8 Best AI Notetakers for Zoom in 2026

Most Zoom calls end with decisions, commitments, and customer context that live in someone's half-typed notes or their memory. A few days later, no one is fully sure what was agreed to or what's supposed to happen next, and reconstructing it from multiple colleagues' versions of the call isn't a reliable plan.

An AI notetaker captures the details of the call for you, turning each Zoom conversation into a searchable record of decisions, action items, and context. But not every notetaker connects to Zoom the same way: a visible bot, a native Marketplace app, a Chrome extension, or bot-free desktop capture each shape what your transcript sounds like and whether it clears your IT team's security requirements.

The Short on Time Version

• How a notetaker connects to Zoom (visible bot, native Marketplace app, Chrome extension, or bot-free desktop capture) shapes accuracy, participant experience, and whether it clears your IT team's security requirements.
• Built-in call-platform AI is often gated at the plan, admin, and host level, so if the host hasn't turned it on, the summary isn't available to anyone else on the call.
• Free tiers vary from unlimited recording to a three-minute per-conversation cap, so match the limits to how often you meet.
• Accuracy depends as much on audio quality and how clearly speakers can be distinguished, so test each tool on the calls you run; Otter.ai, for example, captures meetings using an attending notetaker in virtual settings or bot-free through its desktop app.

8 AI Notetakers for Zoom

We compared connection method, free-plan limits, language coverage, integrations, privacy controls, and pricing across all eight tools. The table focuses on connection method, use case, free-plan coverage, and starting price.

Across the eight, the sharpest split is bot versus bot-free capture, and that single choice usually decides which tools make your shortlist.

1. Otter.ai: For Shared Team Notes Across Zoom

Otter  is an AI notetaker and Conversation Intelligence Platform built to capture and transform every Zoom meeting, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and in-person call into one shared, searchable record. For Zoom specifically, you can match the capture method to the call: scheduled coverage through its standard notetaker, or bot-free recording through the desktop app for calls where IT restricts visible notetakers.

Because Zoom's own AI is gated behind host approval and stops at the meeting boundary, Otter's value shows up after the call: Otter AI Chat works across every Zoom transcript as a Conversation Intelligence layer you can query for decisions, action items, and context spanning multiple meetings. 

Pros

• Flexible capture: Otter can join as a notetaker, or the desktop app captures bot-free, so you match the method to the call.
• In-meeting collaboration: Otter’s live transcript gives every participant in a meeting you host a live transcript to follow along with and refer back to as the meeting happens.
• Integrations: Otter MCP Server is available on all plans and lets connected AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT securely query your meeting data directly.

Cons

• Language coverage: Transcription currently covers six languages, with more planned.

Pricing

• Basic (free): 300 transcription minutes a month, with a 30-minute cap per conversation.
• Pro ($8.33/user/month) and Business ($20/user/month), both billed annually.
• Enterprise (custom pricing): adds SSO (Single Sign-On) through Okta or Azure AD, and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance.

Who Is Otter For?

Otter builds one shared meeting memory for teams working across platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, from small sales pods to larger, multi-department organizations.

2. Zoom's Built-In AI: Zoom-Native Option

Zoom's built-in AI (formerly called AI Companion) generates meeting summaries and in-meeting answers, and produces Smart Recording highlights for teams that meet only in Zoom. Access is gated at the plan, admin, and host level: if you join a call where the host hasn't turned it on, the summary isn't available to you regardless of your own plan. Licensed users can invite My Notes into Google Meet and Teams meetings; native CRM (Customer Relationship Management) connections are unavailable. Meeting summaries now support 36 languages (in preview); Zoom says it doesn't train AI models on meeting content without consent.

Pros

• Live summaries: It generates a meeting summary from the live conversation without requiring a recording.
• In-meeting Q&A: Participants can ask questions about the call and get answers in real time.

Cons

• Host-gated access: Free accounts get summaries for three hosted meetings a month, and business accounts need admin approval before hosts see them.
• Accuracy concerns: Action-item accuracy is inconsistent, and summary quality drops with non-English content.
• No CRM sync: Native connections to Salesforce or HubSpot aren't available.

