# Best AI Meeting Note Takers in 2026

October 1, 2026 · Justin Canetti · 11 min read · Comparisons

## The short answer

**The best AI note taker depends on whether you accept a bot joining the call, how much you pay, and where the action items need to go next.**

- **Best free start:** Fathom, with unlimited recordings, transcripts, and summaries on its free plan.
- **Best bot-free:** Granola, which captures device audio with no bot joining.
- **Best for searchable team meeting history:** Otter or Fireflies.
- **Best for sales teams:** Gong, for conversation intelligence beyond notes.
- **Best if you already pay for the platform:** Zoom AI Companion, Teams Copilot, or Google Meet's Gemini notes.
- **Best at pushing tasks to other tools:** Read AI, plus an assistant like OpenAssistant to carry out the follow-ups.

## AI Meeting Note Takers at a Glance

| Tool | Best for | Key capabilities | Pricing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Otter** | Searchable transcripts for teams | Zoom, Teams, and Meet support; speaker identification; Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier on paid plans | Free (300 minutes a month); Pro $8.33, Business $19.99 per user per month billed yearly |
| **Fireflies** | Teams that want many integrations | Recording and transcription across Zoom, Meet, Teams and more; CRM integrations and API on higher tiers | Free, Pro, Business, Enterprise tiers; confirm prices with the vendor |
| **Fathom** | Free, generous start for individuals and small teams | Unlimited recordings and AI summaries on free plan; CRM field sync on Business | Free; Premium $16, Team $15, Business $25 per user per month billed yearly |
| **Granola** | Bot-free notes on your own device | Device-audio capture with no bot; notes enhanced from your own typing; Notion, HubSpot, Zapier on Business | Free with 30-day history; Business $14, Enterprise $35 per user per month |
| **Gong** | Sales and revenue team call analysis | Captures and analyzes customer interactions, forecasting, engagement, AI agents for follow-ups and CRM edits | Not published on homepage; ask sales |
| **Read AI** | Meeting reports routed into other tools | Meeting reports with action items; Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Confluence, Zapier on paid plans | Free (5 meetings a month); Pro $15, Enterprise $22.50 per month billed yearly |
| **Zoom, Teams, Meet built-in** | No new vendor or bot to approve | Native summaries inside each platform; admin controls | Depends on plan; Teams recap needs Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot license |
| **OpenAssistant** | Carrying out the follow-ups after the meeting | Own phone and email, follow-ups, hand-offs, shared tasks, plain-English workflows | Private beta; request access |

*Details reflect each vendor's public site as of September 2026. Pricing and features change often, so confirm with the vendor.*

## How We Chose

Notes are the easy part now. The differences are in how a tool joins the meeting, who can see the transcript, what it does with it afterward, and what it costs when a whole team uses it. We grouped tools into five types: bot-based recorders, bot-free desktop apps, sales conversation intelligence, built-in platform notes, and tools that push action items onward.

If you are building a wider routine around AI, read [how to use AI at work](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-use-ai-at-work) and our list of [tasks to automate with AI](https://openassistant.us/blog/tasks-to-automate-with-ai).

## Otter: Best for Searchable Meeting History

Otter's Basic plan is free with 300 monthly transcription minutes and supports Zoom, Teams, and Meet. Pro is $8.33 per user per month billed yearly and adds longer meetings and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier. Business is $19.99 per user per month billed yearly, with custom AI workflows and up to 3 concurrent meetings. Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM, and HIPAA compliance availability.

The limit: the free plan's minute cap runs out quickly for heavy meeting loads, and a bot usually joins the call.

## Fireflies: Best for Broad Integrations

Fireflies records and transcribes meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and more, with a Chrome extension, desktop and mobile apps, and a Zapier integration. CRM integrations come on Pro and above, with API access, analytics, and video recording on Business and above. Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM, and audit logs.

The limit: the pricing page we reviewed did not show specific prices or free-tier limits, so check the vendor before you plan a rollout.

## Fathom: Best Free Plan

Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcriptions, AI summaries, clips, and playlists. Premium is $16 a month billed yearly and adds action items and a custom bot. Team is $15 per user, Business is $25 per user with CRM field sync and coaching metrics, and Enterprise adds SSO and SCIM. It also lists up to 2 years free Team access for qualified startups.

