I'll be honest - I used to be terrible at taking meeting notes. You know the drill: frantically scribbling while trying to look engaged, only to realize later that my handwriting looks like hieroglyphics and I missed the most important part of the conversation. Sound familiar?
Turns out I'm not alone. Around 71% of senior managers say meetings aren’t productive. And I couldn’t agree more. I also find that poor note-taking is a big part of the problem. The good news? AI note takers have gotten really good at fixing this mess. The bad news? Finding one that actually works for in-person meetings is trickier than you'd think.
Here’s the thing about in-person meetings - they’re messy. People talk over each other, there’s background noise, and someone’s always sitting too far from the microphone. That’s reality for sales folks meeting clients, therapists in sessions, project managers running room-based standups, or professionals in real estate and construction who spend more time on-site than on Zoom.
Virtual meeting tools work great when everyone’s remote with decent headsets. But put them in a real conference room, job site, or client office, and they often fall apart - exactly where teams that rely on face-to-face conversations need reliable notes the most.
Over the last few months, I’ve been hands-on with a wide range of AI note takers for real-world use—onsite client visits, noisy offices, and everything in between. Some were great, some fell apart in the room, and a few genuinely surprised me. Here’s how they stack up for in‑person meetings:
Table of Contents
- TL;DR: Quick Picks for Busy Professionals
- Criteria Breakdown Summary
- Top 9 AI Note Takers for In-Person Meetings
- Fireflies AI - Built for Real Meetings, Not Just Transcripts
- Plaud - Dedicated Hardware Solution
- Otter AI - Real-Time Transcription Leader
- MeetGeek AI - Advanced Analytics Platform
- Granola - Human-AI Note Combination
- Krisp - Superior Audio Enhancement
- Jamie - GDPR-Compliant Multi-Language Support
- Avoma - Sales Coaching Specialist
- Notable Mentions
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final Thoughts
TL;DR: Quick Picks for Busy Professionals
Look, I know you're busy. Here's the short version of what I found after way too many hours of testing:
- Best Overall: Fireflies AI - Built for automation, privacy, accuracy, and deep integrations. Fireflies supports desktop, mobile, and web recording, making it easy to capture in‑person meetings—job sites, client offices, conference rooms—with automatic speaker tagging, Enterprise‑grade security (SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA/GDPR‑eligible) keeps compliance teams comfortable
- Best Hardware Solution: Plaud - A dedicated recording device with AI transcription, no bots required. Ideal if you want reliable capture without juggling apps or browser extensions, though integrations are more limited than pure software tools
- Best Real-Time Features: Otter AI - Live transcripts appear as you talk, with solid accuracy in supported languages (English, Spanish, French, Japanese). Fireflies offers real‑time notes as well, but Otter leans hardest into the “watch it as you speak” experience
- Best Analytics: MeetGeek AI - Heavy on conversation analytics like talk time, sentiment, and topic flow, which is especially useful if you’re coaching teams or tuning how your meetings run
- Best Hybrid Approach: Granola - Lets you keep taking notes in your own style while AI quietly captures and structures the conversation in the background
- Best Audio Quality: Krisp - Device‑level noise cancellation that can clean up background chatter, keyboard noise, and AC hum so any transcription tool (including Fireflies) hears a much clearer signal
- Best Language Support: Jamie - Handles 99+ languages with strict GDPR‑first hosting on German servers, great for EU‑centric teams that prioritize local processing and automatic deletion. Fireflies AI, on the other hand, supports transcription in 100+ languages with auto detection and is usually the better fit if you want multilingual coverage plus deep workflows and integrations
- Best for Sales Teams: Avoma - Designed around revenue and customer teams with strong coaching, talk‑ratio insights, and deal intelligence. Fireflies also supports rich sales workflows (CRM sync, coaching metrics, deal insights) while staying flexible enough for product, CS, and operations teams to use the same platform
Comparison Table
Criteria Breakdown Summary
Here's what actually matters when you're picking one of these tools. I learned this the hard way after testing a bunch that looked great on paper but sucked in real life.
Audio Quality: This is make-or-break stuff. Conference rooms are noisy, people mumble, and someone's always sitting too far from the microphone. If the AI can't hear properly, nothing else matters.
