Kona AI Meeting Assistant is an AI-powered tool that automatically joins 1:1 meetings in Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams to capture notes, identify action items, and create a continuous record of performance. This aims to automate up to 80% of the performance review writing process, saving managers time, reducing bias, and improving the quality and fairness of reviews.
This article contains the following sections:
- Overview 🌐
- Setup ⚙️
- Using Kona Meeting Assistant
- Troubleshooting 🔍
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ❓
Access and availability
⛔️ Required access to Kona.
👥 This article is relevant to Account Admins and Managers.
📦 Kona is available as an add-on for companies on our Perform and Total Platform pricing packages.
Overview 🌐
Kona Meeting Assistant joins meetings between a manager and their direct report to:
- Automate the note-taking process, which lowers the barrier for managers to run effective 1:1s.
- Provide a constant record of performance, including tasks, action items, talking points, and even OKRs.
- Reduce the time managers spend writing performance reviews by automatically generating a data-rich first draft.
Note
Kona does not record or store video/audio content. Meeting data is transient and securely processed for note-taking and feedback purposes only.
Setup ⚙️
Kona Meeting Assistant is an easy, "set it and forget it" tool. Follow the steps below to set up Kona Meeting Assistant for your managers:
- Click on the Settings gear in the top right-hand corner of your 15Five account.
- Under "Admin Settings", select "Features".
- Click on Kona Meeting Assistant to open the settings.
- From here, you can choose:
- Which managers should have access to the Meeting Assistant - All managers (default), Specific managers (if you want only certain people to have access), or Nobody (if you aren't ready to launch yet).
-
How Kona should join 1-on-1s - either Automatically (Kona will join all 1-on-1s by default) or Let managers decide (managers will choose meetings for Kona to join)
Note
If you set this to Let managers decide, they will want to make sure Kona is able to join enough meetings to help generate more comprehensive performance review drafts
-
Whether or not to utilize the Advanced calendar connection, which automatically and safely unblocks personal calendar permissions that might get in the way of Kona's performance.
- Which managers should have access to the Meeting Assistant - All managers (default), Specific managers (if you want only certain people to have access), or Nobody (if you aren't ready to launch yet).
Once it’s enabled, managers will receive a short welcome message — either by email or in Slack, depending on your setup. That message introduces Kona, explains how it works, and reassures them of something really important: Kona is not a surveillance tool.
It’s not there to record or evaluate them. It’s there to support them — to make their jobs easier, their documentation cleaner, provide greater focus and connection, and their reviews higher quality.
And if at any point a manager prefers not to use Kona, they can opt out immediately. Control stays entirely in their hands.
Using Kona Meeting Assistant...
During the Meeting
Kona will:
- Join automatically at the scheduled time
- One-time recording permission—no more repeated prompts
- Begin note-taking automatically or ask for permission to record (based on your Zoom settings)
- Display as a standard participant named “Kona” in the Zoom meeting
In-meeting Chat Commands
You can control Kona using Zoom's in-meeting chat:
- Kona pause - (Temporarily stops note-taking)
- Kona start - (Resumes note-taking)
- Kona leave: - (Ends note-taking and removes Kona from the meeting)
After the Meeting
Within minutes of the meeting ending, you (the manager) and your direct report will receive the following via Email and/or Slack direct message (depending on notification settings):
- A summary of meeting points
- A list of action items
Any captured notes and action items will also appear automatically in the 1-on-1 Agenda.
During the Meeting
Kona will:
- Join automatically at the scheduled time
- One-time recording permission—no more repeated prompts
- Notes are taken in real time
- Display as a standard participant named “Kona” in the Zoom meeting
In-meeting Chat Commands
No chat-based commands at this time in Teams.
After the Meeting
Within minutes of the meeting ending, you (the manager) and your direct report will receive the following via email:
- A summary of meeting points
- A list of action items
Any captured notes and action items will also appear automatically in the 1-on-1 Agenda.
Note
Unlike Slack users, Teams users do not yet receive messages inside Teams chat. Email is the primary delivery method.
During the Meeting
-
Kona joins automatically at the scheduled time.
-
Works similarly to Zoom: takes notes and provides coaching feedback.
After the Meeting
Within minutes of the meeting ending, you (the manager) and your direct report will receive the following via Email and/or Slack direct message (depending on notification settings):
- A summary of meeting points
- A list of action items
Any captured notes and action items will also appear automatically in the 1-on-1 Agenda.
Troubleshooting 🔍
- Confirm your calendar connection in 15Five Settings
- Ensure that both your direct report and bot@15five.com are on the invite
- Verify that a Zoom/Google Meet/Teams link is included in the calendar event
- Check your email inbox and Slack/Teams (if enabled with your org).
- If the issue persists, contact your company liaison or reach out to 15Five's Support Team
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ❓
Who is this for?
Kona is designed for:
- HR Leaders: For HR leaders, this is a strategic tool to increase employee performance and retention by improving the quality and fairness of performance reviews and the frequency of performance.
- Managers: For managers, this is a powerful time-saving tool that eliminates the administrative burden of performance management, enabling them to write higher-quality reviews in a fraction of the time. Managers no longer have to worry about notetaking and can be 100% present with their direct reports.
- Employees: For employees, the meeting assistant will provide a continuous feedback mechanism, enabling them to know precisely where they stand in relation to the company’s expectations for their performance. No more guessing. It will also power their own self-reviews and the reviews they provide to their managers, helping them to offer richer self-reflection and better feedback to their managers. The digital documentation of 1:1 conversations will now create records (notes and action items) that employees can refer back to, helping them be more present in conversations and eliminating the need for note-taking. It will also hold their managers accountable to their own commitments.
How can I explain Kona to my direct report to get their consent?
You can say: “Hey [Name], I’m trying out a new notetaker called Kona for our 1:1s. Kona will join our next meeting and take notes for us, which it will send to each of usafter the meeting. The recording and transcript of our meeting are deleted after the meeting ends. The notes Kona takes are 100% private between us. This will help me keep track of our conversations and action items, as well as receive some coaching on how I can support you better going forward. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this.”
Is my conversation data private and secure?
Absolutely. Privacy is paramount. The notes and summaries generated by the Kona AI Meeting Assistant are private to the manager and their direct report. HR administrators cannot see the content of these 1:1 notes without the manager's explicit consent, ensuring conversations remain confidential and psychologically safe. The transcripts of these meetings are used to capture key elements and then deleted after 30 days.
All data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Notes are private and accessible only to the manager and their direct report. More details are available in our Privacy Policy.
No. Notes are private and shared only between you and your direct report.
What makes this different from other AI notetakers like Gong or Fathom?
While other tools can record meetings, the Kona AI Meeting Assistant is the only one fully integrated into a performance management platform. It doesn't just create a transcript; it understands the context of a 1:1 and directly feeds the data into the 15Five performance review and 1-on-1 workflows. It is so powerful that the AI can understand when the conversation is not about performance specifically and ignores those personal conversation elements that would not be relevant. This end-to-end integration enables the true automation of the review process.
Does it work differently for MS Teams?
Currently, Kona can join meetings in MS Teams but does not send notes into Teams. Sending notes to MS Teams is on the roadmap.