Best AI Meeting Assistants 2026: Note-Taker Bots Compared

Quick answer: Fireflies.ai is the best all-rounder: it works with Zoom, Meet, Teams and Webex, transcribes in 100+ languages, and its free plan doesn't cap transcription. Pro is $10 a seat a month billed annually. If you want to pay nothing, Fathom's free plan gives you unlimited recordings, transcripts and summaries. If you'd rather no bot ever joins the call, Granola captures audio on your own computer instead.

The first decision isn't which tool, it's whether you're comfortable with a bot joining your calls. Some clients and colleagues object to an extra participant named "Notetaker", and bot-free apps avoid that by recording your computer's audio, usually at the cost of video and speaker labels. After that, check free-plan limits, which vary a lot, and whether your Zoom or Workspace plan already includes a notetaker. If you want a notes app that also handles meetings, see our AI note-taking apps roundup.

How they compare

1. Fireflies.ai: Best overall

• Developer: Fireflies.ai Corp.
• Languages: 100+ with auto-language detection
• App Store: 4.8/5 (5,108 ratings)
• iOS app released: 2023

Fireflies.ai covers the most ground of any tool here. Its Notetaker bot joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex calls, it also handles Aircall and RingCentral phone calls and uploaded files, and it transcribes in more than 100 languages with automatic detection. Zapier's April 2026 roundup of AI meeting assistants puts it first, praising its AskFred chat assistant and automatic recaps. The iPhone app holds 4.8 out of 5 from more than 5,000 ratings.

The free plan doesn't limit transcription, but it stores only 400 minutes per team and limits AI summaries. Pro costs $10 per seat a month billed annually or $18 monthly, and Business is $19 annually or $29 monthly with unlimited storage. If you'd rather skip the bot, the Chrome extension and the desktop app can record without it, though the desktop mode saves no audio or video file and has no speaker labels. Zapier also found some screens cluttered.

Video review: Fireflies AI Review 2025 | Pros and Cons, Honest & Unbiased by Bytes Media

2. Fathom: Best free

• Developer: Fathom
• Works with: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack Huddles

Fathom is the free pick. Its free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions and instant AI summaries, and Zapier's 2026 roundup names it the best free AI meeting assistant. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Slack Huddles, and it connects to HubSpot, Salesforce, Asana and Notion. You can choose between a bot and bot-free capture on every plan, including free, though bot-free is still a beta on Mac only.

Advanced summaries, AI action items and Ask Fathom questions are limited on the free plan. Premium costs $16 a month billed annually or $20 monthly. Team and Business plans need at least 2 users. The big gap is mobile: Fathom has no iOS or Android app and only records on Mac and Windows computers. Zapier also notes some quirks when using it with Meet and Teams.

Video review: Fathom AI Review 2025 | The Best Free AI Meeting Assistant by AiZen Tools

3. Granola: Best bot-free notetaker

• Developer: Granola Inc.
• Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Apple Watch
• Bot: No bot, captures device audio on your computer
• App Store: 5.0/5 (13,501 ratings)
• iOS app released: 2025

Granola never puts a bot in the call. You start it yourself for each meeting, and it transcribes your microphone and your computer's audio in real time, which means it works with any meeting app and with in-person conversations. Your own typed notes are merged with the AI's, which is why Zapier's 2026 roundup calls it the best tool for combining human and AI notes. Its iPhone app holds 5.0 out of 5 from more than 13,000 ratings.

The free Basic plan keeps only 30 days of meeting history. Business costs $14 per user a month for unlimited history, integrations and API access, and Enterprise is $35 with SSO and HIPAA. Granola doesn't store meeting audio, only transcripts and notes, and Zapier points out it has no video recording or playback. Training on anonymized data is switched on by default, so check the setting if that matters to you.

Video review: I Used Granola AI for 365 Days. Here's What I Learned. *not sponsored* by Efficient App (Alex & Andra)

4. Otter.ai: Best for live transcripts

• Developer: Otter.ai, Inc.
• App Store: 4.8/5 (80,713 ratings)
• iOS app released: 2018

Otter.ai has the biggest user base in this group, with 4.8 out of 5 from more than 80,000 App Store ratings. Its Notetaker bot joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet calls, and the Mac and Windows desktop app records Zoom, Meet, Slack Huddles and in-person conversations without a bot. Zapier's 2026 roundup picks it as the best tool for asking questions about your meetings, and TechRadar credits its fast real-time transcription and speaker identification.

Pro is the cheapest paid plan here at $8.33 per user a month billed annually, though it's $16.99 billed monthly. The free plan is tight: 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per meeting. Zapier notes it struggles with technical language. Otter also faces a privacy class action alleging its Notetaker recorded people without everyone's consent. On August 13, 2026 a judge let core claims proceed, which is not a finding of wrongdoing.

Video review: Otter AI Review 2026 | Is it the Best Speech-to-Text AI Tool? by Cybernews

5. Read AI: Best for recaps across meetings, email and chat

• Developer: Read AI, Inc.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
• Works with: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, in-person
• App Store: 4.9/5 (929 ratings)
• iOS app released: 2024

Read AI goes beyond calls: its summaries cover meetings, email and messaging, and even the free plan includes a personal meeting coach. Its bot joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, and the desktop app for Mac and Windows records the same platforms, plus in-person meetings, without a bot. We found no named-outlet review of it, but the iPhone app holds 4.9 out of 5 from 929 ratings.

The free plan is the stingiest here at 5 meeting transcripts a month. Pro costs $15 per user a month billed annually or $19.75 monthly and adds unlimited transcripts and integrations with Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira and Zapier. Oddly, audio and video playback requires Enterprise at $22.50 a month billed annually, not Pro.

