# Name speakers and recognise voices > NoteOwl separates the voices in a meeting transcript. Name them once with Rename speakers, and NoteOwl can recognise those voices in later meetings. Source: https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/meetings/name-speakers · Last updated 2026-09-27 · Checked against NoteOwl 1.0.0 To name the speakers in a NoteOwl meeting, click **Rename speakers** above the transcript, type a name beside each speaker and click **Save**. NoteOwl updates the whole transcript and learns each named voice, so it can put that name on the same voice in later meetings. Meetings, speaker names and voice recognition are part of NoteOwl Pro, which you can try free for 7 days: see [start the 7-day NoteOwl Pro trial](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/pro/free-trial). ## How does NoteOwl tell the speakers apart? By channel, then by voice. Your microphone is labelled **You**. Your Mac's audio, where the other people on a call are heard, is labelled **Others**; when it holds two or more voices, NoteOwl splits them into **Speaker 1**, **Speaker 2** and so on. This happens on your Mac at the **Speakers** step after you stop recording, before NoteOwl writes the summary, so the summary and action items are written from the speaker-labelled transcript. See [record a meeting on your Mac](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/meetings/record-a-meeting) for the other steps. Two limits follow from how it works: * **One microphone is one speaker.** NoteOwl separates voices in your Mac's audio, not in your microphone, so several people in a room sharing your Mac's microphone are all labelled **You**. ## Name the speakers in a meeting 1. Open NoteOwl, click **Meeting Scribe** in the sidebar and open the meeting. 2. Above the transcript, click **Rename speakers**. A box opens with a field for each speaker in the meeting. 3. Type a name in the field beside each speaker you want to name. Leave a field empty to keep that speaker's label. 4. Click **Save**, or press Return. NoteOwl changes the label on every line that speaker said, throughout the transcript. Click **Cancel** to close the box without changing anything. Recordings you import in **Transcripts** have a **Rename speakers** button too. ![The Rename speakers box open over a NoteOwl meeting transcript, with a name field for each of three speakers and Cancel and Save buttons](https://www.noteowl.ai/product/p2-rename-speakers.webp) ## How does NoteOwl recognise voices in later meetings? When you save a name, NoteOwl learns that speaker's voice from the meeting's recording. In a later meeting, when a voice it splits out as **Speaker 1**, **Speaker 2** and so on matches a voice it has learned, NoteOwl puts the name there instead. * **It needs some speech to learn from.** If a speaker said less than about a second, NoteOwl says there's too little to learn their voice. The new name still applies to the transcript. * **Naming someone again helps.** Naming the same person in another meeting updates the voice NoteOwl has learned for them. ![A NoteOwl meeting transcript in which each line is labelled Daniel Okafor, Priya Shah or Maya Rao, beside its time and a play button, with Rename speakers and Copy above it](https://www.noteowl.ai/product/p2-transcript-speakers.webp) ## What if NoteOwl split one person into two speakers? Give both the same name. In **Rename speakers**, type the same name beside each of them and click **Save**. NoteOwl merges their lines under that name, and learns the voice from only one of the two, because merged lines can hold more than one voice. ## Does Automatically identify speakers affect meetings? No. Meetings always get their speakers separated when you stop recording. **Automatically identify speakers**, in **Settings → Memory** under **Speakers**, is on by default and covers other recordings, such as files you import in **Transcripts**. ## How do I stop NoteOwl recognising someone? Open the person in **People** and click **Forget** in their **Voice** row. NoteOwl deletes the voice it learned for them, so it stops naming them in new meetings. Their name stays on transcripts you already have, and their profile stays in **People**. The **Voice** row reads **Recognized** when NoteOwl has learned someone's voice and **Not learned yet** when it hasn't. **Delete all my data** in **Settings → Memory** also removes every voice NoteOwl has learned: see [delete a recording or all your data](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/data/delete-all-data). ## Common questions ### Does NoteOwl upload voices to recognise speakers? No. NoteOwl separates speakers and learns voices on your Mac. The voices it learns are kept in NoteOwl's own files on your Mac and are never sent anywhere. ### Does NoteOwl learn someone's voice without asking? No. NoteOwl learns a voice only when you give a speaker a name in Rename speakers and save it. Separating the speakers in a meeting doesn't store anyone's voice, and Forget in People removes a voice NoteOwl has learned. ### Will NoteOwl put names on meetings I recorded before? No. NoteOwl matches voices while it processes a meeting after you stop recording, so a meeting processed before you named someone keeps its labels. Name the speakers in that meeting with Rename speakers. ## Related - [Record a meeting on your Mac](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/meetings/record-a-meeting): Record any call on your Mac with NoteOwl and no bot. Press ⌥Space or Start Meeting; the transcript, summary and action items are written when you stop. - [Summaries, decisions and action items](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/meetings/summaries-and-action-items): NoteOwl writes a meeting summary with key decisions and action items when you stop. Rewrite it in any of 22 templates and track action items as commitments. - [Export a note, or all of your data](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/data/export): Export a NoteOwl meeting, dictation or transcript as Markdown, PDF, text or subtitles, or save everything to one zip file with Export all data. - [Delete a recording or all your data](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/data/delete-all-data): Delete one meeting, dictation or transcript in NoteOwl, or erase your whole library with Delete all my data in Settings → Memory, and see what stays. Learn more: [Speaker recognition, on the NoteOwl Features page](https://www.noteowl.ai/features/speaker-recognition)