Granola Migration Deep Dive Skill

Granola Migration Deep Dive

Overview

Comprehensive guide for migrating to Granola from competing meeting note tools. Covers source-specific export procedures, historical data preservation, parallel-run strategy, team transition, and cutover execution. Granola's key differentiator — no bot joins meetings — means the migration also changes the user experience fundamentally.

Prerequisites

Access to source tool with export capability
Granola workspace configured (see granola-install-auth)
Migration timeline agreed with stakeholders
Budget approved for Granola licenses

Instructions

Step 1 — Assess Migration Scope

## Migration Assessment

Source tool: [Otter.ai / Fireflies / Fathom / tl;dv / Manual / Other]
Total meetings in source: [____]
Date range: [____] to [____]
Active users to migrate: [____]
Integrations to recreate: [Slack, Notion, CRM, etc.]
Historical data priority: [Archive all / Selective / Fresh start]
Target cutover date: [____]
Parallel run duration: [1 week / 2 weeks]

Step 2 — Source-Specific Export

From Otter.ai

Export format: TXT, SRT (subtitles), PDF
Bulk export: Otter Pro/Business: Settings > Export > Download All
Limitations: Free plan only exports individual notes
Key data: Transcripts with timestamps, speaker labels, action items

From Fireflies.ai

Export format: TXT, JSON, PDF, SRT
Bulk export: Admin > Data Management > Export
Limitations: Custom fields may not export
Key data: Transcripts, AI summaries, custom topics

From Fathom

Export format: Markdown, CSV, video clips
Bulk export: Settings > Data > Export All
Limitations: Video clips don't transfer
Key data: Meeting summaries, action items, highlights

From tl;dv

Export format: TXT, video recordings
Bulk export: Settings > Data Export
Limitations: AI highlights may not transfer
Key data: Transcripts, timestamps, meeting recordings

From Manual Notes (Google Docs, Notion, Confluence)

Already in accessible format
No export needed — archive in place
Focus on establishing the Granola workflow going forward

Step 3 — Choose Migration Strategy

| Strategy | When to Use | Data Handling | Effort | |----------|------------|--------------|--------| | Fresh Start | <100 historical meetings, or meetings have low reference value | Archive source data externally, start fresh in Granola | Low | | Selective Migration | 100-1000 meetings, some have ongoing reference value | Export key meetings (client calls, decisions, contracts) | Medium | | Full Archive | Enterprise with compliance requirements, everything must be searchable | Export all data, archive in Notion/Drive/cloud storage | High |

Recommended for most teams: Fresh Start or Selective. Granola doesn't import historical data from other tools — there's no import feature. Historical data lives in your archive (Notion, Google Drive, local files).

Step 4 — Archive Historical Data

For important historical meetings, archive before cutting over:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Organize exported meeting notes for archival."""
import os
from pathlib import Path

EXPORT_DIR = Path("~/Downloads/otter-export").expanduser()  # Adjust for your source
ARCHIVE_DIR = Path("~/Documents/meeting-archive").expanduser()

# Create organized archive structure
categories = {
    "client": ["client", "customer", "deal", "sales", "demo"],
    "engineering": ["sprint", "standup", "architecture", "review", "retro"],
    "product": ["product", "prd", "design", "feedback", "roadmap"],
    "leadership": ["all-hands", "board", "strategy", "planning"],
    "general": [],  # catch-all
}

ARCHIVE_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
for cat in categories:
    (ARCHIVE_DIR / cat).mkdir(exist_ok=True)

for file in EXPORT_DIR.glob("*.txt"):
    filename_lower = file.name.lower()
    placed = False
    for cat, keywords in categories.items():
        if any(kw in filename_lower for kw in keywords):
            dest = ARCHIVE_DIR / cat / file.name
            file.rename(dest)
            placed = True
            break
    if not placed:
        (ARCHIVE_DIR / "general" / file.name).rename(file)

print(f"Archived to {ARCHIVE_DIR}")

Alternatively, upload the archive to Notion or Google Drive for team-wide searchability.

Step 5 — Parallel Run (2 Weeks)

Run both tools simultaneously to build confidence:

Week 1: Dual recording

Keep source tool active (bot still joins or captures)
Enable Granola on all meetings (system audio capture)
Compare output quality daily:

| Metric | Source Tool | Granola | Winner | |--------|-----------|---------|--------| | Transcription accuracy | ___% | ___% | | | Action item detection | ___/total | ___/total | | | Summary quality | ___/5 | ___/5 | | | Processing time | ___ min | ___ min | | | User experience (no bot) | N/A | Yes | Granola |

Week 2: Granola primary

Keep source tool as backup only (disable auto-record if possible)
All sharing and distribution via Granola integrations
Team members report any quality issues

Step 6 — Cutover Execution

Cutover day checklist:

[ ] Final export from source tool (last day of data)
[ ] Verify archive is complete and accessible
[ ] Disable source tool recording/bot
[ ] Remove source tool bot from calendar (if applicable)
[ ] Cancel source tool subscription (save on unused billing)
[ ] Announce to team via email/Slack:

Subject: Meeting Notes Migration Complete — Granola is Now Primary

Team,

As of today, we've completed our migration to Granola for meeting notes.

What's changed:
- No more [Otter/Fireflies/etc.] bot joining meetings
- Granola captures audio directly from your device (no bot visible to participants)
- Notes are auto-enhanced with AI summaries and action items

What you need to do:
1. Ensure Granola is running on your device
2. Verify your calendar is connected (Settings > Calendar)
3. Check that microphone + Screen & System Audio permissions are granted

Historical notes: Archived at [Notion link / Drive folder]
Support: Post in #granola-support

Thank you for the smooth transition!

[ ] Monitor for 3 days:
- Capture rate (% of meetings recorded)
- Support ticket volume
- User feedback
- Integration sync health

Step 7 — Post-Migration Optimization

After 1 week on Granola exclusively:

[ ] Configure templates for each meeting type (see granola-core-workflow-a)
[ ] Set up Zapier automation for recurring workflows
[ ] Create custom recipes for team-specific post-meeting tasks
[ ] Establish folder structure matching team workflow
[ ] Delete source tool accounts and data (if no longer needed)

Key Differences from Bot-Based Tools

| Feature | Bot-Based (Otter, Fireflies, tl;dv) | Granola | |---------|--------------------------------------|---------| | Meeting join | Bot joins as participant | No bot — system audio capture | | Participant awareness | "Bot is recording" banner | No banner (still announce recording for consent) | | Platform support | Platform-specific integrations | Any platform (captures system audio) | | Typed notes | Separate app | Built-in notepad merges with transcript | | Enhancement | Auto-generated | User-controlled (click Enhance) | | Templates | Limited | 29 built-in + custom | | Chat | Limited or none | Full Granola Chat with Recipes | | Built-in CRM | No | People & Companies |

Output

Source data exported and archived
Parallel run completed with quality validation
Team migrated and recording in Granola
Source tool deactivated and subscription cancelled
Historical data accessible in archive

Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Fix | |-------|-------|-----| | Source export incomplete | Free plan limits bulk export | Upgrade source plan temporarily for export, then cancel | | Team resistance to change | Comfort with existing tool | Share quality comparison data from parallel run | | Missing historical context | No import feature in Granola | Point team to archived data (Notion/Drive) | | Audio quality different than bot | System audio vs. platform API | Optimize audio setup (see granola-performance-tuning) | | Low adoption post-migration | Setup issues | Run drop-in support sessions, share quick-start guide |

Resources

Next Steps

After migration, explore granola-performance-tuning to optimize output quality.

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