Built-in Zoom, Teams, Meet AI vs a notetaker

Summary

If your whole team meets on one platform and your plan already includes its AI notes, start with the built-in one: there is no extra app to roll out. Get a separate notetaker when your meetings are spread across Zoom, Teams and Meet, or when the built-in AI needs a paid add-on and a notetaker costs less for your team. Either way, get everyone's consent and check local recording laws before you record.

This comparison uses the makers' own help and pricing pages, checked 2026-11-12. We found no named reviews comparing these options, so it uses maker pages only. CrimsonBot has not tested these tools.

Before recording a phone call, tell everyone on it and ask for their consent. Some states require consent from everyone on the call, and an interstate call can bring in the stricter state's law (RCFP guide: https://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/). This is general information, not legal advice.

At a glance (checked 2026-11-12)

Zoom: AI notes built into Zoom

Who it fits: teams that meet mostly on Zoom.

Zoom lists meeting questions, smart recording, meeting summaries and a Voice Recorder that creates "Meeting summaries for in-person meetings with your device or Zoom Room." My Notes is "Personal note-taking that enhances your manual notes." Metered features need a ZoomMate license and AI Credits. Zoom says it does not use customer audio, video, chat and similar content to train its or third-party AI models (Zoom, Getting started with Zoom AI features).

The free Basic tier includes meeting summaries and in-meeting questions for 3 hosted meetings per month and "AI note-taking (My Notes) for Zoom and third-party meeting platforms (3 uses per month)." Paid ZoomMate lists "Unlimited AI note-taking" and 2,200 credits per user per month (Zoom pricing).

Microsoft Teams: Intelligent recap

Who it fits: Microsoft 365 shops that already pay for Teams Premium or Copilot.

Intelligent recap needs a Microsoft 365 subscription with Teams (or a separate Teams license), plus "a Teams Premium license or Microsoft Copilot license." Audio recap needs a Copilot license. Transcription must be on, and if recording is off, users "experience recap without the recording, speakers, topics, and chapters." Recap can include AI meeting notes, suggested tasks, speaker timeline markers, chapters, and audio and video recap (Microsoft Learn).

Teams Premium is $10.00 per user per month, paid yearly, and "Requires a Teams license" (Microsoft). We could not confirm the Microsoft 365 Copilot price.

Google Meet: "Take notes for me"

Who it fits: Google Workspace teams on an edition that includes it.

It needs "an eligible Google Workspace edition or Google AI plan," and the meeting organizer must have it. Notes are captured in Google Docs. Late joiners can see "Summary so far," and the organizer gets an email with a recap link. It supports one language at a time (English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese or Spanish) and meetings from 15 minutes to 8 hours. Meet tells all participants that notes are being taken. Admins can require explicit consent first, but that setting is "off by default." Google's tip: "let everyone know you're using 'Take notes for me'" (Google Meet Help).

Among Business editions, it is included in Business Standard and Business Plus, not Business Starter (Google Workspace). Enterprise editions and Workspace prices: unverified.

A separate notetaker: Fireflies or Otter

Who it fits: teams whose meetings span platforms, or who want one place for all meeting notes.

• Fireflies. Fireflies says it takes meeting notes in Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams "with a meeting bot or, through the Fireflies Desktop App, without one." On Nov 11, 2026 it announced a wider "AI teammate" that also works with email and Slack, with many features "rolling out progressively over the following weeks." Fireflies says it does not use User Content to train generative AI models (Fireflies press release, Nov 11, 2026; Fireflies blog). Prices are in the table above (Fireflies).
• Otter. On 2026-11-12, Otter's pricing page listed Basic (free, 300 monthly transcription minutes), Pro ($8.33 per user per month billed annually or $16.99 monthly, 1,200 minutes), Business ($19.99 per user per month billed annually or $30 monthly) and Enterprise through sales (Otter pricing). Its July 21, 2026 blog gives the same annual prices (Otter blog). The pricing page also showed limited-time offers, including one valid only with an India-issued credit card and one for first-time subscribers; we don't use those prices. Check the page when you buy.

How to choose

• One platform, and you already have the tier: use the built-in AI.
• One platform, but you'd need an add-on: compare the add-on price above with a notetaker's per-seat price.
• Mixed platforms: a separate notetaker keeps notes in one place.
• In-person meetings: Zoom lists a Voice Recorder for in-person summaries. A guide on in-person recorders is on the way on the AI notetakers hub.

Room audio matters for any of these. A cost guide, What a room costs: DIY vs installer, is on the way.

Unverified / not covered

• Microsoft 365 Copilot price.
• Google Workspace and Google AI plan prices, and which Enterprise editions include "Take notes for me."

Affiliate disclosure (FTC)

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, labeled "(paid link)". They do not change what we recommend or the order. See the affiliate disclosure.

Sources (all checked 2026-11-12)

• Zoom, Getting started with Zoom AI features: https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0057623
• Zoom, ZoomMate pricing: https://zoom.us/pricing/aic
• Microsoft Learn, Intelligent recap for Teams: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/intelligent-recap-calls-meetings
• Microsoft Teams Premium: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/premium
• Google Meet Help, Take notes for me: https://support.google.com/meet/answer/14754931?hl=en
• Google Workspace, Compare Business editions: https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/getting-started/editions/compare-business-editions
• Fireflies pricing: https://fireflies.ai/pricing
• Fireflies blog, Meet Fred (Nov 11, 2026): https://fireflies.ai/blog/meet-fred-your-AI-teammate
• Fireflies.ai Corp. press release, GlobeNewswire (Nov 11, 2026): https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/11/3400748/0/en/fireflies-ai-evolves-from-ai-notetaker-to-ai-teammate-in-its-most-significant-expansion-to-date.html
• Otter blog, Read AI vs Otter.ai: 2026 Comparison (Jul 21, 2026): https://otter.ai/blog/read-ai-vs-otter-ai-2026-comparison
• Otter pricing: https://otter.ai/pricing
• RCFP Reporters Recording Guide: https://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/

Zoom, ZoomMate, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Google Meet, Google Workspace, Fireflies and Otter are trademarks of their owners. CrimsonBot is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.