Fireflies.ai vs Otter.ai for meeting automation

Here's what you should look for in an AI meeting automation tool:

• Transcripts that create a word-for-word record of the meeting. For example, a one-hour product development meeting generates a searchable document containing every feature discussion, technical requirement, and team decision.

• Action items are pulled directly from the conversation. When someone says "John will update the wireframes by Friday," the AI automatically creates a tracked task with the assignee and deadline.

• Meeting summaries distill hour-long conversations into 2-3 paragraphs. A 45-minute sprint planning meeting becomes a concise overview of sprint goals, resource allocation, and key decisions.

• Topic segmentation breaks discussions into labeled sections. A client call covering multiple projects is automatically divided into sections like "Website Redesign," "Q1 Marketing Campaign," and "Budget Review."

Other key features

In addition to the quality of these deliverables, we'll want to look at a number of other key factors:

• Ease-of-use: does it have a simple, intuitive setup that works for non-technical users?

• In-person meeting support: can it transcribe audio from live recordings or uploaded files, not just virtual calls?

• Security and privacy: how is customer data handled on the platform?

• Integrations: can it connect with your existing stack, like HubSpot, Notion, or Slack?

• Functionality: does it go beyond transcriptions and actually help you take action?

• Languages: can it transcribe and summarize meetings in different languages?

• Desktop and mobile apps: can you access it on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android for on-the-go meetings?

Understanding Fireflies.ai and Otter.ai

Fireflies.ai is a cloud-based AI meeting assistant that joins video conferences as a participant to record, transcribe, and summarize discussions. The system works across major platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet, providing transcripts with speaker labels and AI-generated summaries of key points and action items. Users can search transcripts by keyword, query meeting content with the AskFred chatbot, and connect to workflow tools like Slack, Asana, and CRM systems. It offers mobile app support and can handle in-person meetings and voice notes.

The service operates on a tiered pricing model with a free plan offering limited credits, a Pro plan ($10/user/month) for unlimited audio recording, and a Business plan ($19/user/month) that adds video recording and analytics. Fireflies transcribes in over 100 languages and offers numerous integrations, though it lacks a dedicated desktop app. Users report good transcription quality across languages but note that accuracy can decrease with heavy accents or technical jargon, and some find the AI summaries too high-level.

Otter.ai is an AI note-taking service that transcribes meetings and audio recordings in real-time, providing searchable transcripts with speaker identification. It integrates with video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Teams through an assistant that can join meetings, and can capture content from screens including slides. The platform automatically generates summaries and highlights of key discussion points, allowing users to comment or highlight sections during meetings.

The service offers tiered pricing starting with a free plan allowing 600 minutes of transcription monthly, with paid plans starting around $10/month for increased minutes and features. It works for both online and in-person conversations through its web and mobile apps, though it primarily supports English with limited Spanish and French capabilities. Otter includes the "OtterPilot" feature that automates summary creation and integrates with tools like HubSpot, Notion, and Slack.

Comparing Fireflies.ai and Otter.ai

Fireflies.ai

• Fireflies joins meetings as a bot to record, transcribe and generate action items with capabilities across major platforms. The tool offers searchable transcripts and chatbot functionality, but lacks deep workflow integrations that would make meeting content truly actionable beyond basic summaries.

• While Fireflies supports 100+ languages and integrates with common platforms like Salesforce and Slack, users report issues with summary quality and transcription accuracy for accents or technical jargon. The limited automation capabilities and feature restrictions on lower-tier plans reduce its utility for teams needing comprehensive meeting intelligence.

Otter.ai

• Otter provides live transcription during meetings with speaker identification and automatic summaries, working across platforms through its meeting assistant. Despite offering real-time features, Otter's integration ecosystem lacks depth needed to effectively transform transcripts into actionable workflows that improve productivity.

• Users appreciate the real-time transcription capabilities and time-saving aspects, but encounter problems with verbose, poorly structured transcripts and accuracy issues with complex audio. The limited language support (primarily English with some Spanish and French) and basic automation restrict its utility for global organizations.

Fireflies.ai tends to work better for multinational teams needing language support across diverse meeting contexts. The tool's strengths in supporting numerous languages and basic CRM integrations make it suitable for sales teams and global organizations that require simple meeting capture across different communication platforms.

Otter.ai is more appropriate for English-speaking users who need real-time transcription and the ability to interact with transcripts during meetings. Its OtterPilot feature offers slightly more robust automation for teams that primarily use English and need basic follow-up mechanisms, though both tools ultimately fall short on transforming meeting content into truly actionable workflows.

Another alternative: Circleback

Circleback provides best-in-class AI-powered meeting notes and automations. We support over 100 languages and automatic participant identification in both in-person and online meetings.

• Automatically-identified and assigned action items

• AI-enabled search across all meetings

• Automations with 100+ app integrations

• Industry-leading security with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and HIPAA compliance

• Ability to capture both online and in-person meetings with desktop and mobile apps