Automation and artificial intelligence are not just industry buzzwords; they significantly enhance operational efficiency, productivity, and team collaboration. For example, AI is changing how we record and document meetings through the growing popularity of AI note-takers.
The best AI meeting note-takers offer essential features and benefits for business owners, including automatic transcription, real-time meeting summaries, and seamless integration with popular meeting platforms. Therefore, the following list includes some of my favorite free AI meeting note-takers for businesses that need greater transcription accuracy and compliance with data security standards.
- Fireflies.ai: Best overall AI meeting note-taker
- Otter.ai: Best for scalable team collaboration tools
- Sembly: Best for workflow automation and analytics
- Tactiq: Best for third-party apps and integrations
- Krisp: Best for high-quality audio and transcriptions
- tl;dv: Best for sales and customer support teams
Lead Writer, VoIP at Fit Small Business
Comparing the best AI note-takers
Fireflies: Best overall AI meeting note-taker
Pros
- Unlimited transcriptions in 100+ languages
- Integrations with popular meeting apps like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams
- Mobile and desktop applications
Cons
- Transcriptions and summaries are limited on the free plan
- 2 to 4-hour recording limit on meetings
- Smart search is only available on the highest-tier plans
My expert opinion
Fireflies.ai is the best AI meeting note-taker because of its scalable plans, unlimited features, and intuitive interface. Like the other providers on this list, Fireflies.ai starts with a free plan geared towards individual users and then scales up to an Enterprise plan for larger teams. These plans also include access to a mobile and desktop application for easy access to the note-taker across devices.
Regardless of your meeting software, Fireflies.ai integrates with over 10 platforms, from Zoom and Google Meet to Microsoft Teams and Webex. While all plans integrate with the popular meeting platforms, the paid plans also include access to additional team collaboration tools like speaker analytics, topic trackers, and unlimited meeting summaries and public channels.
Although Fireflies.ai offers unlimited features on its higher-tier plans, most are inaccessible on the free plan. Additionally, meeting length is limited across plans, so if you need to record longer meetings, consider Sembly, which offers unlimited meeting minutes and storage on its paid plans.
- Conversation intelligence: This suite of AI tools allows you to analyze meetings for sentiment, key topics, and speaker information. This is beneficial when tracking each team member’s performance metrics or contributions.
- Question detection: While many note-takers track speakers and action items, Fireflies.ai also detects questions that were asked so you can follow up after the meeting.
- Smart search: It can be challenging to remember a key action item or talking point from past meetings, but advanced search features allow you to find information by searching for keywords across your recordings and transcriptions.
Find information in meeting transcripts with Smart Search. (Source: Fireflies.ai)
Otter.ai: Best for scalable team collaboration tools
Pros
- Team chat and channels for organizing communication and collaborations
- Takeaway panel for annotations and action items
- Integrations with popular CRMs
Customer relationship management systems
like Salesforce and HubSpot for sales teams
Cons
- Summaries are only available in English, French, or Spanish
- 30-minute transcription limit on the base plan
- Sales insights are only available on the Enterprise plan
My expert opinion
Otter.ai is one of the best AI note-taking apps for team collaboration and multitasking. Like unified communication tools, many AI note-takers provide features that make it easier to work on projects and communicate. For example, Otter.ai provides a team chat feature that lets you have live conversations and generate content like emails and status updates.
As a platform with use cases for multiple industries, Otter.ai integrates with popular workspace tools like Slack and MS Teams for greater customization and cross-platform collaboration. Additionally, sales and marketing teams can benefit from integrations with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot. You can also input custom vocabulary with words commonly used in your industry for more accurate transcription.
Although Otter.ai offers multilingual support, it only provides this service in English, French, and Spanish. In contrast, most providers on this list offer access to translation in dozens of languages. If you require more comprehensive global support, consider Krisp, which specializes in sales calls and offers support in 95 languages.
- Action items: Otter.ai automatically assigns action items to team members based on your meeting transcription. This makes it easier to collaborate on projects and automate your workflows.
- Channels: In addition to team chat, Otter.ai creates a central location for all conversations, where you can access discussions, keep up to date with your team members, and search meeting notes.
- OtterPilot: Connect the AI meeting assistant to your calendar app, and it will automatically attend your meetings, capture slide presentations, and transcribe notes on key topics, even if you aren’t on the call.