Bot vs. No Bot: Some tools send a little virtual participant to your meetings. Others just record from your device. The bot thing sounds weird, but honestly, most people don't even notice after the first meeting.
Transcription Accuracy: Anything under 90% accuracy is basically useless. You want something that gets the words right, knows who's talking, and doesn't turn "quarterly revenue" into "quarterly revenge."
Real-Time vs. Later: Some tools show you the transcript as you talk, others make you wait. Real-time is cool but not always necessary - depends on how you work.
Languages: If your team speaks different languages or has strong accents, this matters a lot. “Multi-language support” can mean anything from a handful of major languages (like Otter) to 99+ (Jamie) or 100+ (Fireflies), so check the details instead of relying on the label
Security: Your meetings probably contain stuff you don't want floating around the internet. Look for tools that take this seriously, especially if you work somewhere with actual compliance requirements.
Integrations: Without seamless integrations, you’ll create extra manual work and slow your team down. A tool that doesn’t sync with your CRM, project management, and communication platforms simply won’t drive productivity or deliver useful insight
Fireflies AI - Built for Real Meetings, Not Just Transcripts
Best Overall Pick
Here’s the short version: Fireflies is the one I keep coming back to. After testing everything on this list, it’s the tool that actually stuck for my own meetings.
Here’s why: it just works, consistently. Fireflies is easy to use on both web and mobile, and getting started is as simple as hitting the record button. Whether you’re in a meeting at your desk or recording on the go from the mobile app, the audio is captured instantly and the summary shows up within minutes. There’s no setup friction, no workflow gymnastics. It also supports transcription in 100+ languages with auto‑language detection, which makes it a strong fit for global, multilingual teams. Honestly, it’s one of those tools you understand best by just trying it yourself.
It’s also excellent at speaker identification. Even in messy conversations—noisy coffee shops, overlapping voices, or bigger group calls—Fireflies separates speakers and labels them as Speaker 1, Speaker 2, Speaker 3, and so on. For online meetings, it picks up participant names automatically, and for recordings where names aren’t available, you can rename speakers with a single click. Change “Speaker 1” to “John,” and Fireflies updates every instance instantly. No manual cleanup, no guesswork.
But what really impressed me isn't just the transcription (though that's solid). It's how it actually understands what happened in the meeting. Ask something like “What did the client push back on around pricing?” and you get a direct, contextual answer instead of a basic keyword match.
One thing that really sealed the deal for me is how easily the tool slots into my broader workflow. Thanks to MCP connectors, Fireflies can plug into GPT and Claude so those assistants can answer questions based on your past meetings and notes. It turns your conversations into a searchable knowledge base across tools. Just remember: Fireflies’ strict privacy and compliance guarantees apply to data inside Fireflies, and once you send snippets to an external AI, that usage is governed by that provider’s policies instead.
Fireflies also has native integrations across the Microsoft suite, including Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Planner, To Do, and Dynamics 365. Tasks discussed in meetings can drop straight into Planner or To Do, while notes and summaries can be shared directly in Teams channels. The Tasks Feed gives teams a shared view of follow‑ups, owners, and due dates, and Fireflies connects to popular project management tools so action items move straight into existing workflows instead of getting buried in docs or chat. It’s a small thing that ends up saving a lot of follow-up work, especially if your team already lives in Microsoft tools.
What Makes It Different
The AI assistant (AskFred) is genuinely useful—especially if most of your work happens in conversations rather than spreadsheets. AskFred works in three modes: inside a single meeting, across all your past meetings, and live during calls. It pulls from meeting context, historical conversations, and web search, so tracking down what a client said about budget or timelines takes seconds instead of scrolling through transcripts.
Fireflies also supports voice commands via “Hey Fireflies,” so you can control recordings and ask for insights hands‑free, and even tap Perplexity‑powered web search directly from your Fireflies workspace.
The built‑in analytics surface who talked the most, sentiment trends, and potential friction points across calls. That visibility is especially helpful if you’re managing a team, coaching reps, or reviewing client conversations, but it stays out of the way if you mostly just want clean notes.
Integration-wise, Fireflies connects connects to 100+ tools across CRM, collaboration, dialers, and project management—Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Monday.com, even channels like WhatsApp and Discord. That means meeting notes and action items land directly where your teams already communicate and track work.