The limit: it is a bot-based recorder, and its strongest sales features sit on the Business tier.

## Granola: Best Bot-Free Note Taker

Granola captures meeting audio directly from your device, so no bot joins. The Basic plan is free with 30-day history, Business is $14 per user per month with unlimited history and integrations with Notion, HubSpot, Zapier, and Affinity, and Enterprise is $35 per user per month with SSO, SCIM, and HIPAA compliance. All plans let you opt out of AI model training.

The limit: because it listens on your device, it works for the person running it, not as a shared team record. Capturing audio without a visible bot still raises the consent question below.

## Gong: Best for Sales Conversation Intelligence

Gong describes itself as a revenue AI platform that captures customer interactions and analyzes what is working. Its products include forecasting, engagement, and enablement, and its AI agents automate tasks such as follow-ups, pipeline edits, and call prep. See our posts for [sales reps](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-tools-for-sales-reps) and [sales leaders](https://openassistant.us/blog/must-have-ai-solutions-for-sales-leaders).

The limit: it is a revenue platform, not a general note taker, and pricing was not shown on the homepage, so ask sales.

## Read AI: Best for Routing Action Items Into Other Tools

Read AI generates meeting reports with action items. Paid plans add integrations including Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Confluence, Zapier, and webhooks. Free gives 5 meeting transcripts a month, Pro is $15 per month billed yearly, and Enterprise is $22.50.

The limit: the pricing page does not detail exactly how action items route into each tool, so test your own workflow. For CRM-specific needs, see [AI tools for CRM updates](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-tools-for-crm-updates).

## Zoom, Teams, and Meet: Best When You Do Not Want a New Vendor

Zoom's AI Companion can create a meeting summary and share it with the host. Microsoft Teams offers intelligent recap and Copilot features that Microsoft says need the Teams Premium add-on or a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and a transcript must be available; third-party coverage puts them at roughly $10 and $30 per user per month, so confirm current prices with Microsoft. Google Meet's Gemini note-taking feature requires an eligible Google Workspace edition or Google AI plan, and Google's list of qualifying plans changes, so check it before you rely on it.

The limit: each works only within its own platform, so a team that mixes Zoom, Teams, and Meet ends up with three note systems. Admins can control these features at the tenant level.

## OpenAssistant: Best for Acting on What the Meeting Decided

We build OpenAssistant, so weigh this entry accordingly. It is not a recorder. It is an executive assistant with its own name, phone number, and email, built for the work after the meeting: sending the follow-up email, scheduling the next call across many calendars, chasing owners, and tracking shared tasks. You can hand it action items by email, text, or call. See [AI meeting prep](https://openassistant.us/ai-meeting-prep) and the [product page](https://openassistant.us/product).

Pair it with a note taker above. It is in private beta, so you request access.

## Consent, Recording Laws, and Data Handling

Recording laws vary. In the United States, federal law and many states need only one party to consent, but a group of states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington, are commonly listed as requiring all-party consent, and the exact list varies by source. Other countries have their own rules, and workplace and privacy law (such as GDPR) can add requirements.

- Tell participants at the start of the call that notes or a recording are being made, and get a clear yes where required.
- A visible bot helps with notice. A bot-free tool needs you to disclose it yourself.
- Ask every vendor about retention, who can view transcripts, and whether your data trains models. Our guide to [how to know if an AI tool is safe](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-know-if-an-ai-tool-is-safe) lists the questions.
- Regulated or privileged conversations (legal, medical, financial) may need extra approval from your compliance team.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check with counsel for your situation.

## How to Choose

- **Solo and cost-sensitive:** Fathom free, or Granola if you dislike bots in calls.
- **Small team that wants shared notes:** Fathom Team, Otter Pro, or Read AI.
- **Sales team:** Gong, or Fathom Business if you want something lighter.
- **Security-heavy or IT-controlled:** the built-in Zoom, Teams, or Meet notes, or an Enterprise tier with SSO and SCIM.
- **Notes need to become tasks:** Read AI or Granola with Zapier, plus an assistant to do the follow-up.

## Common Mistakes and What to Look For

- **Recording without telling anyone.** Disclose, every time.
- **Letting a bot join external calls by default.** Some clients object, so set rules by meeting type.
- **Trusting the summary blindly.** Check names, numbers, and commitments before you forward notes.
- **Notes with no owner.** An action item without a person and a date is just text.
- **Forgetting retention.** Decide how long transcripts live and who can search them.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best free AI note taker?

Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcriptions, and AI summaries. Otter's free plan has 300 monthly minutes, Read AI's free plan has 5 meetings a month, and Granola's free plan keeps 30 days of history.

### Which note taker works without a bot?

Granola captures audio from your device with no bot joining. Built-in tools such as Zoom AI Companion, Teams Copilot, and Google Meet's Gemini notes also avoid a third-party bot.

### Is it legal to use an AI note taker?

It depends on where participants are. Some US states and other countries require all parties to consent to recording, so disclose and get consent where needed. This is general information, not legal advice.

### Do AI note takers train on my meetings?

It varies by vendor and plan. Granola lets all plans opt out of model training. Check each vendor's terms before using one on sensitive meetings.

### Does Microsoft Teams have built-in AI notes?

Yes. Teams intelligent recap is available with Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and Microsoft says a transcript must be available to use Copilot after the meeting.

### Can a note taker send action items to other tools?

Yes. Read AI lists integrations with Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Confluence, and Zapier, and Otter and Granola list Zapier or CRM integrations on paid plans, while Fireflies lists CRM integrations on Pro and above.

## Sources

- [Otter pricing](https://otter.ai/pricing)
- [Fireflies pricing](https://fireflies.ai/pricing)
- [Fathom pricing](https://fathom.ai/pricing)
- [Granola pricing](https://www.granola.ai/pricing)
- [Gong](https://www.gong.io)
- [Read AI pricing](https://www.read.ai/pricing)
- [Zoom AI Companion meeting summary](https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0057623)
- [Use Copilot in Microsoft Teams meetings](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot-teams)
- [Google: take notes for me in Meet](https://support.google.com/meet/answer/14754724)
- [RCFP: recording laws by state](https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-reporters-recording-guide/)

Facts last verified 2026-10-01.

## More comparisons

- [Best AI Tools for Keeping Your CRM Updated in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-tools-for-crm-updates)
- [Best AI Tools for Sales Follow-Up in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-tools-for-sales-follow-up)
- [Best AI Tools for Weekly Status Reports and Team Updates in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-tools-for-status-reports)
- [Best AI Personal Assistants and Agents in 2026, Compared](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-personal-assistants-2026)

## If your work involves other people

OpenAssistant is an executive assistant for teams, with its own phone number and email. Read how it compares:

- [What OpenAssistant does](https://openassistant.us/product)
- [OpenAssistant solutions by role](https://openassistant.us/solutions)

## Keep reading

**Guides**

- [Best AI Executive Assistants in 2026 (Compared)](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-executive-assistants-2026)
- [Best AI Assistants You Can Text (iMessage, WhatsApp, SMS) in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-assistants-you-can-text)
- [Best AI Assistants That Make Phone Calls for You (2026)](https://openassistant.us/blog/ai-assistants-that-make-phone-calls)
- [How to Use AI as an Executive Assistant (Step by Step)](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-use-ai-as-an-executive-assistant)
- [How to Know If an AI Tool Is Safe to Use in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-know-if-an-ai-tool-is-safe)
- [How to Use AI at Work: 10 Practical Ways in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-use-ai-at-work)
- [How Businesses Can Use AI Beyond ChatGPT in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/ai-beyond-chatgpt-for-business)
- [20 Tasks You Can Automate With AI at Work in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/tasks-to-automate-with-ai)
- [9 Best AI Calendar Assistants for 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-calendar-assistants)
- [7 Best AI Email Assistants for 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-email-assistants)

**Product pages**

- [AI executive assistant](https://openassistant.us/ai-executive-assistant)
- [Solutions](https://openassistant.us/solutions)
- [Product](https://openassistant.us/product)
- [OpenAssistant for teams](https://openassistant.us/teams)
- [AI scheduling assistant](https://openassistant.us/ai-scheduling-assistant)
- [AI email assistant](https://openassistant.us/ai-email-assistant)
- [AI meeting prep and daily agenda](https://openassistant.us/ai-meeting-prep)
- [Pricing](https://openassistant.us/pricing)
- [Trust Center](https://openassistant.us/trust)