PulseCommon requests, and where they stand
The features asked for most often, whether they are supported today, and what you can do instead.
This brings together the requests that come up most often in support enquiries: whether each is supported today and, where it is not, what you can do instead.
This reflects the position when this article was last updated. Nothing here is a promise to provide anything that is not currently supported. For the latest position, contact tharada@the-unchain.com.
Where you add whether and when something will be supported, state only what has been settled as UNCHAIN, Inc.'s development plan. Describing something still under consideration as “planned” risks amounting to a misleading representation of advantage under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, or exaggerated advertising under Article 12 of the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions. Update this article whenever the position changes.
Transcription and speakers
The requests we hear most often about capturing audio and transcribing it.
Speaker labels
A much-requested feature, now available.Speaker labels attribute what is said in the transcript to participants by their display names rather than “me” and “them”.
- Google Meet — available on macOS and Windows using the browser extension. For the setup, see Using speaker labels in Google Meet.
- Zoom — available on macOS. For the setup, see Using speaker labels in Zoom.
Even where it is not supported, notes are produced with speakers inferred from context. Where a name is wrong, you can correct it directly in the note or tell chat to fix it.
Accuracy with Japanese honorifics and spoken language
We are asked about accuracy with honorific expressions such as “〜させていただきます” and “〜のほうでよろしかったでしょうか”, and with self-corrections, backchannelling and several people speaking at once. We do not currently guarantee any accuracy specific to Japanese.
Where accuracy is a problem, these can help.
- Register internal terminology and proper nouns (see the next item).
- Put the microphone near the speaker, and avoid several people sharing one device's microphone.
- Reduce echo in the meeting room and noise from air conditioning.
The accuracy of transcription and summarisation varies with audio quality, the number of speakers, background noise and the presence of specialist terms. No particular level of accuracy is guaranteed. Ways to improve it are gathered in Transcription is not working.
Registering internal terminology
Already supported. Registering company names, product names, team names and industry abbreviations makes those spellings more likely to be used in the transcript. Registration at workspace level is done by an administrator and applies to everyone in it. For the steps, see Customising transcription.
There are limits on how many terms can be registered and on how spelling variations are absorbed. Not every mis-transcription is resolved.
More languages
The most-requested languages are supported, but not every language. For what is supported, see Multi-language support. If you need a particular language, contact tharada@the-unchain.com; we will look into it with our transcription supplier.
Editing the transcript
Not currently supported. We recognise there are times when you want to correct something recorded wrongly, and we have noted it as something to consider improving.
The AI-formatted note can be edited. Correcting the content of the note, rather than the transcript itself, is possible today.
Recording meetings
Requests about what triggers recording and which kinds of meeting can be recorded.
Starting recording automatically for every meeting
Not currently supported. We have noted the request, but because of the risk of recording meetings and moments you did not intend, we are prioritising getting the features for deleting and editing transcripts in place first.
In Japanese organisations, a mechanism that starts recording automatically without telling participants is also apt to run into internal rules. For how to think about giving notice, see How far you can go with AI minutes (a guide for teams), and for the features that tell participants you are recording, see About the transparency features.
Saving audio or video
Recording and saving audio files or video is not currently supported. Pulse is aimed squarely at producing notes, and does not offer a feature for storing recordings.
Where you need a recording of a meeting, use the recording feature of your meeting system, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Notes and organisation
Requests about the shape of the notes produced, and organising them afterwards.
Setting a default template
Not currently supported. A meeting note is first summarised using an automatically chosen template. You can rebuild it afterwards with a different template, but you cannot make a template other than automatic selection the default, or specify a template before or during a meeting.
We are including this use case in our thinking as we revisit how templates work. For what is possible today, see Shaping notes with templates.
Filing into folders automatically
A frequent request. We are asked for a default folder for new notes, for notes to be filed into folders automatically by rule, and for a way to show only notes that are not in a folder. None of these is currently supported. Improving organisation is an area we work on continuously.
For how organisation works today, see Spaces and folders.
Approval workflows and sign-off for minutes
In Japanese organisations it is common practice for a manager to review minutes and for them to be finalised as an official record through approval and a seal. Pulse has no feature for requesting approval, tracking approval status or applying an electronic seal. We have noted the request.
For now, there are these approaches.
- Use export or sharing to take the note into your internal workflow or document management system for approval.
- Keep a separate shared folder for approved minutes and collect only the finalised ones there.
- Notion integration or the Slack integration — build a review request flow with either.
Where you write about the evidential weight of minutes or how they relate to internal sign-off, check what UNCHAIN, Inc. can properly say before adding it. Electronic signatures and timestamps are not supported, so avoid any wording that guarantees legal evidential weight.
Calendars and integrations
Requests about which calendars can be connected and about integrating with external services.
Support for Apple Calendar
Not currently supported. The calendars that can be connected are Google Calendar and the Microsoft / Outlook calendar. This is a frequent request. For what is supported today, see Connecting your calendar.
Deeper support for Microsoft Teams
Integration with the Microsoft 365 calendar is supported, and Teams meetings are pulled in as events. Obtaining speaker labels in Teams, however, is not currently supported; speaker labels are available in Google Meet and Zoom.
We are also asked about posting to Teams chat automatically and about working inside the Teams app. Neither is currently supported. For how to tell participants in a Teams meeting that you are recording, see Automatic Zoom and Teams chat notices (for individuals).
Integrating with Salesforce or kintone
Direct integrations with Salesforce and kintone are not currently offered. Both are widely used in Japanese organisations and we have noted the request.
For now, there are two approaches.
- Zapier integration — use it to send data to an external service when a note is created.
- API — use it to retrieve notes and transcripts from your own systems.
The services you can connect are listed in List of integrations.
Sending to an integration automatically
At present, sending a note to an integration requires an explicit action each time. A note is never sent to an external service automatically once it is created.
We hear requests for automation continuously. Even if we build it, it is likely to be triggered by some action such as adding a note to a folder — to avoid unintended transmission outside the company.
Where data is stored, and how the product is offered
Requests about where data is kept and in what form the product is offered.
A mobile app
Not currently supported. Use Pulse in the desktop app (macOS and Windows). You cannot record a meeting from a phone or tablet, and recording in-person meetings and phone calls is not supported either.
From a browser you can view and edit notes you have already created. For reading notes back or correcting wording while you are out, use a browser. Recording and transcription work by capturing the computer’s system audio and microphone, so they run only in the desktop app. The conditions for capture are covered in How transcription works.
Running it on premises
Not currently supported. Pulse is offered as a cloud service; there is no form of it that is installed on your own servers or in your own data centre.
Choosing storage in a Japanese region
A feature letting customers specify the region their data is stored in is not currently offered.
The regions of the cloud infrastructure Pulse actually uses, and where the transcription processor is located, are set out in the security and privacy FAQ. Where you write about storage in a Japanese region or the option to choose a region, add it only once UNCHAIN, Inc.’s arrangements are settled. Where data is stored outside Japan, the position under Article 28 of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information on provision to third parties in foreign countries has to be set out, so keep this consistent with the privacy policy.
Where industry guidance sets requirements on where data is held and on processors — for financial institutions, healthcare providers and licensed professionals — see Use in healthcare, finance and the professions.
Anything else
There are many more features we would like to build than the ones listed here. We work to priorities, so we cannot do everything.
Send requests to tharada@the-unchain.com. Telling us which part of what work you need it for gives us something to work with.