In the fast-paced world of professional meetings, the traditional pen-and-paper note-taking method can often feel like a relic of the past. The rise of AI-powered note-taking tools has revolutionized how we capture, organize, and recall information, making meetings more efficient and productive. As we step into 2025, these cutting-edge tools are set to transform the way we work, saving time and enhancing our ability to stay organized.
In this article, we will look at the amazing capabilities of AI note-taking assistants, exploring their transformative impact in professional settings. We will introduce you to some of the top tools available in 2025, each with its unique features and integration capabilities. From Fathom's advanced AI-driven note-taking to Krisp's noise cancellation feature, these tools are redefining what it means to take notes. As you explore these tools, you'll discover how they can significantly improve your efficiency and organization.
The future of note-taking: AI-powered assistants
AI note-taking tools are not just a convenience—they are a necessity for staying ahead in a fast-paced world.
AI note-taking tools are designed to provide a seamless and efficient meeting experience, allowing users to focus on the content rather than the mechanics of note-taking. Traditional note-taking methods often require multitasking, which can be distracting and diminish the quality of the information captured. With AI-powered tools, users can engage more deeply in the conversation, knowing that every important detail is being recorded and processed automatically. This shift in focus enhances the overall quality of meetings, as participants can fully immerse themselves in discussions without the constant interruption of manual note-taking.
These tools offer features like automatic transcription, voice commands, image recognition, noise cancellation, and summarization, making the note-taking process more streamlined and effective. Imagine a meeting where every word spoken is transcribed in real-time, where a simple voice command can highlight key points, and where every action item is recorded and sent to each participant. These advanced features not only save time but also ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.
Moreover, AI-powered note-taking tools are equipped with sophisticated algorithms that can analyze and categorize information, making it easier to search and retrieve specific meeting notes later. This level of organization and accessibility is invaluable, especially in environments where decisions are made quickly and information needs to be readily available. The integration capabilities of these tools also allow them to sync with other productivity software, creating a cohesive ecosystem where all aspects of work are seamlessly connected.
AI note-taking tools are not just aiding the note-taking process; they are redefining how we manage our meetings. By leveraging these technologies, professionals can optimize their workflow, reduce the cognitive load associated with manual note-taking, and ultimately achieve greater productivity and success. The future of note-taking is here, and it is powered by AI.
Top AI note-taking tools for 2025
As I found so many alternatives offering almost the same service and features, I decided to try them out to generate my own conclusions. So during the last months I’ve been trying the most recognized AI note-taking tools out there to test the quality of the outputs and their ability to understand conversations, which at the end of the day, is the one thing that matters the most.
So after several months of product testing, I decided to share my experience.
I want to highlight some important points:
- Yes, there are referral links associated with some of the following tools.
- This is an honest review based exclusively on my own personal experience.
- Several meetings were in Spanish. It might affect the output of the different tools.
Fathom: The absolute winner
In the crowded field of AI-powered meeting assistants, Fathom AI stands out for its exceptional ability to capture and organize information.
From my personal experience, this AI note-taking tool outshines every other competitor out there. Its ability to understand and contextualize conversations, and generate summaries is unparalleled, especially when it comes to generating action items and next steps.
Fathom Key Features
- Recordings
- Meeting summaries
- Action items
- Slack integration
- CRM integrations (HubSpot, SalesForce, Close)
- Team features
- Follow-up emails
Fathom Pricing
Fathom's free plan includes its most powerful AI features for up to five meetings per month. The best part is that you can choose which meetings to activate it for, so for many users, this might be all they need.
Fathom Pros & Cons
Pros
- Outstanding ability to understand conversations.
- Works well in other languages (Spanish in my case).
- Precise action-items.
Cons
- There are other alternatives that offer more advanced meeting metrics, like talking time, sentiment, etc.
Krisp
Krisp caught my attention for one specific feature that no other competitor had: its noise-cancellation technology, which enhances the clarity of meeting transcriptions by filtering out background noise. This makes it an excellent choice for people working remotely in varied environments.
