Kona joins your 1-on-1 meetings as a silent participant, captures notes and action items, and — depending on your organization's add-on — delivers personalized AI coaching based on what happens in your conversations.
Feature Structure
Before the meeting
On the day of a scheduled 1-on-1, Kona sends a morning brief via Slack (with email as backup). The brief includes a meeting agenda overview and any open action items from previous 1-on-1s.
Before the meeting starts, you can open the 1-on-1 agenda in 15Five to review coaching tips, suggested action items, and a recap of your last 1-on-1.
During the meeting
Kona joins as a silent participant. No action is required during the meeting.
Kona Meeting Assistant captures key discussion points, decisions, and action items. It automatically starts the 1-on-1 session and syncs notes to your 1-on-1 agenda. No coaching feedback is provided.
Kona Coach does everything Kona Meeting Assistant does, and also listens for behaviors related to your coaching focus (such as recognition, accountability, or feedback delivery). Coaching prompts are delivered only to you — your direct report cannot see them.
During a meeting, either participant (manager or direct report) can type these commands in the meeting chat to control Kona. These commands work with both Kona Meeting Assistant and Kona Coach:
- Kona pause — temporarily stops note-taking
- Kona start — resumes note-taking
- Kona leave — removes Kona from the meeting; Kona does not rejoin until the next scheduled session
Two buttons manage Kona's presence in meetings. Send Kona to 1-on-1 now does not require Kona on the calendar invite. It sends Kona directly to a meeting happening today that has a valid meeting link. Use it to troubleshoot when Kona did not join at the expected time. Add Kona to meetings manages Kona's presence on calendar invites for future meetings. Use it to add or remove Kona from recurring 1-on-1 calendar events.
After the meeting
Kona Meeting Assistant sends a Slack or email notification with a link to your 1-on-1 notes in 15Five. The notification includes a meeting summary, a list of action items, and notes automatically added to your 1-on-1 agenda. Kona also automatically ends the 1-on-1 so you do not need to mark it as ended.
Meeting notes form a continuous record of progress and feed into AI-Assisted Reviews. Private 1-on-1 notes remain confidential and are not made newly visible through AI-Assisted Reviews.
Both the manager and direct report can edit Kona-generated notes and action items in the 1-on-1 agenda. AI-Assisted Reviews and the Context Layer reference the original notes captured during the meeting, not edited versions, so edits do not affect review data.
Kona Coach additionally delivers a short reflection or coaching tip tailored to the recent meeting. These appear in Slack, or by email for Teams and Outlook users, and on your Kona Coach page in 15Five. You can edit notes, add to them, and check off completed action items. Kona Coach uses this data to personalize future coaching guidance.
Key Rules
- Kona joins only meetings with exactly two participants. Attendee status (required or optional) does not affect this.
- Only one participant needs Kona access for Kona to join. The direct report does not need a Kona license.
- Kona access can be enabled only for Managers and HR Admins.
- Both the manager and direct report can use Kona pause, Kona start, and Kona leave commands during a meeting. These commands work with both Kona Meeting Assistant and Kona Coach.
- Coaching prompts (Kona Coach only) are visible only to the manager — never to the direct report.
- Transcripts are retained for 30 days for coaching quality assurance, then permanently deleted. HR, admins, and other managers cannot access transcripts.
- Kona does not record audio or video. It processes meeting transcripts only.
- If Kona is manually removed from a meeting via calendar, it does not rejoin automatically — even if Auto Join is enabled.
- Kona identifies a 1-on-1 by the calendar invite alone. Any two-person meeting between a manager and their direct report is treated as a 1-on-1. There is no connection to the 15Five 1-on-1 schedule. If a two-person meeting with your direct report is a working call rather than a 1-on-1, remove Kona from the invite or type “Kona leave” during the meeting.
- Kona does not automatically check off talking points in 1-on-1s. It can add talking points as part of the meeting assistant process.
- Both the manager and direct report can edit Kona meeting notes. Editing does not affect how notes are used in AI-Assisted Reviews — reviews reference the original captured notes, not edited versions.
What You Can Do
Set Up
- Set up Kona Meeting Assistant (Admin)
- Connect Your Calendar to Kona Meeting Assistant
- Invite a Manager to Kona Coach via Account Settings
Use Kona in Meetings
Manage Settings
Understand Privacy and Access
Reporting
Related Articles
- Kona Meeting Assistant — Feature Overview
- Kona for Managers — Feature Overview
- Kona privacy and transcript retention
- Kona meeting join conditions and participant requirements
- Manage Kona Auto Join and recurring meeting settings
- Hold a 1-on-1 meeting
- View and Manage Kona Meeting Notes in Your 1-on-1 Agenda
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