Pulse listens to your calls so it can surface deal-aware answers in real time. As Pulse works from what's being said on the call, it's important to understand how that conversation is handled and when you need consent from the other participants. This article explains both.
How Pulse handles your call data
To surface answers in real time, Pulse processes what's said on your call, including both your side and the other participants' audio. SiftHub handles that data as governed by your organization's agreement with SiftHub.
As your conversations are processed and may be retained, treat consent the same way you would for recording a call (see below).
Getting consent
Where consent is required, the simplest approach is to ask for it at the start of the call. A short, plain disclosure is usually enough. For example:
"Just so you know, I use an AI assistant during our calls to help me pull up answers for you. Are you okay with that?"
A few best practices:
- Disclose early. Ask before substantive discussion begins, not after. Consent should come before Pulse starts working, not once the conversation is underway.
- Capture the "yes." Let the participant's agreement be spoken on the call, so it's part of the same record as the conversation.
- Add a heads-up in advance where you can. A short line in the calendar invite ("I use an AI assistant to help me capture details accurately") sets expectations before the call.
- When in doubt, ask everyone. If you're unsure whether all-party consent (where every participant on the call must agree to being recorded or transcribed) applies, treat the call as if it does.
- Honor a "no." If a participant declines, don't use Pulse on that call.
- Be consistent. Build the disclosure into how your team opens calls so it's never forgotten.
Tip: add Pulse to any notice you already send. If your team already gives attendees notice that a call is recorded or analyzed, the simplest way to disclose Pulse is to add a line about in-call AI assistance to that same notice. A few common channels:
- Your call-recording or conversational-intelligence tool. If it emails attendees a recording or analysis notice, include a line that an in-call AI assistant may also be used. This email and its wording are usually controlled by an admin, so you may need to ask your admin to turn it on or edit the template.
- Zoom. Account owners and admins on eligible plans can customize the recording consent disclaimer at the account or group level, so it appears when recording starts or when someone joins a session that's already being recorded. See Zoom's recording consent disclaimer guide.
- Microsoft Teams. IT admins can customize the in-meeting recording and transcription notification message, and the privacy policy URL shown to participants. See Microsoft's custom notification message guide.
Treat these as advance notice only: they support transparency, but they don't by themselves replace obtaining consent where all-party consent or the GDPR (the data-protection law in the EU and UK) applies, so still confirm on the call. SiftHub doesn't configure these settings for you, and you remain responsible for determining what notice or consent your use case and jurisdiction require.
How Pulse runs
Pulse runs as a private overlay that's visible only to you. It doesn't join the call as a participant, doesn't appear in the attendee list, and doesn't trigger the meeting platform's recording notification. It stays visible to only you even while you share your screen.
Other questions
Are we storing audio?
No. Pulse doesn't store your call audio. As the conversation happens, the audio is streamed to a transcription service that returns the text in real time, and only that transcript is processed and shown to you. The audio itself is never retained.
Need transcripts to be ephemeral? By default, the transcript is available to you after the call. If your organization would prefer transcripts to exist only for the duration of the call and not be retained afterward, SiftHub can support that. Reach out to your Customer Success Manager to set it up.
This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. Consent, recording, and data-protection laws vary by jurisdiction and change over time. You are responsible for complying with the laws that apply to you and your participants; consult qualified legal counsel for your specific situation.