Pricing

Paid Workplace plans bundle the AI features, with Pro from $13.33 per user per month billed annually; a standalone license is $10 per user per month.

Who Is Zoom's Built-In AI For?

Zoom's built-in AI serves teams that hold every meeting in paid Zoom.

3. Fireflies.ai: For Free Transcription and CRM Reach

Fireflies.ai is an AI notetaker for sales and Customer Success (CS) teams that need CRM sync and transcription in more than 60 languages, using a visible bot or bot-free desktop capture. It's SOC 2 Type II and GDPR certified, with HIPAA and SSO available on Enterprise.

Pros

• Free-tier depth: The free plan includes unlimited transcription with capped storage.
• Coaching signal: Sentiment analysis supports sales coaching with talk-time and topic data.

Cons

• Credit-pool limits: Advanced AI features draw on per-workspace monthly credit pools, and the limits can be hard to predict.
• Visible bot only: Its bot joins Zoom as a visible participant named "Fireflies.ai Notetaker."

Pricing

Fireflies has a free plan; Pro is $10 per seat per month billed annually, Business is $19, and Enterprise is $39 per seat per month, annual billing only.

Who Is Fireflies For?

Fireflies covers multilingual transcription and CRM sync for sales and CS workflows.

4. Fathom: For Unlimited Free Recording

Fathom is a free-first AI notetaker for individuals and small teams, with bot-free capture as the default and an optional bot in Fathom 3.0. It supports 38 languages, connects to Salesforce, HubSpot, and Slack, and is SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and GDPR compliant.

Pros

• Unlimited free recording: The free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcription, and instant AI summaries.
• Bot-free default: Capture happens without a visible bot in the meeting.

Cons

• Virtual meetings only: It records virtual meetings only, so in-person conversations can't be captured.
• Two-user minimum: The Team plan requires a two-user minimum.

Pricing

Team is $15 per user per month billed annually with a two-user minimum, Business is $25, and Enterprise pricing is custom.

Who Is Fathom For?

Fathom provides unlimited free Zoom recording for individuals and small teams.

5. tl;dv: For Free Multilingual Recording

tl;dv is an AI notetaker for distributed teams that need timestamped highlights tied to the video moment, with a visible meeting bot by default and a bot-free desktop recording mode as an alternative. It connects to Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion, and Slack, and is SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant with SSO on all plans.

Pros

• Language coverage: The free plan includes unlimited video recordings and transcripts, and transcription covers more than 30 languages.
• Timestamped highlights: Transcripts are speaker-labeled and timestamped, and they link back to the video.

Cons

• AI note cap: The free plan caps AI meeting notes at 10 a month.
• Bot-free disclosure shifts to you: Bot-free recording removes the visible participant, so consent and disclosure become the user's responsibility.

Pricing

Pro is $18 per user per month billed annually, Business is $29, and Enterprise is custom.

Who Is tl;dv For?

tl;dv provides multilingual transcription, unlimited free recording, and timestamped highlights.

6. Notta: For Transcription-First Workflows

Notta is an AI notetaker covering 58 languages for people who transcribe uploaded files as often as live calls. Its bot needs host approval within five minutes, while its desktop recorder provides bot-free capture. It connects to Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion, and Slack, with SAML SSO on Business and Enterprise.

Pros

• Transcription accuracy: Transcription speed and accuracy are its most frequently cited strengths on G2.
• Platform support: Bot-free desktop recording works with Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex, and several other platforms.

Cons

• Tight free limits: The free plan caps each conversation at 3 minutes and 120 minutes a month.
• Billing surprises: Unexpected charges have been reported when free trials ended.

Pricing

Pro is $8.17 per user per month billed annually, Business is $16.67, and Enterprise is custom.

Who Is Notta For?

Notta covers multilingual transcription for uploaded files and live Zoom calls.

7. Read.ai: For Coaching Insights

Read.ai is an AI notetaker for managers and teams that want coaching reports and scheduling alongside their meeting notes. Its named bot requests admission unless you install the Zoom Marketplace app, which lets it skip that request. It supports more than 25 languages and connects to Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, and Gmail.