Recap meetings and receive actionable insights from OtterPilot. (Source: Otter.ai)
Sembly: Best for workflow automation & analytics
Pros
- Provides hybrid meeting recording with access to audio and video
- No-code automations and analytics across plans for seamless workflows
- Enterprise-grade security with features like recording consent and compliance certifications
Cons
- Meeting recordings have a 60-minute limit on the free plan
- The AI meeting assistant, Semblian 2.0, is an add-on feature with a monthly fee
- Reporting features are only available on the Enterprise plan
My expert opinion
Sembly is the best AI note-taker for workflow automation and analytics, providing a no-code automation system that allows you to set up routing and filtering options for your meeting. The platform’s integrations make sending your meeting notes to other apps easier, creating a seamless workflow with clear tasks and timelines.
Sembly also integrates with Zapier, so you can access customizable templates and connect other workspace tools to your AI meeting note-taker, such as using Asana and monday for project management. These automation features are paired with advanced data security, making Sembly an excellent option for businesses that regularly send, save, and receive information and data.
Some of the more advanced features, like business reporting, are only available on the Enterprise plan. Sembly’s AI meeting assistant is also an add-on feature, so users must pay $29 monthly or $300 per license to receive AI insights and analytics. To access a meeting assistant without the extra fee, consider Otter.ai, which includes the OtterPilot AI across plans.
- Workspace analytics: Use the dashboard to track the number of meetings you have, their length, and the average number of attendees over specific periods.
- Data retention policy: Workspace administrators can access deletion and retention settings so you can decide which recordings need to be scheduled for deletion or archived for future use.
- Semblian 2.0: Sembly’s AI meeting assistant is an add-on feature for subscriptions that provides additional meeting insights, such as answering questions, creating documents, and providing personalized feedback.
Analyze meeting notes with Semblian 2.0. (Source: Sembly)
Tactiq: Best for third-party apps & integrations
Pros
- Integrated with OpenAI’s ChatGPT for detailed meeting summaries and action items
- Export live meeting transcripts to Google Docs, Notion, or Slack
- Bot-free Google Chrome extension for automatic transcriptions
Cons
- Only 10 meeting transcriptions per month on the free plan
- Custom reports and auditing are only available on the Enterprise plan
My expert opinion
Tactiq is a key player in the market for AI note-takers because it is powered by ChatGPT, one of the most popular artificial intelligence models. With ChatGPT, you can query the note-taker and generate meeting notes and transcriptions, providing deeper insights into your calls. Tactiq also offers a free Google Chrome extension that automatically transcribes your meetings in Google Meet, Zoom, or MS Teams.
Additionally, Tactiq integrates with many third-party apps and integrations, such as Google Docs, Notion, and Slack, which make it easy to transfer meeting notes into an external file-sharing service. These integrations work well for teams that already use external collaboration tools and want notes to be accessible.
With all these integrations, Tactiq works well for larger teams with a robust suite of workspace tools. However, the free plan has limited meeting recording features, so it’s not the best option for individuals or solopreneurs. If you are working with a single-person team, check out Otter.ai.
- Global meeting search: Navigate to the “My Meetings” page to do a keyword search on all meetings stored. This makes it easier to find specific meeting notes and insights.
- Recordings upload: Tactiq allows you to upload audio or video recordings to the platform for transcription. Then, you can get AI insights from meetings that are not directly recorded in the app.
- Workflow builder: The AI workflow builder allows you to create custom pathways that send your meeting notes to other applications and integrations. For example, you can turn action items into automated emails by integrating with a communication tool.
Use the AI workflow builder to integrate with third-party apps. (Source: Tactiq)
Krisp: Best for high-quality audio & transcriptions
Pros
- Unlimited transcripts and audio recordings across plans
- Accent conversion and multilingual support to improve international calling
- 96% accurate AI transcriptions
Cons
- Doesn’t provide more than 30GB of storage
- Limited native integrations compared to other AI note-takers
- Multilingual support is only available on the paid plans
My expert opinion
Krisp is the best AI note-taker for high-quality audio and meeting transcriptions because it is one of the market’s only note-takers offering audio enhancements to improve call quality. While most providers offer suggestions or accessories to enhance call quality, Krisp includes noise-cancellation technology and accent conversion.
