Best AI Meeting Note Taker: Stop Typing, Let AI Do It

Ever try taking notes during a meeting? You're frantically typing while someone's explaining something important. You look down to type, miss what they just said, look back up confused. Yeah, that doesn't work.

Best AI meeting note taker apps solve this. They record, transcribe, and pull out the important stuff automatically. You actually listen instead of typing like a maniac.

Why AI Meeting Note Takers Beat Manual Notes

Manual meeting notes suck for obvious reasons. You can't type and listen at the same time. Your notes are incomplete. You miss context. And good luck finding that one thing Jim said three weeks ago buried in your notes somewhere.

AI meeting note taker software records everything, transcribes it, and organizes it. Search for keywords later. No more 'wait, what did we decide about that?'

Best AI Meeting Note Takers (Tested)

Side Note - Best for Voice Meetings

I use Side Note for in-person meetings and phone calls. Hit record, have the conversation, stop recording. AI transcribes and you can tell it exactly how to format the notes.

• Works for any meeting - in-person, phone, whatever
• Custom AI prompts - tell it to extract action items, summarize key points, format however you want
• End-to-end encrypted - your meeting notes stay private
• iPhone and Android

The killer feature? After the meeting, I tell it 'extract all action items with who's responsible' and it does. Saves 20 minutes of manual note cleanup.

Otter.ai - Best for Zoom Meetings

Otter joins your Zoom calls automatically and takes notes. Good speaker identification. Free tier is limited though.

• Auto-joins Zoom, Google Meet, Teams
• Speaker labels
• Live transcription during call
• Free tier caps at 300 mins/month

Fireflies.ai - Good for Teams

Team-focused AI note taker. Integrates with your calendar. Bit pricey for individuals.

How to Use AI to Take Meeting Notes

Before the Meeting

• Open your AI meeting note taker app
• Start recording (or let it auto-join if virtual meeting)
• That's it - now actually listen

During the Meeting

Pay attention. Actually listen to what people are saying. That's the whole point of using AI - you don't have to frantically type anymore.

Some people worry about recording meetings. Just tell everyone at the start 'Hey, I'm recording for notes.' Most people don't care. If they do, ask permission.

After the Meeting

• Stop recording
• Let AI transcribe (takes a minute or two)
• Use AI prompts to extract what you need
• Easily share notes with team via the easy to use share functions if needed

What Makes a Good AI Meeting Note Taker

• Accurate transcription - 95%+ or it's useless
• Fast processing - waiting 10 mins for transcription sucks
• Custom formatting - extract action items, decisions, key points
• Search - find stuff from old meetings quickly
• Privacy - encrypted notes, not selling your meeting data
• Works with your setup - virtual meetings, in-person, phone calls

AI Meeting Notes vs Manual Notes

Manual notes? You're typing while trying to listen. Miss important context. Notes are incomplete and disorganized. Finding old notes is painful.

AI meeting note taker? Record everything. Search transcripts by keyword. Extract action items automatically. Actually participate in the meeting instead of being the designated note-taker.

Common Questions About AI Meeting Notes

Is it legal to record meetings?

Depends where you live. Some places require everyone's consent. Others just need one person to know (you). Tell people you're recording. Problem solved.

Does it work for different accents?

Modern AI handles accents pretty well. Not perfect, but way better than a few years ago. Tested with Australian, British, Indian accents - all worked fine.

Try AI Meeting Notes

Download Side Note. Record your next meeting in any of 30+ languages - English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese. See how much easier it is when you're not typing the whole time. You'll actually remember what people said.