The mobile app is surprisingly capable, which is clutch if your meetings happen in hallways, job sites, client offices, or coffee shops—not just on Zoom.
The Good Stuff
- Top-tier transcription - around 95%+ accuracy in typical business audio, with support for 100+ languages and auto‑language detection for global teams
- Speaker identification - auto-labels speakers; rename once, updates everywhere
- Web + mobile recording - Hit record on desktop or use the mobile app on the go; summaries are ready in minutes
- Search that actually works, thanks to semantic indexing
- Broad integrations – 100+ connections across CRMs, project management tools, dialers, storage, and collaboration platforms
- Enterprise‑grade security – SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA compliance options, strong encryption, zero data retention for AI training, and private storage for organizations that need dedicated cloud environments
- A genuinely usable Free plan, with AI credits and core transcription features so you can trial it with real meetings before upgrading
- 200+ AI Apps for instant MEDDIC summaries, project updates, exec briefs - pick a template and go
The Not-So-Good Stuff
- While it identifies and labels different speakers, it doesn’t train on or remember individual voices.
- The advanced stuff costs money (though honestly, it's worth it)
How It Stacks Up
Audio Quality: Handles noise like a champ. I've used it during construction next door - still worked fine
Bot Situation: Uses a bot, but it's not annoying about it. Most people forget it's even there
Transcription: Consistently high accuracy in English and strong performance across 100+ languages, with summaries that capture context rather than just raw text
Real-Time: Shows up immediately during meetings. No waiting around
Languages: Supports 100+ languages with automatic detection, which makes it a great fit for global teams
Security: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA options, enterprise‑grade encryption, and clear data‑ownership controls
Integrations: 100+ native integrations across CRMs, collaboration tools, dialers, and project management platforms, so you rarely have to copy‑paste notes between systems
What People Actually Say
The reviews are pretty consistently positive. Sales teams love the CRM integration, project managers like the action item extraction. The main complaints are about the learning curve and pricing, which seems fair.
Source: G2 Reviews and Capterra and user testimonials
What It Costs
The Free plan lets you try core transcription and AI features with credit‑based limits instead of strict minutes. Paid plans typically start around $10 per user per month on annual terms for Pro, then scale up for Business and Enterprise tiers with advanced analytics, admin controls, and compliance features.
Ready to see what the fuss is about? Start your free Fireflies AI trial and test it with your actual meetings.
Plaud - Dedicated Hardware Solution
Best Hardware Approach
This one's different- instead of an app, you get an actual physical device that records your meetings. Sounds old-school, but there's something appealing about a tool that just does one thing really well.
The main selling point is simplicity. No apps to install, no bots joining meetings, no worrying about software updates breaking everything. Just a little device you put on the table that captures everything.
I tested their main device for about a month. The audio quality is solid, and there's something nice about not having to mess with software during important meetings. Just press record and forget about it.
What You Get
The device itself is compact and pretty well-designed. Good battery life, decent microphone array, simple controls. The AI transcription happens either on the device or in the cloud, depending on your setup.
The main advantage is reliability - no app crashes, no network issues during recording, no compatibility problems. It's just a recorder that happens to have AI built in.
The Good Stuff
- No software headaches or compatibility issues
- Great for privacy-conscious folks (can process locally)
- Battery lasts way longer than your phone
- Actually pretty discreet once you get used to it
The Not-So-Good Stuff
- Another device to buy, charge, and remember to bring
- Limited integration options compared to software solutions
- Basic collaboration features
- Upfront hardware cost
How It Measures Up
Audio Quality: Solid hardware-optimized recording. Better than most phones
Bot-Free: Completely hardware-based. No virtual anything
Transcription: Good but not amazing. Gets the job done
Real-Time: Limited due to hardware constraints
Languages: Basic support for major languages
Security: Strong privacy with local processing options
Integrations: Pretty limited compared to software options
What It Costs
Varies by device model plus optional cloud services. The hardware is the main investment - think of it like buying a good microphone that happens to transcribe.
Check out their hardware options at Plaud AI to see if the hardware approach makes sense for you.
Otter AI - Real-Time Transcription Tool
Real-Time Transcription Focus
Otter is probably the most well-known name in AI transcription, and for good reason - their real-time transcription is genuinely impressive. Watching words appear as you speak never gets old. They’re also known for their voice commands, though Fireflies actually launched “Hey Fireflies” before Otter rolled out its version. With Hey Fireflies, users can control recordings and query meeting insights hands‑free, and even tap Perplexity‑powered web search directly from the Fireflies workspace.