Specifically, Krisp enhances the audio quality of each call, improving the clarity of meeting transcriptions. When the audio is clear, it is easier to interpret the recordings. As a result, Krisp offers an impressive 96% accuracy in its transcriptions, making it an excellent choice for companies that want to ensure clarity and consistency in their meeting notes.
However, Krisp does not offer meeting storage on the free plan, and even the highest tier plan provides only 30GB of storage. While this might be sufficient for those who regularly delete recordings, if you need an extended archive, choose Sembly, which offers unlimited storage.
- Custom vocabulary: One way to improve the quality of meeting transcriptions is to use the “Vocabulary page” to add industry-specific terms and jargon to your workspace. This makes it easier for the AI to recognize commonly used words in your meetings.
- Live interpreter: Instead of hiring a human translator, Krisp offers real-time translation in over 20+ languages so that you can improve customer support for a global clientele.
- Noise cancellation: By selecting the noise cancellation feature, Krisp removes background noise and provides studio-level call quality when recording meetings and transcribing your notes.
Customize your audio settings and noise cancellation features in the app. (Source: Krisp)
tl;dv: Best for sales & customer support teams
Pros
- Consent management and confirmation when recording calls
- Create meeting clips to embed in content and share with team members
- Call monitoring and AI coaching with custom playbooks
Cons
- Only chat and email support is offered across plans
- Unlimited storage is only available on paid plans
- Higher cost than other providers on the list
My expert opinion
In contrast to the other AI note-takers on this list, tl;dv offers various features that make it well-suited for sales and customer support teams. For example, the consent management features ensure that whoever you are meeting with knows the call is being recorded and transcribed, ensuring compliance with legal requirements.
tl;dv boasts over 90% transcription accuracy, making it an excellent tool for recording and evaluating calls. After reviewing calls, you can create custom playbooks to enhance productivity and performance. Additionally, sharing meeting clips allows you to provide specific examples for areas of improvement.
While tl;dv provides unique features like sales insights, call monitoring, and a free plan, it is the most expensive AI note-taker on this list, charging by seat instead of by user. Consequently, smaller teams with a tighter budget should consider Fireflies.ai, which starts at just $18 per month for the first paid subscription and $39 per seat for the Enterprise plan.
- Speaker recognition: Automatically recognize who is speaking in a meeting and identify them in the notes using their names. This feature makes it easier to attribute individual contributions correctly and supports accountability for action items.
- Simultaneous meetings: When you are double booked, let tl;dv attend multiple meetings in your place, providing the same quality of transcription and summarization across calls.
- Custom playbooks: Sales and customer support teams can use tl;dv to create custom playbooks to coach agents or team members and implement new frameworks based on AI insights.
Create custom playbooks to coach team members. (Source: tl;dv)
Benefits of using an AI note-taking tool for meetings
There are many benefits to using an AI note-taker with your virtual meeting software. In many ways, a note-taker acts as an AI meeting assistant, which allows you to spend less time recording information and more time focused on work. For example, AI note-taking tools can:
- Save time and labor: Instead of spending extra time deciding who will take notes during a meeting or having a designated note-taker or assistant on each call, an AI note-taker automatically records notes in each meeting.
- Attend simultaneous meetings: If you have ever wanted to be in two places simultaneously, an AI note-taker can take your place by automatically transcribing a call even when you aren’t on it or if you can only participate in part of the call. This is especially useful to maintain oversight on smaller teams or client meetings.
- Improve accountability and collaboration: Many note-takers offer collaborative tools, such as in-app task tracking and real-time summarization, that help team members stay accountable for their assignments. These tools link action items to specific team members.
- Record more accurate meeting notes: Human error is a major factor in traditional note-taking, and AI helps reduce some of that inefficiency by providing high-quality transcripts.
- Increase focus and productivity: Instead of multiple team members spending their time in meetings recording notes, the AI note-taker lets you focus on the task at hand. Meeting summarization clarifies how to contribute to projects and hit the ground running after a meeting.
- Efficiently archive and search notes: Once a meeting is completed, you will have access to your notes, making it easy to archive transcripts for later. Additionally, most note-takers allow you to do keyword searches of your notes, making it easier to find specific information or individuals across multiple meetings.
