How to Annotate Over a Screen Share in a Video Call (2026)
Drawing over a shared screen — circling something, adding an arrow, highlighting what matters — seems like a basic feature. In 2026, it's still surprisingly hard to do well in most video call platforms. Here's the full picture.
Zoom: built-in, but presenter-only by default
Zoom has annotation tools built into screen sharing. The presenter can enable them for all participants via the toolbar. When enabled, everyone can draw, highlight, add arrows, and type over the shared content.
How to enable it in Zoom:
- Start a screen share
- In the sharing toolbar, click Annotate
- Click Show Controls → allow participants to annotate
Limitations: Annotations are temporary — they disappear when the share ends. There's no persistent record, no export, and no way to carry annotations into the next meeting.
Microsoft Teams: annotation in Presenter mode
Teams added screen annotation in 2023 via its Presenter toolbar. The presenter can enable a "laser pointer" and annotation mode. Participants can annotate if the presenter allows it.
Limitations: Only works when using Teams' built-in presenter view. No support for third-party screen shares. Annotations are ephemeral.
Google Meet: no native annotation (yet)
As of 2026, Google Meet has no built-in screen annotation feature. There is no way for participants to draw on a shared screen natively. This is the biggest gap in Meet's feature set compared to Zoom and Teams.
The only option is a third-party add-on. Whiteboard for Google Meet is building exactly this — a native Meet panel that adds a real-time annotation layer over screen shares, visible to all participants.
The problem with all existing solutions
Even where annotation exists, there are common shortcomings:
- Annotations disappear — nothing is saved when the call ends
- No collaboration history — you can't refer back to what was marked up in a previous call
- Limited to one platform — Zoom annotations don't carry over to Meet or Teams
- No sticky notes or labels — just freehand drawing, no structured capture
- No AI summary — no way to automatically extract what was discussed and decided
What a complete solution looks like
A proper screen annotation tool for video calls should:
- Let any participant draw on the shared screen — not just the presenter
- Show annotations to everyone live, including the person sharing
- Persist after the call ends — exportable, searchable
- Work alongside sticky notes and structured capture (decisions, actions, questions)
- Require zero setup for viewers — join the call, see the annotations
This is what Whiteboard for Google Meet is building for Google Meet specifically. Join the waitlist to get early access when it ships.
Quick comparison table
| Feature | Zoom | Teams | Meet | WfM* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All participants can annotate | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Annotations persist after call | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works inside Google Meet | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sticky notes + labels | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| AI meeting summary | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| No extra tab or link needed | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ |
* Whiteboard for Google Meet — screen annotation coming soon, other features live now