The 95% accuracy rate is no joke, at least for clear English audio. I've used this in dozens of meetings and it consistently gets the words right. The speaker identification works well too, though it can get confused when people talk over each other.
The AI Chat feature is actually useful. Fireflies offers a similar conversational assistant experience through AskFred, with the added ability to pull from web search and multi‑meeting context. You can ask Otter questions about the meeting while it's happening—“what did Sarah say about the budget?”—and get real answers. Pretty cool when you're trying to stay focused on the conversation.
What It Does Well
Otter focuses on making in-person meetings easier to follow and document. It records conversations, generates real-time transcripts, and updates a shared document as the meeting happens, so participants can follow along, add comments, or clarify points without breaking the flow.
Once the meeting ends, Otter automatically saves notes, distinguishes between speakers, and generates summaries that can be shared with the rest of the team. This helps teams stay aligned and makes it easier to revisit decisions or missed details later.
The Good Stuff
- Transcripts available immediately for review and sharing
- Automatic summaries after meetings
- AI Chat that gives useful answers during meetings
- Strong collaboration features for team editing
- Generous free plan for testing
The Not-So-Good Stuff
- Limited to English, Spanish, French, and Japanese (bummer for international teams)
- Speaker ID can get confused with multiple people talking
- Uses a bot (some people find this intrusive)
- Can struggle with heavy accents or background noise
Performance Breakdown
Audio Quality: Good but not great in noisy environments
Bot Situation: Uses a bot, though it's pretty polished
Transcription: Excellent 95% accuracy in supported languages
Real-Time: Best-in-class live transcription
Languages: Strongest in English; also supports Spanish, French, and Japanese, but still limited compared with multilingual platforms like Fireflies (100+ languages) or Jamie (99+)
Security: Enterprise-grade security (SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR), with admin controls on higher tiers
Integrations: Good coverage of major business tools
User Feedback
Consistently praised for transcription quality and ease of use. Education and content creation folks love it. International users wish for better language support.
Source: G2 reviews
What You'll Pay
300 free minutes monthly, then $8.33 per user per month (annual billing). Pretty reasonable for the quality you get.
Test Otter's real-time magic at Otter AI.
MeetGeek AI - Advanced Analytics Platform
Best for Meeting Nerds
If you're the type of person who wants to know exactly how your meetings are performing, MeetGeek is your tool. This thing analyzes everything - who talked the most, sentiment changes, topic progression, you name it.
I'll be honest, some of the analytics feel like overkill for most people. But if you're managing a team or trying to improve meeting effectiveness, the insights are actually pretty valuable.
The automated summaries are solid. They pick out key decisions and action items without you having to dig through the whole transcript. Custom templates let you standardize how different types of meetings get processed, which is handy if you run a lot of similar calls.
What Makes It Different
The team performance tracking is where MeetGeek gets interesting. It'll tell you if someone's dominating conversations, track interruption patterns, show you how topics flow through discussions. Useful stuff if you're trying to run better meetings or coach team members.
The multi-language support is decent for international teams. Not as extensive as some others, but covers the major business languages well enough.
The Good Stuff
- Really detailed analytics that actually mean something
- Good team performance insights for managers
- Decent language support for diverse teams
- Custom templates for different meeting types
- Automated action item extraction saves time
The Not-So-Good Stuff
- Uses a bot (some people find it intrusive)
- Learning curve for all the analytics features
- Limited integrations compared to bigger platforms
- Can feel overwhelming if you just want basic transcription
How It Measures Up
Audio Quality: Solid processing with good noise handling
Bot Situation: Bot-based but tries to be unobtrusive
Transcription: Reliable accuracy across supported languages
Real-Time: Good real-time insights with analytics focus
Languages: Strong multi-language support for international teams
Security: Standard security measures, enterprise-friendly
Integrations: Growing but still limited compared to established players
User Experience
People love detailed analytics, especially managers who need data-driven meeting insights. Some note the learning curve for advanced features.
Source: Geekflare
Pricing
Offers trial periods with tiered pricing based on team size and features. Worth testing if you're serious about meeting optimization.