Video review: Read AI Review - Best AI Meeting Assistant for Businesses! by Be Productive

6. Gemini "Take notes for me" in Google Meet: Best for Google Workspace teams

• Developer: Google LLC
• Platforms: Web, Android, iOS, Google Meet hardware
• App Store: 4.8/5 (2,332,618 ratings) (Google Meet app)

If your company already pays for Google Workspace Business Standard or higher, you may already have a notetaker. Take notes for me runs inside Google Meet, so no bot joins. Everyone sees a notice and a pencil icon, notes land in a Google Doc, and the organizer gets an emailed link. People who join late get a summary so far. Google says it is used by more than 110 million meeting attendees a month, and it now also works for in-person meetings.

Business Standard is listed at $14 per user a month, and Business Starter doesn't include it. On a personal account you need a Google AI Pro or Ultra plan. It supports 8 languages, but only one per meeting, so mixed-language calls won't work. Google's Workspace blog says it can also be started for meetings hosted on Zoom or Teams, but the August 2026 rollout notes only covered in-person meetings.

Video review: Take notes with Gemini in Google Meet by Google Help

7. Zoom Workplace built-in AI (formerly AI Companion): Best if you already pay for Zoom

• Developer: Zoom Communications, Inc.
• Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, web
• Bot: No bot, built into the Zoom client
• App Store: 4.7/5 (3,234,429 ratings) (Zoom Workplace app)

Zoom's own meeting summaries are built into the client, so no bot joins, and they come with paid Zoom Workplace plans at no extra cost. Zoom retired the AI Companion name in June 2026 but kept the features, now called by what they do: meeting summaries, transcription and in-meeting questions. My Notes extends note-taking to Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and in-person conversations. Zapier's 2026 roundup doesn't include it.

Pro costs $14.16 a month billed annually or $16.99 monthly and includes unlimited meeting summaries. The free Basic plan gets summaries for 3 hosted meetings a month and 40-minute meetings. The naming is a moving target: ZoomMate is a separate paid add-on with newer agent features, and we couldn't confirm its price on a Zoom page.

Video review: Zoom My Notes: Get Better AI Meeting Summaries | Ep 41 by Zoom

Before the meeting: CalendarBridge (made by us)

• AI assistant: Premium, $10/mo or $8/mo yearly
• Trial: 7 days, no credit card
• Records meetings: No
• Apps: Web, iOS, Android

Most of the notetakers above join whatever is on your calendar, so they only work as well as your scheduling does. CalendarBridge's AI Scheduling Assistant works over email: you CC assistant@ai.calendarbridge.com from Gmail or Outlook and it proposes times, follows up, reschedules, books rooms and sends the invites, with Zoom, Teams or Meet links attached. Its booking pages check every connected calendar, including Google, Microsoft 365 and iCloud, before offering a slot.

The assistant comes with the Premium plan at $10 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly, which also includes calendar sync across 20 connections. There's a 7-day trial with no credit card and no free plan. It also runs a hosted MCP server, so AI agents such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor can create events and booking links with your permission.

How we picked

We ranked these from desk research, not hands-on use. We relied on named outlet coverage (mainly Zapier's April 2026 roundup of AI meeting assistants), App Store ratings pulled from Apple's own data, vendor help docs on how each tool records, and prices read off each vendor's live pricing page on September 23, 2026. We don't record our own meetings with these tools or score transcript accuracy ourselves.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to record a meeting with an AI note taker?

In the US, federal law allows recording when you're a party to the conversation, but some states require every participant's consent. A Digital Media Law Project guide lists states including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington in that group. On a call that spans states, the safe habit is to tell everyone and get their agreement. The stakes are real: a class action in California alleges Otter's Notetaker recorded people without everyone's consent, and on August 13, 2026 a judge let core claims proceed, though nothing has been proven. This isn't legal advice.

Which AI meeting assistants work without a bot joining the call?

Granola never adds a bot: you start it yourself and it captures your mic and computer audio. Otter, Fireflies and Read AI all have Mac and Windows desktop apps that record without a bot, and Fathom offers bot-free capture as a Mac-only beta. Google Meet's Take notes for me and Zoom's meeting summaries run inside the meeting app itself. Bot-free modes can give up features: Fireflies' version saves no audio or video file and has no speaker labels.

What is the best free AI meeting note taker?

Fathom, for most people. Its free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions plus instant AI summaries, and Zapier's 2026 roundup names it the best free AI meeting assistant. Fireflies' free plan also doesn't cap transcription but only stores 400 minutes per team. Otter's free plan allows 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per meeting, and Read AI's allows 5 meetings a month.

Do Zoom and Google Meet have a built-in AI note taker?

Yes, on paid plans. Zoom Workplace Pro includes unlimited meeting summaries at $14.16 a month billed annually, and the free Basic plan gets summaries for 3 hosted meetings a month. Zoom retired the AI Companion name in June 2026 but kept the features. Google Meet's Take notes for me needs Workspace Business Standard or higher, or a Google AI Pro or Ultra plan, and writes notes to a Google Doc. It supports 8 languages, one per meeting.

Can I use an AI note taker in Microsoft Teams meetings?

Yes. Fireflies, Fathom, Otter and Read AI all list Microsoft Teams support through their bots. For bot-free capture, Read AI's desktop app lists Teams, while Otter's lists Zoom, Meet and Slack Huddles but not Teams. Granola records any call audio on your computer, so it works with Teams too, and Zoom's My Notes covers Teams meetings as well.

Disclosure: CalendarBridge, mentioned in its own marked section, is made by the people who run A Walking City. It isn't a meeting note taker, so it isn't ranked here. None of the other links in this post are affiliate links, and nobody paid to be included. Prices are what each vendor's pricing page listed on September 23, 2026, and they change.