The noise-canceling worked well, but I had some issues where my microphone seemed to generate interference in specific cases, generating several “Sorry, we couldn’t hear you well”.
Krisp's Key Features
- Noise-cancellation feature
- Meeting transcriptions.
- Meeting summaries.
- Meeting recordings.
- Follow-up emails.
Krisp Pricing
Krisp's free plan offers unlimited transcriptions but only 2 AI summaries and action items per day and 60 minutes of their noise-cancellation feature per day.
This could be enough for many users and will help you to try it out and see if it works well for you.
Krisp Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Noise-cancellation feature - Only alternative that offers this feature.
- Offers an app so you don't have to invite your AI-assistant to your meetings.
Cons:
- It doesn't generate good transcriptions or summaries.
- Sometimes the noise-canceling feature can generate issues during your meetings.
Read AI
Read.ai stands out as one of the most popular alternatives in this category. It offers a wide variety of features, making it a robust tool.
One of the standout features of Read.ai is its advanced reporting and meeting metrics, that show you the talking time of each participant, sentiment analysis and highlights of the meeting. It even has a "coaching" feature that helps you improve your communication by scoring your talking pace, charisma, inclusive terms, and impact, among other things.
Honestly, this is something that I'm not looking for in an AI meeting assistant tool, but if you’re looking to improve your communication skills during your meetings, Read.ai might be for you.
Moreover, my experience with Read.ai wasn’t the best. The action items were precise, but the transcriptions and summaries were inaccurate. So, from my perspective, having the most basic feature of an AI note-taking tool not reaching my expectations made it difficult for me to trust the metrics were correct.
Read.ai Key Features
- Meeting transcriptions.
- Meeting summaries.
- Meeting recordings.
- Meeting metrics - participation, sentiment analysis, talking pace, and more.
- Salesforce integration.
- CRM integrations - HubSpot and others.
Read.ai Pricing
Read offers 4 different plans with a free plan that allows you to have up to 5 meeting reports per month. For some cases this might be enough, or at least it will be enough for you to try the platform and see how it works for you.
Read.ai Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Action items are precise
- Offers a variety of metrics for your meetings
Cons:
- Transcriptions and summaries are very inaccurate, at least in Spanish. Many of the conversations gathered made no sense at all.
Fireflies
Fireflies is another recognized tool in the AI meeting assistant category. It has many similar features to other note-taking tools, like meeting transcripts, summaries, recordings, and some basic metrics that include sentiment analysis and speaking time for participants.
I found that Fireflies offers a much more basic experience compared to Fathom, Krisp, and Read.ai. Its transcriptions were not precise; its metrics are basic and it is the only one that does not offer video recording, only audio recording.
Instead of recognizing the meeting language, you have to set the language of the meeting in order for the tool to make the transcription. My first meeting with Fireflies was in Spanish, and I forgot to set the language and it created a transcription that made no sense.
Fireflies Key Features
- Meeting transcriptions.
- Meeting summaries.
Fireflies Pricing
Fireflies offers a free plan with unlimited transcriptions and up to 800 minutes of storage, which looks enough for many users. But strangely, within my account, I received a notification that said I had 0 credits left for my transcriptions, even when they say that transcriptions are unlimited (I still had several minutes left of storage).
Fireflies Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Action items are precise.
- Offers some additional metrics for your meetings.
Cons:
- Transcriptions and notes are imprecise and mix information.
- Everything seems too basic compared with other alternatives.
Other alternatives
There are many other AI note-taking tools and AI meetings assistant alternatives competing in the same category.
Some products in this category are:
Conclusion
Many of the AI meeting assistants offer similar features, but they defer in some specific features. If you want to improve your communication skills, maybe Read.ai can help you; if you work in noisy places and you want a tool that can reduce the background noise, then Krisp might be a good option for you; but if you are just looking for the best AI note-taking tool that generates precise action items and transcriptions then Fathom is definitely the tool that I would recommend.