Check out their analytics capabilities at their official website.
Granola - Human-AI Note Combination
Best Hybrid Approach
This one's clever. It lets you take notes the old-fashioned way while AI handles the transcription in the background. Best of both worlds if you're someone who thinks better with a pen in hand.
I really like this approach. Sometimes you want to capture your own thoughts and reactions, not just what people said. Granola lets you do both without switching between tools or losing context.
The device-level recording means no bots joining your meetings. It just captures audio from your computer or phone while you focus on the conversation and your own notes.
Why It Works
The combination of manual notes and AI transcription creates richer meeting records than either approach alone. You get the objective facts plus your subjective insights and reactions. Really useful for complex discussions where context matters.
Fireflies supports a similar blend in a different way: you can layer manual notes, comments, and AI‑generated summaries on top of the same transcript, but Granola leans hardest into that “type while the AI listens” workflow.
The interface is clean and focused - doesn't try to overwhelm you with features during meetings. The iPhone app works well for in-person meetings with the same hybrid functionality.
The Good Stuff
- No bots disrupting meeting flow
- Combines human insight with AI accuracy
- Clean interface that doesn't distract during meetings
- Works with any video platform
- Respects your natural note-taking habits
The Not-So-Good Stuff
- No built-in search across multiple meetings
- Limited analytics compared to enterprise tools
- Smaller integration ecosystem
- Manual export process for other tools
Performance Check
Audio Quality: Good device-level capture
Bot-Free: Complete bot-free operation
Transcription: Reliable AI with human oversight
Real-Time: Focuses on post-meeting review
Languages: Standard support with ongoing expansion
Security: Good privacy with device-level processing
Integrations: Limited but growing
What Users Say
People love the intuitive hybrid approach, especially those who want to maintain personal note-taking habits while getting AI benefits.
Source: Product Hunt
Cost
25 free meetings monthly, paid plans start at $18/month. Reflects focus on individual professionals rather than large teams.
Try the hybrid approach at their official website.
Krisp - Superior Audio Enhancement
Best Audio Quality
Krisp built their reputation on making terrible audio sound good, and it shows. The noise cancellation is genuinely impressive - I've used it during construction next door and it still produced clean transcripts.
The accent localization is pretty cool too. It helps normalize speech patterns so the AI can understand different accents better. Useful if your team is international or you deal with clients from different regions.
Since it processes audio at the device level, you don't need bots joining meetings. Just better audio going into whatever transcription system you're using.
What Makes It Special
The noise cancellation technology is honestly magical. Background conversations, keyboard typing, air conditioning - it filters out stuff you didn't even realize was there. Makes a huge difference for transcription accuracy. Tools like Fireflies especially benefit from this, since cleaner input leads to more accurate transcripts and summaries without changing anything in your meeting workflow.
The voice enhancement optimizes speech clarity before transcription happens. Better input means better output, which seems obvious but most tools don't bother with this step.
The Good Stuff
- Exceptional noise cancellation (seriously impressive)
- Bot-free operation maintains natural conversations
- Accent localization helps with international teams
- Good CRM integrations for sales workflows
- Actually improves audio quality, not just transcribes it
The Not-So-Good Stuff
- English-only transcription (major limitation)
- Audio processing can occasionally distort voices
- Basic collaboration features
- Limited analytics compared to conversation-focused tools
Technical Performance
Audio Quality: Industry-leading noise cancellation and enhancement
Bot-Free: Complete device-level processing
Transcription: High accuracy supported by superior audio processing
Real-Time: Good real-time capabilities
Languages: 16 languages supported + AI Accent Conversion
Security and Compliance: Solid security; HIPAA/GDPR on Pro and enterprise controls (SSO/SCIM, SOC 2 report access, BAA) on higher tiers
Integrations: Good CRM connections, sales-focused
User Reviews
Consistently praised for audio improvements and noise cancellation. Sales professionals love the CRM integrations. International users frustrated by English-only limitation.
Source: G2 reviews, Capterra, and BlueDoThq
Pricing
60 minutes daily free, paid plans start at $8/month per user annually. Good value for the audio quality improvements.
Experience the noise cancellation at Krisp AI.
