Shadow
FreemiumAI that sees your screen, hears your voice, and automates tasks.
By Tanmay Verma, Founder · Last verified 03 Jul 2026
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Added 6d ago
77/100Safe BetIn short
Shadow — AI that sees your screen, hears your voice, and automates tasks. Best for Knowledge workers attending 5+ meetings daily, Remote professionals using Zoom, Google Meet, or Huddle, Obsidian users wanting AI-powered meeting notes. Free to start; paid plans from $8/mo.
Is Shadow actually worth it?
LiveSee what real users actually say. We scan live discussions, reviews and complaints across the web and hand you an honest verdict — in under a minute.
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Editorial Verdict
Best for
Knowledge workers attending 5+ meetings dailyRemote professionals using Zoom, Google Meet, or HuddleObsidian users wanting AI-powered meeting notesConsultants and sales reps needing structured call summaries
Not ideal for
Users who need web or mobile access (Mac-only)Teams requiring built-in collaboration or shared workspacesThose who prefer bot-joined meeting recorders (Shadow is bot-free)Non-English meetings (language support not specified)
A compelling pick for solo professionals who want to automate meeting notes without bots. The free tier is unusually generous, but the Mac-only limitation and lack of team features keep it from broader appeal. If you live in Obsidian and attend 5+ calls daily, Shadow is worth the download.
Compare with: Shadow vs Fellow, Shadow vs Krisp, Shadow vs Tana
Last verified: July 2026
What's new in Shadow
Checked 6 days agoAcross the latest 8 updates: 8 feature updates.
FeatureBlog·7 days agoNewest
How to Use the Obsidian Tasks Plugin with AI Meeting Notes (2026)
Guide covers Shadow's AI meeting capture integrating with Obsidian Tasks plugin for action item tracking.
FeatureBlog·8 days ago
How to Capture In-Person Meetings in Obsidian (2026 Guide)
Four-layer pipeline routes in-person meeting notes into Obsidian vault via Templater and Shadow.
FeatureBlog·9 days ago
Personal CRM in Obsidian: Turn Meeting Notes Into a People Graph (2026)
Uses Dataview and Person note templates with AI meeting notes to auto-populate a people graph.
FeatureBlog·10 days ago
How to Use Maps of Content (MoCs) in Obsidian with AI Meeting Notes (2026)
MoCs replace folder hierarchy; AI meeting capture keeps navigation maps current automatically.
FeatureBlog·11 days ago
How to Use Obsidian Dataview with AI Meeting Notes (2026)
Dataview queries require consistent frontmatter; Shadow's AI capture aligns with schema.
FeatureBlog·12 days ago
How to Use Obsidian Templater for AI Meeting Notes (2026)
Templater scaffolds meeting notes; AI capture fills bodies before file open.
FeatureBlog·14 days ago
How to Use Obsidian Canvas for AI Meeting Notes (2026)
Canvas visualizes meeting notes; AI capture feeds diagrams without manual input.
FeatureBlog·15 days ago
Backlinks for AI Meeting Notes: Turn Your Obsidian Vault into a Knowledge Graph (2026)
Shadow's AI meeting notes create wikilinks automatically to build knowledge graph.
What independent users actually report about Shadow
We ran a structured research pass across product reviews, community discussions, and post-purchase forum threads to surface the patterns vendors won't publish themselves. Below: the recurring strengths, the hidden costs people mention most, and the cohort that consistently regrets adopting this tool.
44 mentions across 2 sources (Hacker News, Lemmy).
50% positive50% critical
Recurring strengths
- +No meeting bot needed – runs entirely in background.
- +Captures both voice and on-screen content for full context.
- +Unlimited free transcription and audio recording tier.
- +Customizable Skills for any post-meeting workflow.
- +Works with any meeting platform (Zoom, Meet, etc.).
Recurring frustrations
- −No real user feedback available in scraped data.
- −Mac-only; no Windows, Linux, web, or mobile support.
- −AI-powered features require $8/month subscription.
