Microsoft Teams offers built-in live captions and recording, but dedicated AI notetakers provide superior transcription accuracy and advanced features. After testing multiple solutions, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, and Sembly.ai offer the best free integration with Teams for automated meeting notes and summaries.
Quick Comparison: Top 7 Free Teams AI Notetakers
Ranked by integration quality and free plan value:
- Otter.ai - 600 monthly minutes, seamless Teams integration
- Fireflies.ai - 800 minutes storage, automatic meeting joining
- Sembly.ai - 40 minutes monthly, advanced AI summaries
- Microsoft Teams Built-in - Free with all plans
- Fathom - Unlimited recording, 7-day retention
- tl;dv - 20 recordings monthly, video focus
- Read.ai - 10 credits monthly, detailed analytics
1. Otter.ai - Best Overall Teams Integration
Otter.ai provides the most mature Microsoft Teams integration with excellent transcription accuracy and user-friendly features for team collaboration.
Free Plan Features
- 600 monthly transcription minutes
- Real-time transcription during Teams meetings
- Automatic speaker identification
- Search functionality across all transcripts
- 3 transcript exports per month
- 40-minute maximum per recording session
- Teams app integration
Teams Setup Process
- Create free Otter.ai account
- Install Otter app from Teams App Store
- Grant calendar access permissions
- Enable auto-join for scheduled meetings
- Access transcripts in Otter dashboard
Teams-Specific Benefits
- Native Teams app integration
- Works with recorded and live meetings
- Syncs with Teams calendar automatically
- Share transcripts directly in Teams channels
2. Fireflies.ai - Most Comprehensive Free Plan
Fireflies.ai offers generous storage and unlimited meeting length, making it perfect for longer Teams meetings and comprehensive documentation.
Free Plan Highlights
- 800 minutes of transcript storage
- Unlimited meeting recording length
- AI-generated meeting summaries
- Action items extraction
- Speaker identification
- Teams calendar integration
Teams Integration Setup
- Sign up at fireflies.ai
- Connect Microsoft 365 calendar
- Add fireflies.ai bot to Teams meetings
- Bot automatically joins scheduled meetings
- Review summaries in Fireflies dashboard
Teams Advantages
- No 40-minute session limit like Otter
- Automatic meeting detection and joining
- Integration with Microsoft 365 ecosystem
- CRM sync capabilities (limited on free)
3. Sembly.ai - Advanced AI Analysis
Sembly.ai provides sophisticated meeting analysis with only 40 monthly minutes, ideal for important Teams meetings requiring detailed insights.
Free Features
- 40 minutes monthly transcription
- Advanced AI meeting summaries
- Automatic action items detection
- Decision tracking
- Speaker insights and talk time analysis
- Teams integration
Teams Setup
- Create Sembly.ai account
- Connect Microsoft Teams calendar
- Install Sembly bot for Teams
- Configure auto-join settings
- Receive detailed summaries via email
Unique Teams Benefits
- Most advanced AI analysis on free plan
- Detailed meeting insights and metrics
- Integration with Teams and Slack
- Professional meeting reports
4. Microsoft Teams Built-in Features
Teams includes free live captions and recording capabilities, though accuracy and features are limited compared to specialized AI tools.
Built-in Capabilities
- Live captions during meetings
- Meeting recording (with transcription)
- Basic transcript download
- No external apps required
- Works with all Teams plans
- Automatic cloud storage
How to Enable
- Start or join Teams meeting
- Click More actions (...) in meeting controls
- Select Start recording or Turn on live captions
- Access recordings in Teams chat or SharePoint
- Download transcript from recording details
Limitations vs AI Tools
- Lower transcription accuracy
- No AI-generated summaries
- Limited speaker identification
- No action items extraction
- Basic search functionality
5. Fathom - Unlimited Recording
Fathom offers unlimited recording with Teams integration, though free transcripts are only stored for 7 days.
Free Plan Benefits
- Unlimited meeting recordings
- No monthly minute restrictions
- Automatic meeting summaries
- Action items identification