Jamie - GDPR-Compliant Multi-Language Support
Best for International Teams
Jamie wins on language support with 99+ languages and strict GDPR‑first hosting on German servers. If you’ve got a truly international team or work under EU data rules, this is a strong choice, while Fireflies is often better if you want 100+ languages plus deeper automation and integrations.
The GDPR compliance with German servers is a big deal for European companies. Actually follows privacy laws instead of just claiming to care about privacy.
The automatic audio deletion after transcription is a nice privacy touch. Your conversations get processed but don't stick around longer than necessary.What Sets It Apart
The language coverage is genuinely impressive. Not just major languages but regional dialects and variations. The Ask AI feature works across languages too, which is pretty clever. Device-level capture means no bots, and the privacy-focused architecture with automatic deletion addresses data retention concerns.
The Good Stuff
- 99+ languages (best coverage I've found)
- GDPR compliance with German servers
- No bots disrupting meetings
- Automatic audio deletion for privacy
- Works offline for sensitive environments
The Not-So-Good Stuff
- Limited collaboration features
- Smaller integration ecosystem
- Basic analytics compared to enterprise tools
- Manual processes for connecting with other business tools
How It Performs
- Audio Quality: Good processing optimized for multiple languages
- Bot-Free: Complete device-level capture
- Transcription: Strong accuracy across 99+ languages
- Real-Time: Focus on post-meeting processing
- Languages: Industry-leading language support
- Security: Exceptional GDPR compliance and privacy protection
- Integrations: Limited but growing
User Feedback
International users consistently praise the language support and privacy features. European organizations particularly value GDPR compliance.
Source: G2 reviews
What You'll Pay
The Free plan gives you 10 meetings a month. Plus is €25 per user for extra features. Team Executive runs €39 per user for smoother team workflows. Pro is €47 per user with all the advanced tools. Enterprise offers custom pricing if you need robust multilingual support.
Explore multilingual capabilities at meetjamie.ai.
Avoma - Sales Coaching Specialist
Best for Sales Teams
If you sell stuff for a living, Avoma gets it. Fireflies covers similar sales use cases with conversation intelligence, coaching metrics, and CRM integrations. However, it positions itself more as an all‑purpose meeting intelligence platform for cross‑functional teams. This tool is built specifically for sales conversations with features that actually help you close more deals.
The talk-to-listen ratio tracking is brilliant. It tells you when you're talking too much (which, let's be honest, most salespeople do). The competitive mention tracking automatically flags when prospects bring up alternatives.
The sales coaching recommendations are based on actual methodologies that work, not just generic advice. Useful if you're trying to improve your pitch or help team members get better at discovery calls.
Sales-Focused Features
The conversation analytics track metrics that actually matter for sales performance. Filler word tracking helps you sound more professional. The CRM integrations mean insights flow directly into your sales workflow.
Sales coaching tools provide specific recommendations based on what actually happened in your calls. Way more useful than generic training that doesn't account for your specific challenges.
The Good Stuff
- Analytics that directly tie into sales performance
- Coaching recommendations grounded in proven sales methods
- Easy interface that sales teams actually adopt
- Strong CRM integrations that support existing workflows
- Competitive intelligence tools that help teams stay ahead
The Not-So-Good Stuff
- Uses a bot (some prospects find it intrusive)
- Premium pricing might be steep for smaller teams
- Optimized first for sales and CS workflows, so teams wanting a simpler all‑purpose note taker may find it more revenue‑focused than they need
Sales Performance
Audio Quality: Solid processing optimized for sales conversations
Bot Situation: Bot-based with sales-focused integration
Transcription: Reliable accuracy with sales terminology optimization
Real-Time: Good real-time insights for coaching
Languages: Standard support with sales focus
Security: Enterprise security for sensitive sales discussions
Integrations: Strong CRM connections
What Sales Teams Say
Sales professionals appreciate the specialized coaching features and revenue-focused analytics. Users particularly value competitive intelligence and talk-time optimization.
Source: G2
Investment
Pricing starts at $19 per user monthly (annual billing), reflecting the specialized sales focus and revenue intelligence capabilities.
Check out sales coaching features at their official website.
Notable Mentions
These didn't make the top 9 but are worth knowing about for specific situations.
Fathom - Generous Free Solution
Fathom gives you generous free recordings and summaries for Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. The catch? It doesn’t support phone calls or true in‑person recordings the way Fireflies does with its dialer, mobile app, and manual upload options. Advanced features like deeper analytics and CRM workflows require a paid plan.