- −Background recording may violate workplace privacy policies.
- −Reliability of meeting detection unproven in wild.
Patterns worth knowing
No actual user discussions exist in the provided data; all posts are off-topic.
Seen on Hacker News, Lemmy
Tool description is ambitious but unverified by community experience.
Seen on Hacker News, Lemmy
Mac-only limitation is a major barrier for non-Apple users.
Seen on Hacker News
Learning curve
beginnerProductive in ~5 minutes
Hidden costs people mention
- • No hidden costs mentioned, but AI features require Plus subscription after free trial.
- • Possible future costs for premium integrations or advanced Skills not yet listed.
Viability Score
77/100
Safe BetHow likely is Shadow to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 4 signals — momentum (how recently it shipped), wrapper dependency, revenue model, and web presence.
momentum
55
funding runway
80
website health
90
wrapper dependency
100
Last calculated: July 2026
How we score →Key Features
- Automatic meeting detection and recording
- Real-time speaker identification
- Smart screenshot capture of meeting window
- Custom Meeting Skills (prompt-based notes, BANT, follow-ups)
- Action Skills triggered by keyboard shortcuts
- Voice input dictation (4× faster than typing)
- Context capture: voice, screen, selected text
- Ask questions about meetings (spoken and shown content)
- Output to email, notes, code, or paste at cursor
- Markdown export of transcripts and Skill outputs
- Webhook integration (Zapier, n8n, Make)
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts for each Skill
- No meeting bot required
- Autopilot mode (auto-starts and ends with calls)
- Local-first transcription (offline)
About Shadow
FreemiumIntermediateNo APIDesktop
Shadow is a desktop-first AI assistant that records meetings and automates post-call workflows without bots. It runs on Mac, auto-detects calls, transcribes speech with speaker identification, and captures screenshots of meeting windows. Users create custom 'Skills' — prompts that process meeting content into notes, summaries, follow-ups, or BANT breakdowns. Action Skills triggered via keyboard shortcuts handle voice typing, replies, and code generation. Shadow outputs to Markdown, webhooks (Zapier, Make, n8n), or pastes directly into focused fields. Privacy is local-first: transcription stays on-device; AI only contacts LLM APIs on demand and never trains on user data. A generous free tier includes unlimited transcription and screenshots; Plus ($8/month) unlocks unlimited AI features. Shadow's unique strength lies in its bot-free, screen-aware capture and customizable prompt engine. Unlike Otter.ai or Fireflies that require meeting bots, Shadow runs entirely in the background and works with any meeting platform.
Behind the Verdict
Shadow nails the post-meeting workflow for a specific user — the knowledge worker buried in calls who wants zero-config recording and customizable automation. The bot-free design is refreshing: no annoying 'X is recording this meeting' messages. Speaker identification, auto-screenshots, and custom Skill prompts make it feel like a personal assistant that actually knows what you care about. Where it bites: it's Mac-only, and there's no web or mobile app for review on the go. Also, the AI features run via external LLM APIs — so Plus users rely on internet for those, though transcription stays offline. Compared to Otter.ai or Fireflies, Shadow is simpler and cheaper at $8/mo but lacks team dashboards, live collaboration, or CRM integrations. If you're a solo operator or small biz with heavy meeting load and an Obsidian workflow, Shadow is a no-regret choice. If you need shared meeting notes or chat-based search across a team, look elsewhere.
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Use Cases
- Automatically generate meeting notes and action items after every Zoom call.
- Use voice shortcuts to compose emails or code without typing.
- Screen-capture context from presentations to answer questions about charts shown.
- Sync structured meeting transcripts to Obsidian vaults via webhook.
- Create custom Skills that output BANT breakdowns from sales calls.
Limitations
- Mac-only desktop app; no web or mobile access.
- Free tier limits AI features (unlimited only in Plus).
- Language support not documented; meeting bot avoidance may require user consent.
- No multi-device sync mentioned.
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Annual total
Free
Over 12 months
Effective monthly
Free
Billed monthly
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
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