How to take AI meeting notes in a UK small business (with Otter.ai)

You run a lot of calls — clients on Zoom, suppliers on Teams, the team on Google Meet — and the notes either don’t get written or take half an hour each. An AI notetaker joins (or listens to) the call, transcribes it and writes a summary with action points. This guide shows how to set one up properly in a UK small business, including the data-protection bits most “best AI note taker” lists skip.

The job

“Meeting notes” usually means three things: a transcript you can search, a short summary you can send, and a list of who agreed to do what. All three tools below do this. The differences that matter for a small firm are how the tool gets into the call (a visible bot or your own device’s audio), which meeting platforms it covers, where your recordings and transcripts end up, and what the free plan allows.

Our pick and two alternatives — and why

Otter.ai — best all-rounder

Otter’s Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams meetings from your connected Google or Microsoft calendar, then records, transcribes and summarises them, according to its Notetaker overview. It covers the three platforms most UK small businesses use, you decide which meetings it joins, and the free Basic plan is enough to try it on real calls. Choose it if you want one tool that works for everyone you meet.

Fireflies.ai — best if the notes need to go somewhere

Fireflies’ bot (“Fred”) joins calls from your Google or Outlook calendar, and you can add recording rules and restriction rules — for example, never record meetings with “confidential” in the title (Fireflies invite guide). Its pricing page lists integrations on every plan. Choose it if call notes should flow into a CRM or project tool, as in sales-heavy businesses.

Granola — best if you don’t want a bot in the call

Granola runs on your own computer or phone and transcribes your microphone and system audio; it never adds a bot, and you have to start it yourself for each meeting (Granola transcription docs). It doesn’t store meeting audio — only the transcript and your notes (Granola security). Choose it for client meetings where a visible bot would feel awkward, or for in-person meetings using the mobile app. You still need to tell people you’re transcribing.

Step by step: AI meeting notes with Otter.ai

1. Create a free account at otter.ai with your work email. The free Basic plan is enough to test the workflow before you pay.
2. Connect your calendar. In Otter, open Apps in the left menu and, under Connect calendars & contacts, click Add next to Google or Microsoft, then allow access (Otter help). Otter only syncs each account’s primary calendar, so shared or subscribed calendars won’t appear (calendar help).
3. Choose which meetings Notetaker joins. Go to Account Settings → Meetings (or the gear icon on the home-page calendar) and set Default-join settings. The options include all meetings with a video link, only meetings you host, external or internal meetings only, and Meetings I manually select. We suggest starting with manual selection so nothing is recorded by accident.
4. Finish the platform setup. Zoom and Microsoft Teams have extra setup steps in Otter’s help centre. Notetaker joins as a guest, so meetings that force attendees to sign in to the meeting app will block it (troubleshooting).
5. Tell people before the meeting. Notetaker appears in the call as “[Your name]’s Notetaker (Otter.ai)” and can’t join invisibly. Add a line to the invite, such as “This call will be transcribed by Otter.ai for notes — reply if you’d rather it wasn’t”, and repeat it at the start.
6. Switch it on per meeting. Every synced event with a Zoom, Meet or Teams link shows a toggle on your Otter home page; switch it on for the calls you want covered (managing events). Forgot? Once the meeting has started, click the Notetaker icon on that event to send it in. Make calendar changes at least 30 minutes before a meeting so they sync in time.
7. Review the summary before you share it. After the call Otter can email a meeting summary. Read it against your memory of the call: correct names, check the decisions and actions, then send it on. Treat it as a first draft, not the record.
8. For in-person or bot-free calls, Otter points to its desktop app for recording without a bot (Notetaker overview).

Rough time saved

Our rough estimate, not a measured result: if writing up an hour-long call normally takes you 20–30 minutes, checking and sending an AI summary might take 5–10. Across five client calls a week that’s roughly one to two hours back. The saving disappears if you skip the review step and then have to correct a wrong action later.

Pitfalls to avoid

• Recording without telling people. It’s bad manners and, under UK GDPR, a transparency problem. Tell everyone, every time.
• Auto-join on everything. “All meetings with a video link” will also catch HR, disciplinary or medical conversations. Use manual selection or restriction rules.
• Trusting the summary blindly. Accents, crosstalk and jargon can trip up transcription, and summaries can attribute points to the wrong person. Add company names and jargon to the tool’s vocabulary where it offers one.
• Personal accounts for company data. If staff sign up individually, notes live in their accounts. Decide on one tool, one workspace and a retention period.
• Meetings that block guests. If your client’s Teams or Zoom requires sign-in, a bot can’t join; use a device-audio option instead (and still ask).

The UK angle: GDPR, data location and pricing

A recording of a meeting is personal data, so UK GDPR applies. In practice: tell participants, identify your lawful basis (the ICO’s lawful basis guide explains the options; legitimate interests is often used for business meetings), have a processor agreement with the tool, set a retention period, and avoid recording special-category conversations. This is general information, not legal advice.

Where the data goes: Otter says it stores data on AWS in the US West region (Otter help centre). Fireflies stores and processes data in the US by default; its Enterprise private storage can sit in the EU but is still processed in the US (Fireflies data storage). Granola stores notes in a US-hosted AWS environment and offers a data processing agreement on request (Granola security). All three involve transfers outside the UK, so read the ICO guidance on international transfers and check each provider’s terms.

Prices as shown in US dollars on otter.ai/pricing, fireflies.ai/pricing and granola.ai/pricing, checked 17 Oct 2026. Introductory offers excluded. You may see different currencies or offers at checkout, and prices change. VAT: UK VAT (standard rate 20%, see GOV.UK) may be added at checkout; if you’re VAT-registered, check how the supplier invoices you and ask your accountant how to record it.

FAQ

Related

• Try the recommender: transcribe my Zoom meetings · meeting notes without a bot · take minutes of a Teams meeting · record and transcribe sales calls
• Browse the category: Productivity & meetings · Audio & voice
• More guides: How to make a pitch deck with AI · How to make an AI voiceover

Sources

Official pages read on 17 October 2026. Features and prices change — always check before you buy.

• Otter — Notetaker overview
• Otter — Connect your calendar
• Otter — Automatically add Notetaker
• Otter — Manage calendar events
• Otter — Troubleshooting Notetaker
• Otter — Data security and privacy policies
• Otter — Pricing
• Fireflies — How to invite Fireflies to meetings
• Fireflies — Data storage and transfer
• Fireflies — Pricing
• Granola — How transcription works
• Granola — Security
• Granola — Pricing
• ICO — Lawful basis
• ICO — International transfers
• GOV.UK — VAT rates