Circleback for recruiting: bot or desktop capture, Ashby notes and plans for interviews

Circleback is a general AI meeting note taker that recruiters can use for interviews, with one feature most of its rivals lack: an Ashby connector, included on every plan, that can add interview notes to a candidate and move the application. As of October 2026 it captures calls with a bot on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex, or with a bot-free desktop app for macOS and Windows, and its paid plans start at $15 per user per month billed yearly. It lists no other applicant tracking system, cannot transcribe a carrier phone call live, and does not write client submittals.

This page covers how Circleback captures an interview, what each plan means for a recruiter, how the Ashby connector works, the settings to change before a candidate call, and who it suits. Every product fact links to Circleback's own site and was checked in October 2026.

How does Circleback capture an interview?

Circleback offers four routes, and they look very different from the candidate's side of the call.

Sources, as of October 2026: getting started with recording, customize meeting participant, Circleback for desktop, desktop recording requirements, mobile app and record a phone call.

The setting that can put a bot in your interview anyway

Circleback's desktop app guide says that if calendar joining preferences are on, Circleback first tries to join as a bot, and only falls back to desktop recording if it cannot get in, for example when the host does not admit it. A recruiter who installs the desktop app to avoid a bot can still end up with one in a candidate's waiting room. The fix is in meeting joining preferences: turn off External (meetings with anyone outside your email domain, which includes every candidate), or turn off joining altogether.

Which method to use for which interview

• Phone screens on a mobile: record with the phone's built-in recorder and import. It works, but the notes arrive after the call, not during it.
• Phone screens through a computer app: the desktop app, which names RingCentral among the apps it covers.
• Video interviews you host: the desktop app. If you prefer the bot, warn the candidate in the invite, since its chat message cannot be switched off.
• Interviews a client or hiring manager hosts: the desktop app. A bot depends on someone admitting it, and in a client's meeting that is not you.
• In-person interviews: the mobile app, with the candidate told before you press record.

What does Circleback cost for a recruiter?

From Circleback's pricing page, per user, as of October 2026. The last column is arithmetic at the yearly rate.

The free plan's 30-day history is the limit recruiters hit first. Many searches run longer than a month, and the first screen is often the conversation you need when an offer stalls. Pro removes that limit. On Business, colleagues who only read shared meetings, such as hiring managers, can be added as free viewers rather than paid seats.

What can Circleback do in Ashby?

The Ashby integration page says the connector is available on every plan, including Free, and that Circleback can search candidates and jobs, read interviews and submitted feedback, create candidates, add notes and move applications between stages. It sees only what the connected Ashby account can see. You use it by asking in plain language, for example to add your debrief notes to a candidate.

Three things to know before you rely on it:

• It is on request, not automatic. Notes reach Ashby when you ask, so build the request into your routine after each interview.
• Read the note before it posts. A summary on the candidate record becomes part of the hiring file. Check names, numbers and any judgment words first.
• Keep stage moves human. Moving an application is a hiring decision. Let the connector do the clicking only after a person has decided.

The integrations page lists no Greenhouse, Lever, Bullhorn or JobAdder connection. Those teams would use Zapier, Make, webhooks or the API, with automations to all integrations starting on Pro. Our AI note takers for Ashby page compares other tools that write to Ashby.

How do you get an interview write-up out of Circleback?

Circleback's insights feature runs an instruction against each meeting's transcript. Its own help article gives "candidate qualifications" as an example of information to extract, and you can add custom fields so the output fills named slots instead of free text. Custom AI insights are listed on Pro.

An example insight for a first-round interview, to adapt:

Name: Interview evidence
Description: For each field, copy the candidate's own words from the
transcript that relate to it, with the approximate time. Do not rate,
score or describe the candidate's personality. If nothing was said on
a topic, write "Not covered".
Fields: Role-specific experience | Example of [competency 1] |
Example of [competency 2] | Salary expectation | Notice period |
Questions the candidate asked

Asking for evidence rather than ratings keeps the judgment with the interviewer and makes the output easy to check. The method behind it is in our guide to evidence-based interview feedback.

Which settings should you change before the first candidate call?

1. Joining preferences. Decide whether the bot should ever join external meetings. If not, turn External off so the desktop app does not try the bot first.
2. The bot's name. If you keep the bot, Pro lets you change its name and image. A name such as "Notes for [your name]" saves an awkward question at the start.
3. Video. The desktop app records video of the meeting window by default. Turn off Record meeting video in Settings if you only need the transcript.
4. Saved recordings. You can stop saving audio and video and still get notes and transcripts. Keeping less candidate audio is easier to defend.
5. Retention. On Business and above, workspace admins can set retention periods for recordings, transcripts and all meeting data. Expired data is deleted permanently.
6. Sharing. Automatic tagging and sharing is on every plan. Check who in your workspace will see interview notes before the first one lands.

On security, Circleback's security article says it is SOC 2 Type II certified, holds EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification, does not use customer data to train models, and offers a DPA. For the questions to put to any vendor, see where AI note takers store interview data.

A notice line for the calendar invite

I use Circleback to take notes on this call so I can listen rather
than type. The notes are used only for your application with
[Company / our client]. If you would prefer not to be recorded, tell
me before we start and I will take notes by hand. It will not affect
your application.

Say it again at the start of the call and wait for a yes. Our interview recording consent script has spoken versions for all-party consent states. This is general information, not legal advice.

Where does Circleback stop for recruiting?

These are gaps on Circleback's own pages as of October 2026. Features change, so check before you decide.

• ATS beyond Ashby. No other applicant tracking system is listed.
• Live phone screens. Carrier calls are imported after the fact, and the phone's recording announcement plays to the candidate.
• Client submittals. Insights can draft text, but there is no submittal in an agency template. Our candidate submittal template shows what one needs.
• A live interview guide. Circleback writes notes after the call; it does not track which must-ask questions you have covered during it.
• Older computers. The desktop app needs Windows 11 or macOS Sonoma 14.2 or later, so Windows 10 laptops are out.

Who should use Circleback for interviews?

Circleback is a sensible choice if:

• You hire in Ashby and want notes on the candidate record without building an integration.
• Your company already uses Circleback for other meetings and interviews would ride along.
• You want the option of bot-free capture on any platform, including Webex.

Look at other tools if:

• Most of your screens are phone calls and you want notes during the call.
• Your ATS is Bullhorn, JobAdder, Greenhouse or Lever and you want notes posted automatically.
• Your output is a client submittal rather than a meeting summary.

We make Interview Signal, one alternative: a Windows and macOS app with no bot that runs a question guide during the interview and writes the scorecard and submittal, with no ATS integration (you paste the output); everything about Circleback on this page comes from its own site, linked and dated. For other bot-free options, see AI note takers without a bot.