Try it at Fathom AI.
Fellow - Privacy-Focused Meeting Management
Fellow takes privacy seriously and pairs AI meeting notes with structured agenda planning. It’s a solid choice for organizations that prioritize granular privacy controls and note governance, though it doesn’t go as deep as Fireflies on AI workflows, 200+ AI apps, or broad integration coverage.
Check out Fellow.app.
Read AI - Unified Communication Intelligence
Read.ai's real strength is meeting optimization—engagement scores, sentiment tracking, and coaching insights. It’s great for running better meetings, whereas Fireflies is built for documenting and automating the work that comes from them.
Learn more at Read AI.
tl;dv - Multi-Meeting Analysis Expert
tl;dv is excellent at searching across multiple meetings to track themes and topics over time. Fireflies AI offers similar multi‑meeting search plus deep sales insights and CRM integrations, which can make it a better all‑around value if you want one platform for both revenue and non‑revenue teams.
Uncover more at TL;DV
Equal Time - Meeting Inclusion Specialist
Equal Time focuses on meeting participation balance. Perfect for organizations serious about ensuring equitable participation.
Explore inclusion features at Equaltime.io.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which AI Note Taker Works Best for Noisy Environments?
Krisp wins this hands down. The noise cancellation is genuinely impressive - I've tested it during construction next door and it still worked. Fireflies is a close second with solid audio processing.
Don't expect miracles if you're recording in a busy restaurant, but these two handle typical office noise really well.
Do AI note taking apps work on mobile for in-person meetings?
Some do, but the experience varies. Fireflies AI stands out here with a full-featured mobile app that lets you record in-person meetings anywhere—hallways, job sites, client offices. Just hit record, and the notes sync back to your account within minutes, fully integrated.
Do I Need Internet Connectivity for AI Transcription?
Most tools need internet because the AI runs in the cloud. Jamie supports offline processing for privacy-sensitive stuff, and Plaud's hardware can store audio locally for later processing.
But honestly, most of the time you'll want the cloud processing - it's just better.
How Accurate Are AI Transcriptions for Accented Speech?
It depends on your accent. My British colleague has zero issues, but my friend from Mumbai sometimes has to repeat things. ireflies and Krisp both have features that help with accented speech—Krisp via accent localization and noise cleanup, Fireflies via robust multilingual models. amie’s 99+ language coverage includes many regional variations, which can help with non‑English calls as well.
Generally expect 85-95% for mild accents, dropping to 70-85% for heavy accents. Test with your actual voice before committing.
For more context on accuracy benchmarks, check out our guide on best AI note taking apps.
Can AI Note Takers Handle Multiple Speakers Talking Simultaneously?
Not really, and anyone who claims otherwise is lying. Fireflies and Otter do best with overlapping speech, but accuracy drops significantly when multiple people talk at once.
Best practice: try to avoid interrupting each other, or use multiple recording devices if you're dealing with large groups.
What Security Measures Should I Look for in AI Note Takers?
Look for SOC 2 certification, GDPR compliance, and end-to-end encryption. Fireflies has comprehensive enterprise security, Jamie provides GDPR compliance with German servers.
Key features: automatic audio deletion, encrypted transmission, role-based access, audit logging. Avoid anything that stores audio indefinitely or has vague data policies.
For detailed compliance info, check our meeting compliance guide.
Final Thoughts
Look, I've spent way too much time testing these things so you don't have to. If I had to pick just one for in-person meetings, it’s Fireflies. It's not perfect, but it's the one I actually use every day.
Here's what I learned:
- Audio quality matters more than fancy features. If the AI can't hear, nothing else works.
- Language support is crucial for international teams. Don't assume "multi-language" covers your team's accents.
- Integrations make or break adoption. The best notes are useless if they're stuck in another app.
Krisp's audio enhancement is magical. Jamie's language support is unmatched. But Fireflies just works consistently across different situations. Good audio processing, solid integrations, and security that doesn’t suck.
Grab the free trial and see if it clicks. What works for me might drive you crazy. The important thing is finding something that actually makes your meetings less painful.
Ready to stop frantically scribbling notes? Start your free Fireflies AI trial.