How to choose the right AI note-taking tool for your needs
Selecting the best AI note-taking app for your business requires understanding your budget, team members, meeting frequency, and workspace needs. Therefore, the following list provides key considerations before adopting a new tool.
Pricing & plans
Depending on the frequency of your team meetings and the size of your team, different plans would work for your business. For example, if you are a solopreneur or a small team with infrequent meetings, you can benefit from some of the free AI meeting note-takers on the market. However, if you have a larger team or require an account with multiple users, choose from one of the paid options or enterprise plans with unlimited users or multi-user seats.
Integrations
While most AI note-takers integrate with numerous third-party applications, the most important thing to consider is whether the software you choose integrates with your organization’s video meeting platform. For example, if you collaborate with Microsoft Teams or require a CRM for streamlining sales, selecting an AI note-taker that seamlessly integrates with your workspace is best.
Transcription quality
Each AI note-taker differs slightly in the features that it provides, which means that the quality of call transcription also differs across products. To ensure the highest quality transcription, you should look for AI note-takers with over 90% AI transcription accuracy and audio enhancements like noise cancellation or speaker identification.
Language support
Many AI note-takers offer multilingual support with transcription in dozens of languages for global teams. If your team would benefit from these features, look for note-takers who provide multilingual transcription and translation services to promote greater cross-cultural collaboration.
Data security & storage
When adopting a new tool, it’s important to consider data collection and curation standards. Because many note-takers automatically record meetings, some businesses will need a note-taker that allows team members or customers to consent to when and how to use it. Additionally, you want to use an AI note-taker with data encryption and privacy standards, such as Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type 2 certification, regarding how your data is stored and handled.
How I evaluated the best AI meeting note-taker
To evaluate the best AI meeting note-taker, I used six-part evaluation criteria that focused on pricing, customer support, and the general features of each provider. I also considered user reviews and my experience with the platforms to assess usability and generate an expert score. To learn more about these criteria, please explore the tabs below:
20% of Overall Score
I analyzed each AI note-taker based on whether or not it offers a free plan or trial. Providers that are transparent with their pricing received more points. Additionally, providers with annual discounts and a subscription plan that falls within the industry average ranked higher.
25% of Overall Score
The base features of each AI note-taker focus on the fundamental requirements for meeting transcription, which include speaker identification, audio quality enhancements, and integration with popular meeting platforms. I gave extra points to providers that offer searchable transcripts featuring clear timestamps and keywords.
20% of Overall Score
10% of Overall Score
For an AI note-taker to be truly effective, it has to be easy to use, especially when setting it up. So, each provider was assessed based on the technical skills required to integrate the software with your current meeting platforms.
10% of Overall Score
In addition to ease of use, the available support level is a crucial factor in effectively using an AI note-taker. Therefore, I evaluated the capacity and quality of user support, including customer service features, community forums, and the accessibility of the knowledge base.
15% of Overall Score
Finally, I evaluated the tools based on my knowledge and experience with AI note-takers, focusing on the quality of the artificial intelligence features and how each tool compares in practice. This criteria also assesses third-party user reviews to determine how well the note-takers work for small business owners.
*Percentages of overall score
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
AI note-takers utilize a combination of tools, including automatic speech recognition, natural language processing, and sentiment analysis, to analyze, detect, and collect human speech patterns with the help of artificial intelligence. By listening to your meetings, the AI can differentiate between speakers and pick up on recurring themes and keywords to generate actionable insights.
Yes, many free AI meeting note-takers, such as Otter.ai and Tactiq, provide automatic transcription, note-taking, and summaries for the video-sharing platform of your choice on a forever free plan.
Yes, most AI note-takers can integrate with collaboration and video-sharing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, as well as other popular workspace tools.
Bottom line
As businesses increasingly depend on virtual meetings for updates and team collaboration, having accurate and comprehensive meeting notes is more important than ever. Incorporating an AI note-taker is a simple solution to ensure you capture high-quality notes while allowing your team to focus more on their work.
Fireflies.ai is the best AI meeting note-taker because it provides automatic meeting transcription and summaries within an easy-to-use interface. Fireflies.ai also offers scalable plans, a free option for solopreneurs, and enterprise plans for businesses that need more security and administrative controls. So, request a demo or get started with the free plan.