How do I use AI to automatically take notes during Zoom meetings
You can use an AI meeting assistant like Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, or Fathom to automatically transcribe and summarize your Zoom calls. These tools join as a bot participant and deliver a searchable transcript with action items and highlights in real time. Most have free tiers and take under five minutes to connect.
AI meeting note tools work by connecting to your Zoom account via OAuth or by joining as a bot using the meeting link. As people speak, the AI generates a live transcript. After the call ends it processes the full recording and produces a summary — typically a bulleted list of key decisions, action items, and next steps. Setup takes a few minutes. Otter.ai connects to Google Calendar and auto-joins scheduled Zoom meetings. Fireflies.ai works the same way and integrates with Salesforce and HubSpot, which makes it popular with sales teams. Fathom is a strong pick for individuals — it records locally without storing your audio externally, which is a real advantage if your calls involve confidential client conversations. One practical tip: tell attendees a note-taking bot will join. Most platforms send an automated disclosure, and many hosts add "[Notes by Otter]" to the invite title. This keeps things transparent with external guests who may not expect it. Free tiers are genuinely usable. Otter.ai gives 300 transcription minutes per month on the free plan. Fathom is fully free for individuals with no recording cap. Fireflies.ai limits storage on free but the core transcription works. Paid plans run $8–$20 per user per month and add CRM sync, custom vocabulary, and extended storage.