Fathom was built to join virtual meetings, record audio, and generate AI summaries with action items. It captures everything said during online meetings and provides summary formats within seconds. But Fathom can't import external audio files, so you can't record an in-person meeting separately and upload it for processing.

This happens because Fathom works as a real-time meeting assistant that connects directly with video conferencing platforms through their APIs. It needs an active online meeting to function, which makes it incompatible with recording in-person meetings the usual way.

The best solution is creating a hybrid meeting setup. You run a virtual meeting platform at the same time as your in-person gathering, which lets Fathom join and record normally.

Start a Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams meeting before your in-person meeting begins. Have everyone join the virtual meeting from their laptops or phones, even though they're in the same room. This seems odd, but it means Fathom can capture what everyone says clearly.

To avoid feedback and echo, have people mute their devices and pick one person to manage the audio. Or use a good conference room microphone connected to the host's computer to pick up all voices. Then run your meeting normally while Fathom records through the virtual platform.

This works well for teams that meet in person regularly but want consistent documentation. A marketing team doing their monthly strategy session could use this method to get Fathom's detailed summary of campaign decisions and action items.

Use one device instead of many

If multiple devices seems too complicated, you can use just one device. Set up one laptop to host the virtual meeting that Fathom joins. Put this device in the center of the room with a good microphone, or connect it to the room's audio system if possible.

Many conference rooms have speaker phones that connect to computers through USB or Bluetooth. Connect your hosting device to this system so Fathom captures audio from everyone clearly. Start the virtual meeting, have Fathom join, then begin your discussion. Everyone speaks normally while the single device captures all audio for Fathom to process.

This works well for smaller groups or meetings around a conference table. A sales team doing their weekly pipeline review could use this to make sure all deal discussions and follow-up tasks get documented by Fathom.

Try Circleback for dedicated in-person meeting AI

Some AI meeting tools are designed specifically for in-person meetings. If you often need to record face-to-face meetings and find the hybrid approach annoying, you might want to try Circleback instead.

Circleback has mobile apps that record in-person meetings directly, then transcribe and summarize them with AI. You just start recording on your phone during an in-person meeting and get similar AI summaries and action items that you'd expect from Fathom.

But if you're already using Fathom and like its summary formats, integrations, and interface, the hybrid meeting workarounds often work better than switching tools.

Technical considerations for the hybrid approach

A few technical things matter when you try these workarounds. The quality of your Fathom summary depends on clear audio input. Get a good conference room microphone or make sure the hosting device is positioned to capture all participants. Bad audio quality creates transcription errors and less accurate summaries.

Since you're running a virtual meeting alongside your in-person gathering, make sure your internet connection can handle the video conferencing platform reliably. A dropped connection could mean you miss parts of your meeting.

Tell all attendees about the hybrid setup before the meeting starts. Explain why devices are present and how the recording works to avoid confusion during the discussion. And like any recorded meeting, make sure everyone consents to being recorded and understands that Fathom will process their comments for AI summary generation.

Using your Fathom summaries after the meeting

Once you've recorded your in-person meeting using Fathom through these workarounds, you can use all of the tool's standard features. Fathom provides various summary styles, from bullet points to detailed chronological summaries. The AI identifies and highlights action items, deadlines, and follow-up tasks just as well as it does for virtual meetings.

You can push your meeting summaries to CRM systems, project management tools, or documentation platforms using Fathom's existing integrations. And you'll build a searchable database of your in-person meeting content that you can reference later using Fathom's search functionality.