Getting Started with the Wave Chrome Extension
Record any browser tab, your microphone, or both — transcribed and summarized in your Wave library.
The Wave AI Chrome extension records the audio playing in any browser tab, your microphone, or both at once — no bot joining the call and no screen share. Recordings land in your Wave library and get the same transcript and summary as everything else.
Install and sign in
Install Wave AI from the Chrome Web Store.
Click the Wave icon in your Chrome toolbar, then click Sign in to Wave.
A Sign in to Wave for Chrome window opens with Continue with Google, Continue with Apple, and Continue with Microsoft. Pick the same one you use for your Wave account.
Use the same sign-in method and email address as the Wave app. A different email address is a different Wave account, so your recordings would land in an empty library you don't see anywhere else. See using Wave on multiple devices.
Choose what to record
Under Record, the popup has two sources you can turn on and off:
- Tab audio — everything playing in your current Chrome tab: Google Meet, Zoom or Teams on the web, a lecture, a podcast, a video.
- Microphone — your own voice, for a memo or for your half of a meeting.
Turn both on to capture the call and your voice in one recording. At least one source always has to stay on. Below them, From shows the tab Wave will capture.
If you have more than one microphone, a dropdown lets you pick Default microphone or a specific device. You can change it before or during a recording.
Record
Open the tab you want to capture, then click the Wave icon.
Click the record button. It reads Start recording, Record this meeting when Wave spots a call in the tab, or Record voice memo when only Microphone is on.
If Chrome hasn't let Wave use your microphone yet, a tab opens asking you to Allow your microphone. Click Allow microphone, and the recording starts on its own.
A timer and level meter run while you record. You can close the popup; recording keeps going in the background. Use Pause and Resume whenever you need a break.
Click Stop and save. Wave uploads the audio and shows "Saved. Your notes will be ready in a minute or two."
To throw a recording away, click Discard, then Delete. If you move to a different tab mid-recording, Wave shows Recording a different tab with Record this tab instead (moves the capture over without stopping) and Go to that tab. Tab audio still plays through your speakers the whole time, so a meeting sounds normal.
You can also start without opening the popup:
- Press Alt+Shift+R (Option+Shift+R on a Mac) on any tab to start or stop recording, and Alt+Shift+P to pause or resume.
- Right-click a page or the Wave icon and choose Record this tab with Wave.
To change the shortcuts, open the extension's settings (the gear icon) and click Change next to Keyboard shortcuts.
If the connection drops, Wave keeps recording and stores the audio on your computer, then uploads it when you're back online. If Wave hears nothing for a few minutes it says so in the popup, and after 20 quiet minutes it saves the recording by itself.
Meetings in the browser
With Spot meetings on (the default), Wave marks its toolbar icon when a tab is in a Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom call in the browser, and the popup offers Record this meeting. If you allow Chrome notifications, Wave also reminds you to record. Nothing joins the call, so let people know you're recording.
Finding your recordings and notes
Your latest sessions are listed under Recent in the popup. A session shows Writing notes while Wave works on it, or Needs attention if something went wrong. Click one to open it at app.wave.co, or click Open Wave to see everything.
For more room, open Wave beside the page: click the panel icon in the popup header, press Alt+Shift+W, or right-click and choose Open Wave beside this tab. The side panel lists more of your recent sessions, and opens them right there: the summary and action items under Notes, and an Ask Wave tab for questions about that session. Finish a recording with the panel open and it switches to that session's notes.
Turn on Tell me when notes are ready in the extension's settings (the gear icon) and Chrome shows a notification a minute or two after you stop. Chrome asks you to allow notifications the first time. The same settings hold Spot meetings and Sign out.
Extension recordings sync to your Wave account like any other session, so they show up in the Wave mobile app, on the web app, and in the Wave desktop app too.
What it can't record
- Chrome's own pages. Tabs on
chrome://, extension pages, the Chrome Web Store, and similar browser pages can't be captured. Wave shows Chrome does not allow recording this page. Open the tab you want to record, or click Use microphone only. - Audio outside Chrome. A desktop Zoom or Teams client, a native music app, or a phone on speaker isn't in a browser tab. For those, use the Wave desktop app, which captures your computer's system audio.
- Other browsers. The extension is built for Chrome (version 116 or later).
FAQ
Check that Tab audio is on and that the tab is actually playing sound. The level meter moves while Wave hears audio. If it's flat, the wrong source is on, or you're capturing the wrong tab.
Wave shows Chrome is blocking the microphone. Click the icon to the left of the address bar, set Microphone to Allow, then try again. Or switch off Microphone in Wave and record tab audio only.
Almost always a sign-in mismatch. Open the extension's settings, check the email shown there, click Sign out, then sign back in with the exact method and email you use for the Wave app.
Yes — that's the point of the extension for browser meetings. It captures the tab locally, so nothing appears in the participant list. For meetings held in a desktop app, the Wave desktop app does the same thing at the system level.
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