Read.ai vs Zoom AI for meeting automation

Read.ai is an AI meeting assistant that transcribes and analyzes meetings across platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Meet. It generates real-time transcriptions and post-meeting reports containing key points, action items, and metrics such as speaking time, sentiment analysis, and attention scores. Beyond meetings, it can summarize Slack threads and emails, provides AI search across all meeting transcripts, and captures in-person meetings via its iOS app. It offers integrations with tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, Notion, and Slack.

The service operates on a tiered pricing model: a free plan limited to 5 meeting transcripts monthly, a Pro plan at $19.75/user/month (annual) for unlimited meetings and advanced integrations, and Enterprise plans starting at $29.75/user/month with additional features like video playback. Read.ai works through web apps and browser extensions rather than a dedicated desktop client. It supports transcription in over 20 languages but currently offers mobile functionality only on iOS, not Android.

Zoom AI is a built-in feature for paid Zoom subscribers that works directly in the platform without additional setup. It automatically generates meeting summaries with action items after calls, lets participants ask questions during meetings (like "What did I miss?"), and helps compose related emails and documents. The feature operates within Zoom's interface and produces near-instant meeting recaps.

The tool only functions within Zoom meetings and isn't available for other platforms or in-person gatherings. While included at no extra cost for paid Zoom accounts (starting at $15/user/month), it's unavailable to free plan users beyond limited trials. It offers transcription in over 30 languages but has limited external integrations, keeping functionality mostly within Zoom's ecosystem rather than connecting to tools like HubSpot or Notion.

Comparing Read.ai and Zoom AI

Read.ai

• Read.ai offers analytics beyond just transcription, with engagement metrics and sentiment tracking, but lacks comprehensive integrations that would help users actually take action on meeting insights. While it works across multiple platforms and handles in-person meetings, the complex interface and limited free tier restrict accessibility.

• The tool provides impressive features like searchable meeting archives and real-time translation across multiple languages, but falls short on workflow automation capabilities. Its pricing structure, starting at $19.75/user/month for unlimited meetings, may be prohibitive for small teams seeking basic functionality.

Zoom AI

• Zoom AI provides native meeting summarization and question-answering within Zoom's platform at no additional cost to paid subscribers, but is limited to Zoom meetings only and lacks meaningful integrations outside Zoom's ecosystem. The simplicity comes at the cost of versatility across different meeting contexts.

• The tool generates instant meeting recaps and action items with minimal setup, but the platform-specific nature restricts its utility for teams working across multiple communication tools. Its inability to capture in-person meetings further limits its applicability in hybrid work environments.

Read.ai works best for teams using multiple meeting platforms who need advanced analytics and a searchable knowledge base. Organizations with distributed teams will benefit from its cross-platform support and in-person meeting capabilities, despite paying a premium for these features.

Zoom AI is the logical choice for teams already invested in Zoom who need basic meeting summaries without additional costs. Small businesses with simple needs and budget constraints will appreciate its seamless integration, though they'll have to accept its limitations for non-Zoom meetings and lack of workflow automation.

Read.ai vs Zoom AI: What do users say?

Read.ai receives mixed reviews from users. Many appreciate its comprehensive feature set that goes beyond basic transcription, offering engagement scores, speaker balance metrics, and "smart" summaries that capture questions and topics. Users value its support for 16+ languages, real-time translation, and workflow integrations with Slack, Notion, and Confluence. The iOS app for capturing in-person meetings is also praised. However, complaints focus on the limited free tier (only 5 meetings monthly), a potentially cluttered UI with a learning curve, privacy concerns when joining others' meetings, and relatively high pricing for full functionality, especially at the Enterprise level.

Zoom AI Companion, being built directly into Zoom, offers seamless integration that requires minimal setup for existing Zoom users. Reviews highlight its ease of use, instant meeting summaries with action items, and cost-effectiveness (included with paid Zoom accounts). The main limitations noted are its restriction to the Zoom platform only, unavailability for free Zoom users, less mature features compared to dedicated meeting tools, and basic integration with Zoom Chat. Unlike Read.ai, it cannot capture in-person meetings and offers fewer third-party integrations.

For more information, check out Jamie AI's detailed review of Zoom AI Companion, Reddit discussions about Zoom AI, user reviews of Read.ai on Trustpilot, and Microsoft AppSource ratings for Read AI.

FAQs

• Would Read.ai work for in-person meetings? What about Zoom AI? Read.ai would work for in-person meetings as it has an iOS app that captures in-person/offline meetings with one tap. Zoom AI, on the other hand, only works for virtual Zoom calls and cannot independently capture in-person audio.

• What about meeting bots? Does either of these tools require a meeting bot? Read.ai does not require meeting bots – it records virtual meetings via cloud or extension, and offline audio via mobile app. The information doesn't specifically state whether Zoom AI requires a meeting bot.

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