Pros

• Coaching output: Read.ai produces personalized coaching reports and includes a meeting scheduler.
• Opt-out flow: Participants can type "opt out" in Zoom chat, and hosts can dismiss the bot at any time.

Cons

• Uninvited-join complaints: Some users report the assistant joining calls unexpectedly; Read.ai says it never joins without a user invitation.
• Desktop capture trade-off: Bot-free desktop recordings skip the coaching and participant-level analytics that come with the bot-based capture.

Pricing

The free plan covers five meeting transcripts a month with a one-hour cap. Pro is $15 per user per month billed annually, Enterprise is $22.50, and Enterprise+ adds HIPAA and SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language).

Who Is Read.ai For?

Read.ai combines meeting notes with coaching reports and scheduling.

8. Krisp: For Bot-Free Capture With Noise Cancellation

Krisp is an audio-first AI notetaker for noisy calls, or calls where a bot would be unwelcome. Select the Krisp Microphone and Speaker in Zoom's settings and it transcribes with no bot and no host permissions, although an optional bot is available. Transcription covers 17 languages.

Pros

• Noise cancellation: Its noise cancellation removes household and street noise from calls without colleagues hearing it.
• Bot-free default: Bot-free capture by default sidesteps enterprise IT policies that block third-party recording bots.

Cons

• No permanent free plan: Krisp offers a seven-day trial instead of a permanent free plan.
• Tight core storage: The 10 GB storage ceiling on Core can be tight for teams with long, frequent calls.

Pricing

Core is $8 per user per month billed annually with unlimited transcription and AI notes, Advanced is $15 adding Salesforce sync, and Enterprise is custom with SSO and HIPAA support.

Who Is Krisp For?

Krisp provides bot-free capture and noise cancellation for sensitive or noisy calls.

Which AI Notetaker for Zoom Is Right for Your Team?

Each tool on this list handles a different mix of capture, transcription, coaching, and storage. The right choice depends on your meeting volume, connection preferences, and IT requirements.

If you need notes to reach the whole team, Otter builds shared meeting memory across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and in-person conversations. It's SOC 2 Type II certified, HIPAA compliant on Enterprise, and secured with AES-256 encryption, with SSO through Okta or Azure AD for admins. Executives can search decisions without joining every meeting, IT can govern meeting intelligence in one place, and sales teams preserve customer context without the manual follow-up work.

Aiden Technologies, an IT cybersecurity company, replaced manual notetaking on Zoom-based discovery calls with Otter. The switch is estimated to have saved reps 33% of the time they used to spend on manual notes, time reps put back into selling, while leaders get recorded calls to review for coaching without adding a step to anyone’s day.

Try Otter free on your next Zoom call, or Get a demo to see it on your team's meetings.

Frequently Asked Questions About AI Notetakers for Zoom

What Is the Best AI Notetaker for Zoom?

Otter.ai is built for Zoom calls, and can be configured to join the Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams calls you choose. It transcribes with 95%+ accuracy, and turns each call into a summary with action items. Otter has captured over 1 billion meetings and connects to AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT through the Otter MCP Server, which is available on all plans.

Which Free Plans Cover a Full Week of Zoom Calls?

Fathom and Fireflies include unlimited free recording or transcription, though Fireflies caps storage. Otter provides 300 minutes a month, while Notta limits conversations to 3 minutes, Read.ai allows five transcripts monthly, and Krisp offers only a seven-day trial. Volume caps limit how much you record; retention caps limit how long you keep it.

Can an AI Notetaker Join Zoom Without a Bot?

Otter can record Zoom calls bot-free through its desktop app, while an Otter notetaker can be configured to join calls as a visible guest. Other tools may use native apps, browser capture, or system audio, so the available method depends on the platform and plan.

Do AI Notetakers Work With Free Zoom Accounts?

Otter can work with free Zoom accounts independently of Zoom's native AI plan requirements, although specific features may require paid plans or host approval. Otter's free Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes per month with a 30-minute limit per conversation.

Do You Need Permission to Record a Zoom Meeting?

Before capturing a call, Otter users can disclose the AI notetaker and confirm participants’ permission, especially when bot-free recording does not place a visible participant in the meeting. Recording rules depend on where participants are located; see Otter’s recording permissions guidance for what applies to you.