AI Meeting Summaries Without API Keys: Why We Built Hosted AI for Meetily

We shipped a feature today that we probably should have built months ago.

Since launching Meetily, we've heard the same feedback over and over. Users love that transcription runs locally. They love that there's no meeting bot joining their calls. But when it came to generating summaries, we kept losing people at the setup step.

"Wait, I need to get an API key from OpenAI?"

"What's Ollama? Do I need to install something else?"

"I just want meeting notes. Why is this so complicated?"

Fair questions. And honestly, we didn't have a great answer.

The Setup Problem Nobody Talks About

Most AI meeting tools fall into two camps. Cloud-based tools like Otter.ai and Fireflies handle everything for you - but your meeting audio leaves your device, passes through their servers, and you have to trust their privacy policies. Local-first tools like Meetily give you privacy - but ask you to configure AI models yourself.

We built Meetily with a pluggable architecture from day one. You could run local models through Ollama, or bring your own API key from Claude, OpenAI, or Groq. Power users loved it. They could pick exactly the model they wanted, with exactly the privacy trade-offs they were comfortable with.

But here's what we learned: most people aren't power users.

What People Actually Want

We looked at our analytics and talked to users who downloaded Meetily but never generated a summary. The pattern was clear:

1. Downloaded the app - Easy, one click
2. Recorded a meeting - Easy, press a button
3. Got a transcript - Automatic, runs locally
4. Tried to generate a summary - Hit a wall

That wall was configuration. Even for BYOK (Bring Your Own Key), users had to:

• Sign up for an API provider account
• Navigate their dashboard to find API keys
• Copy the key into Meetily's settings
• Hope they picked the right model
• Deal with billing if they exceeded free tiers

For local models via Ollama, the barrier was even higher: install Ollama, pull a model, make sure you have enough RAM, configure the endpoint.

We were asking people to become AI infrastructure engineers just to get meeting notes. That's not what they signed up for.

Introducing Hosted AI

Starting with Meetily Pro v0.1.16, there's a third option: Hosted AI.

No API keys. No model configuration. No Ollama installation. You click "Generate Summary" and it works.

Here's how it fits into Meetily's architecture:

For that last step - summary generation - you now have three options:

Option 1: Local Models (Ollama)

Run everything on your machine. Zero data leaves your device. Best for regulated industries, air-gapped environments, or anyone who wants maximum privacy. Requires Ollama setup and sufficient hardware.

Option 2: Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)

Connect your own Claude, OpenAI, or Groq API key. You control the provider, the model, and the billing. Good for teams who already use these APIs and want to use their existing accounts.

Option 3: Hosted AI (New)

Just works. No setup, no API keys, no configuration. Pro subscribers get generous free credits every month. Trial users get 10 free credits to test it out. We handle the infrastructure so you can focus on your meetings.

Why Not Just Go Full Cloud?

You might wonder why we didn't just build a cloud-based solution from the start. Upload audio, get notes back. Simple.

Because we've seen what happens with that model. Meeting recordings contain some of the most sensitive information in any organization - strategy discussions, personnel decisions, client negotiations, product roadmaps. Sending all of that to a third-party server, even an encrypted one, creates risk that many teams aren't comfortable with.

Our approach is different:

• Audio stays on your device. Always. No exceptions.
• Transcription runs locally. Whisper processes your audio right on your machine.
• Only text leaves your device (and only if you choose BYOK or Hosted AI for summaries).
• You pick the trade-off. Maximum privacy with local models, or convenience with Hosted AI, or anywhere in between.

This is what we mean by "privacy-first with pluggable AI." You're never locked into a single approach.

Who Is Hosted AI For?

Honestly? Most people.

You can switch between these options at any time. Use Hosted AI for your daily standups, then switch to local models for that sensitive board meeting. The architecture supports mixing and matching because we know that one size doesn't fit all.

The Credits System

Hosted AI uses a simple credit system:

• Pro subscribers: Generous monthly credits included with your subscription
• Trial users: 10 free credits to try it out
• Each credit = one summary generation

We designed this to be generous enough that most users never think about it. Our goal is to remove friction, not create new billing anxiety.

What We Learned Building This

Building Hosted AI taught us a few things about the AI meeting assistant space:

1. Privacy isn't binary. Users don't want "all local" or "all cloud." They want control. Some meetings need maximum privacy. Others just need quick notes. A good AI meeting notes tool should support both.

2. Setup is the biggest barrier. More people abandoned Meetily during AI configuration than during any other step. The best tool is the one people actually use.

3. Transcription and summarization have different privacy needs. Audio is uniquely sensitive - it contains voice biometrics, background conversations, ambient sounds. Text transcripts are sensitive too, but less so. Splitting these into separate steps with separate privacy models makes sense.

4. Trust is earned, not assumed. We could have shipped a simpler product that uploads everything to our servers. Instead, we built three options and let users choose. That takes longer to build but creates lasting trust.

How to Try It

If you're already using Meetily Pro, update to v0.1.16. Hosted AI appears as a new option in the summary generation settings. Select it, and your next summary will just work.

If you're new to Meetily:

1. Download Meetily from meetily.ai(opens in new tab)
2. Start a free trial - 14 days, no credit card required
3. Record a meeting and get a local transcript automatically
4. Generate a summary with Hosted AI using your 10 free credits

No bots join your calls. No audio leaves your device. Just meeting notes that work.