-bar popover.

Zoom integration

Connecting your Zoom account lets Verb label meeting participants by name and detect when you are in a Zoom meeting, so your transcripts and summaries say who spoke.

Connecting Verb to Zoom

Prerequisites: a Verb account (signed in) and a Zoom account.

  1. Open Verb Desktop and open the main window (menu-bar icon → Open Verb Window, or press ⌘O).
  2. Go to Settings → Integrations and click Connect Zoom. (You are also offered this on first launch.)
  3. Your web browser opens Zoom's authorization page. Review the requested permissions and click Allow.
  4. When you see Zoom Connected, return to Verb — Settings → Integrations now shows Connected.

Trouble connecting? See Troubleshooting.

What you can do once connected

  • Identify participants by name — speakers in your transcripts and summaries are labelled with real names instead of Speaker 1.Prerequisites: Zoom connected; a recorded Zoom meeting.
  • Automatic meeting detection — Verb notices when a Zoom meeting is in progress and shows Zoom meeting in progress so you can record in one click.Prerequisites: Zoom connected; you are in a Zoom meeting.
  • Auto-record Zoom meetings — recording starts automatically when a Zoom meeting begins, with a ten-second window to cancel.Prerequisites: Zoom connected; Auto-record Zoom meetings enabled (popover or Settings → Recording); microphone and Screen Recording permissions.
  • Meeting reminders — Verb can remind you to record upcoming meetings so you never miss one.Prerequisites: calendar access granted (Settings → Recording), and/or Zoom connected for your upcoming Zoom meetings.

Capturing meeting screenshots

While a recording is in progress, click Capture meeting screen to attach a screenshot of the meeting window to the session — handy for slides, shared documents, or whiteboards. The images appear alongside the session in the web dashboard and on iPhone.

Viewing your results

When a meeting ends, Verb writes the transcript and the summary. Within a few minutes the finished session appears in your dashboard and syncs to Verb on iPhone.

Each session includes:

  • A full transcript with speakers
  • A concise summary
  • The people who took part
  • Key points and topics
  • Suggested action items

Settings reference

  • General — launch Verb at login; show a prompt when a meeting is detected.
  • Recording — auto-record Zoom meetings; set a maximum recording length (1 to 12 hours); automatically stop after one minute of silence (with a 60-second warning first).
  • Audio — check your Screen Recording permission, which Verb uses to capture system audio.
  • Integrations — connect or disconnect your Zoom account.
  • Account — view your profile, or permanently delete your account and all data.
  • About — app version and links.

Privacy and recording consent

Always let participants know when you are recording. Laws about recording consent vary by location, and complying with the rules in your jurisdiction is your responsibility — we recommend informing everyone on the call. For details on how your data is handled, see our privacy policy.

Removing Verb and your data

Disconnect Zoom

To stop the Zoom integration, open Settings → Integrations and click Disconnect. Verb immediately revokes its access to your Zoom account and deletes your stored Zoom credentials. Your existing meeting notes and transcripts — including the speaker names already in them — are kept.

Remove Verb from your Zoom account

You can also de-authorize Verb from Zoom directly:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom App Marketplace.
  2. Click your name → Manage → Added Apps.
  3. Find Verb and click Remove.

What de-authorization means

Once you disconnect or remove the app, Verb can no longer access your Zoom account. Zoom-dependent features stop working: meetings are no longer auto-detected, auto-record for Zoom no longer triggers, participant names are no longer added, and Zoom-based meeting reminders stop.

How we remove your data

When you disconnect in the app, we revoke Verb's Zoom access token with Zoom and delete your stored Zoom credentials and connection details. Your recordings, notes, and transcripts — including the speaker names already in them — are kept.

When you remove Verb from the Zoom Marketplace (de-authorize), we do all of the above and also delete the data we obtained from Zoom's API — the participant roster (names and emails) and meeting IDs stored on your sessions. This happens automatically the moment Zoom notifies us. Your own transcripts and notes remain unless you delete them.

Uninstall the app or delete your account

To remove the desktop app, quit Verb (menu-bar icon → Quit Verb) and drag Verb from your Applications folder to the Trash. To erase your entire Verb account and all associated data, open Settings → Account → Delete Account.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

No audio was captured

Grant Screen Recording permission. Open Settings → Audio, or go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording and enable Verb, then start a new recording.

My Zoom meeting was not detected

Make sure you have joined the meeting, and confirm Zoom is connected in Settings → Integrations. You can always start a recording manually with Start Recording.

I can't connect Zoom, or it still shows Not connected

Complete the authorization in the browser window that opens, then return to Verb. If the status doesn't update, close and reopen Settings → Integrations to refresh, make sure your browser is not blocking the Zoom pop-up, and click Connect Zoom again.

The recording stopped on its own

Verb stops automatically after a minute of silence, or when it reaches your maximum recording length. Adjust both in Settings → Recording.

Where are my recordings, and how do I delete them?

All sessions live in your dashboard and on the iOS app. Delete an individual session there, or remove everything by deleting your account in Settings → Account.

Still stuck? Write to us from the support page.