Who can use this: Any team member
Available on: Any Gong plan
Gong uses your calendar to identify meetings to record, then records them through your web conferencing provider. Once a call is processed, Gong generates a transcript, AI insights, and a brief you can use to review what happened. Understanding how recording works helps you set up meetings correctly and know what to expect when something goes wrong.
Automatic recording
After your Tech admin connects Gong to your company's email provider, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Outlook, Gong scans your calendar and identifies meetings that should be recorded. When a meeting ends, the recording, transcript, and AI content are available on the call page in Gong.
Your tech admin controls which calls are recorded, which team members' calls are captured, how consent is handled, and which web conferencing providers are supported. If your calls are not recording as expected, the most likely cause is a settings issue at the company level. See Troubleshoot unrecorded calls for the checks you can run yourself, and contact your tech admin for anything requiring configuration changes.
How Gong records a call
Gong records calls using one of two methods, depending on your company's setup and the conferencing provider.
Bot recording: Gong joins the meeting as a virtual participant and records the call. In Zoom, the Gong recorder appears in the attendee list like any other participant.
Native recording: With supported providers such as Zoom, Gong records the call in the conferencing platform and retrieves it after the call, so no Gong recorder appears in the meeting when native recording is used.
Internal and external calls
Gong classifies a meeting as internal when all invitees are from your company, and external when at least one invitee is from outside the company. This classification matters because your company may record external calls automatically but require a different process for internal ones or exclude internal calls from recording entirely. If you are unsure how your company is set up, check with your Tech admin.
Manually recording a call
Some calls are not picked up automatically. This includes private calendar events, meetings scheduled less than 30 minutes in advance, calls hosted by someone outside your company, and internal calls your company has excluded from automatic recording. For these, you can invite the Gong recorder to the meeting manually or schedule the recording from your home page. See Record a call for how to do this.
Inviting the Gong recorder does not override all recording restrictions. A call will not be recorded if:
Consent is enforced and not given: If your company requires all participants to consent before recording, and consent was not given, the call will not be recorded.
A participant is set to never record: If any team member on the call has their data capture settings set to Never record, the call will not be recorded regardless of how it was scheduled.
When a call appears in Gong without a recording
Meetings that Gong knows about but does not record can still appear in Gong with meeting details such as the date, invitees, and description. This can include face-to-face meetings, customer-scheduled calls, and meetings without a web-conference URL. These meetings appear in your activity timeline and count as deal activity, even without a recording. Private calls do not appear.
Consent
Call recording consent determines whether participants must be informed or must actively agree before a call is recorded. Requirements vary by country and, in some cases, by state.
Consent behavior is controlled by your Tech admin through your company's recording settings. These settings determine when participants are notified, whether recording starts automatically or only after consent is given, and how consent applies across different providers and meeting types. For setup details, contact your Tech admin or see your company's recording consent documentation.
Call length limit
Gong cannot process recordings longer than six hours. If you expect a call to run longer, split it into two separate meetings. See Record a call for guidance on long calls.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which recording method my company uses?
Check the call page for a call you know was recorded. If you see the Gong Recorder in the participant list, your company uses bot recording. If no bot appears, native recording is likely in use. Your Tech admin can confirm which recording method your company uses.
Why did a call appear in Gong without a recording?
Gong imports meeting details from your calendar even when a call is not recorded. Common reasons include private meetings, meetings without a web-conference URL, consent-related recording restrictions, and internal meetings your company does not record. See Troubleshoot unrecorded calls for a full list of checks.
Can I record a call that is already in progress?
Yes. If Gong did not pick up the meeting automatically, you can add it from your home page. Go to Home, click the More actions icon 
in the Conversations section, and select Schedule new recording. Set the start time to Now. It can take up to ten minutes for Gong to start recording. See Record a call for the full steps.
Does inviting the Gong recorder guarantee the call will be recorded?
No. Inviting the Gong recorder tells Gong you want the call recorded, but it does not override consent enforcement or individual Never record settings. If consent is required and not obtained, or if a team member on the call is set to never record, the call will not be recorded even with the Gong recorder invited.
When does a call show as ON AIR?
When a call is being recorded, it appears as ON AIR in the Conversations section on your home page. The timing depends on your company's recording method.
For bot recording, ON AIR starts when the Gong recorder joins the meeting, at least 1 minute before the scheduled start time. It stops showing when the meeting ends in your web conferencing software.
For native Zoom recording, ON AIR typically starts about 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. For back-to-back meetings using your personal room link, it starts at least 5 minutes before. It stops at the scheduled end time if the meeting has ended. If the meeting runs past the scheduled end time, ON AIR continues to show until the meeting ends, up to 6 hours after the scheduled end time.