Fireflies.ai sends a note-taker bot, named Fred, into your Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex meetings, then delivers a transcript, a summary, action items, and a searchable recording. It transcribes in dozens of languages, which makes it a common pick for international teams, and a Chrome extension captures Google Meet without a visible bot.
Where Fireflies stands out is what happens after the meeting. AskFred answers questions about a call or across many calls and drafts follow-up emails. AI Apps let you build custom summary templates, such as a sales-qualification sheet or a client-status format. Conversation analytics track talk time, questions asked, and topics over time, and integrations push notes into Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Notion, and task tools, with an API and Zapier for everything else.
The trade-offs match every meeting bot: consent, accuracy, and privacy. A bot in the participant list changes how people talk, transcripts stumble on jargon and crosstalk, and summaries occasionally invent a decision. Free-plan storage and credits are limited. With a consent habit and a quick review of each summary, it can replace manual notes for most business meetings.
Best for
- Sales and customer success teams that need call notes in the CRM without typing
- International teams that meet in several languages
- Managers who want a searchable history of decisions across many meetings
- Teams that want custom summary formats for recurring meeting types
- Anyone who needs a meeting recorded when they cannot attend
Not ideal for
- Confidential meetings (legal, HR, medical) unless your organization has approved the tool and consent is handled
- Small teams that find a bot in every meeting intrusive
- Meetings with poor audio, where the transcript needs heavy correction
Key features
Pricing
A free plan with limited transcription credits and storage; a Pro plan for individuals with unlimited transcription and more AI features; a Business plan with video recording, conversation analytics, team admin, and CRM integrations; Enterprise with single sign-on, custom data retention, and dedicated support.
Credits, storage limits, and which integrations sit on which tier change often; check fireflies.ai before choosing a plan.
Pricing changes often. Confirm current plans on the vendor's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A broad integration list, so notes reach the CRM and task tools without manual work
- Multilingual transcription suits international teams
- AskFred answers cross-meeting questions with transcript references
- Custom summary templates fit recurring meeting types
Cons
- A visible bot in every meeting bothers some clients and colleagues
- Transcript accuracy drops with jargon, crosstalk, and weak audio
- Summaries sometimes state tentative points as decisions
- Free-plan limits are tight, and the useful analytics sit on higher tiers
How people use Fireflies.ai at work
Sales professionals: CRM notes that write themselves
Have Fred join discovery and demo calls, use a sales-qualification AI App as the summary format, and sync to the CRM. Announce the recording at the start, and review the summary for anything the prospect did not actually commit to.
Customer service reps: escalation history on record
Record escalation calls with consent, then use AskFred to pull the timeline of promises and complaints before the next conversation. Keep payment details and personal identifiers out of transcripts where your policy requires, and set retention accordingly.
Consultants: client meeting logs across an engagement
Search every meeting for a topic, such as scope changes, and draft the weekly status from AskFred's answers. Confirm the client is comfortable with recording in the engagement letter, and delete recordings when the engagement ends.
Logistics professionals: carrier and vendor calls on record
Record rate negotiations and service reviews, then ask for a list of every commitment with its timestamp. Verify rates and dates against the transcript before updating your rate sheet.
Getting started
- Create a free account, connect your calendar, and immediately set the rules for which meetings Fred may join; start with internal meetings only.
- Add a recording notice to your meeting invites and say it out loud at the start of each call.
- After three meetings, compare the summaries with the transcripts and note what it gets wrong, especially owners and decisions.
- Build one AI App template for your most common meeting type and connect one integration, such as Slack, before rolling it out to a team.
Alternatives to Fireflies.ai
Otter.ai
Meeting transcription and summaries that follow you into Zoom, Teams, and Meet.
Zoom AI Companion
The meeting notetaker and assistant already built into your paid Zoom account
Microsoft Copilot
AI inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams, with your company's data protections.
Notion AI
AI built into the workspace where your notes, docs, and projects already live.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fireflies free?
Do I need consent to use Fireflies in meetings?
Is Fireflies safe for confidential calls?
Fireflies or Otter?
Independent review. Pricing is described in words because plans change often; check the vendor's site.