- What Happens During and After the Call
- Side-by-Side Comparison
- Jarvey: Optional Process Prompts and Follow-Up
- Fireflies: Private Help and Meeting Answers
- Otter.ai: Spoken Answers When Asked
- Fathom: Still a Standalone Product
- A Brief Note on Tana
- Who Should Pick What
- Privacy and Visibility
- The Real Question
- Frequently Asked Questions
A meeting summary captures what people discussed. Questions during the call, work without an owner and reminders afterward are separate needs.
The choice between Fireflies, Otter, Fathom and Jarvey is no longer a choice between silent recorders and one assistant that speaks. Fireflies and Otter can answer out loud when asked. Jarvey also answers when asked, and the team can turn on settings that let it raise process questions on its own.
This comparison focuses on what each tool does during the call and how Jarvey follows up afterward.
What Happens During and After the Call
Fireflies, Otter and Fathom all join calls as bots that appear in the participant list. Fireflies and Otter also offer bot-free capture through desktop apps. A private notes panel does not mean the meeting bot is invisible.
Their spoken capabilities differ. Talk to Fireflies answers in meeting chat, or out loud when voice responses are enabled. Otter Meeting Agent answers out loud when someone says “Hey Otter.” Fathom records, summarizes and syncs notes to CRMs, but does not speak in the call.
Jarvey joins Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams as a visible, named participant. By default, it stays quiet until someone says “Jarvey.” It then answers out loud to the whole room, using web search or what was said in the team’s earlier calls.
The team can also turn on optional process prompts. These let Jarvey ask about agenda drift, ask what the meeting is about at the start, and ask who will take work that has no owner. These settings are off by default.
After the call, Jarvey writes to the team’s board and chat and follows up with owners. That combination of optional process prompts and owner reminders is the distinction to consider.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Prices below are per user per month. Annual rates require yearly billing. Fathom’s paid prices come from a third-party 2026 guide.
| Feature | Jarvey | Fireflies | Otter.ai | Fathom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presence in the call | Named participant everyone sees | Bot in participant list; bot-free desktop capture also available | Bot in participant list; bot-free desktop capture also available | Bot in participant list |
| Spoken answers | When someone says “Jarvey” | Talk to Fireflies, with voice responses enabled | Otter Meeting Agent, when someone says “Hey Otter” | Does not speak |
| Platform scope for spoken answers | Google Meet, Zoom, Teams | Google Meet, Zoom, Teams | Launched on Zoom; we could not confirm support on Meet and Teams | Not applicable |
| Speaks up without being asked | Optional: agenda drift, meeting purpose, work with no owner (off by default) | Answers when asked | Answers when asked | Does not speak |
| Monthly billing | $59 | Pro $18; Business $29 | Pro $16.99; Business $30 | Premium $20; Team $19; Business $34 |
| Annual billing | $29 ($348 a year) | Pro $10; Business $19; Enterprise $39 | Pro $8.33; Business $19.99; Enterprise custom | Premium $16; Team $15; Business $25 |
| Other plan details | Free plan: 3 hours of calls; Enterprise: talk to sales | Enterprise is annual only | Enterprise pricing is custom | Free plan available; Team requires 2 seats |
Jarvey: Optional Process Prompts and Follow-Up
Jarvey’s default behavior is straightforward: it stays quiet until someone says its name, then answers out loud. Its answers can use web search or what was said in the team’s earlier calls.
Teams that want more involvement can turn on its process settings. When a conversation drifts from the agenda, Jarvey can ask whether to add the topic or return to the agenda. It can also ask what the meeting is about at the start and ask who will take work that has no owner.
After the call, it writes to Notion, Jira, Linear, Trello, Slack and Telegram. It does not support Asana or ClickUp.
For follow-up, the team chooses private Slack DMs or email. Jarvey reminds owners politely the first time and more firmly before the next call. When work is overdue, it can post in a Slack channel the team picks.
Jarvey costs $59 per user per month billed monthly, or $29 per user per month billed yearly ($348 a year), a 50% saving. The free plan includes 3 hours of calls. Enterprise pricing is available through sales.
Fireflies: Private Help and Meeting Answers
Fireflies has three distinct features to understand.
Live Assist provides live notes, a transcript, meeting prep and AskFred answers. Its panel is available through the web dashboard, mobile app, Chrome extension and desktop app. The panel belongs to the user; the rest of the room does not see it.
Talk to Fireflies, built with Perplexity, lets participants say “Hey Fireflies” or type /ff in the meeting chat. It answers questions, assigns tasks and looks things up on the web. Replies appear in meeting chat, or are spoken out loud if the voice response setting is on. It works on Google Meet, Teams and Zoom.
Fireflies Talk, launched September 29, 2026, is voice dictation into Gmail, Slack, Google Docs, ChatGPT and CRM fields. It runs on Mac and Windows and is free on every plan. It is separate from the meeting-answer feature.
Fireflies Pro costs $18 per user per month with monthly billing or $10 with annual billing. Business is $29 monthly or $19 annually. Enterprise is $39 per user per month, billed annually only.
Otter.ai: Spoken Answers When Asked
Otter Meeting Agent launched in March 2025. Say “Hey Otter” and ask a question, and it answers out loud in the meeting. It can also schedule follow-up meetings and draft emails.
It launched on Zoom first. We could not confirm support for these Meeting Agent capabilities on Google Meet and Teams.
Otter’s live notes pop-up in Google Meet is a separate feature visible only to the user. That private pop-up does not mean Otter never addresses the room.
Otter Pro costs $16.99 per user per month with monthly billing or $8.33 with annual billing. Business is $30 monthly or $19.99 annually. Enterprise pricing is custom.
Fathom: Still a Standalone Product
Superhuman, the company formerly called Grammarly, announced on September 14, 2026 that it acquired Fathom. Terms were not disclosed.
Fathom says nothing changes for users today. It still runs as its own product, with a free plan. Superhuman plans to bring Fathom’s notetaking into its email, calendar, documents and agents.
Fathom joins calls as a notetaker bot. It records, summarizes and syncs notes to CRMs. It does not speak in the call.
According to a third-party 2026 guide, Premium costs $20 per user per month billed monthly or $16 with annual billing. Team costs $19 monthly or $15 annually, with a two-seat minimum. Business costs $34 monthly or $25 annually.
The acquisition does not remove Fathom as a standalone option.
A Brief Note on Tana
Tana’s agents and its “Hey Tana” voice agent participate only in calls held in Tana’s own meeting app.
For a Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call, Tana’s desktop app captures audio from outside the call. There is no bot and no Tana voice in that call. Tana can therefore capture external calls, but its agents do not participate in them as they do inside Tana’s meeting app.
Who Should Pick What
Choose Jarvey if you want spoken answers plus the option to let an assistant raise agenda and ownership questions on its own. The team must turn those process settings on. Its follow-up through Slack DMs or email also fits teams that want owners reminded before the next call.
Choose Fireflies if you want private live assistance alongside meeting chat answers and optional spoken replies on Google Meet, Teams and Zoom. Its dictation app is another consideration if you want to dictate into other work tools.
Choose Otter if you want an agent that answers out loud when asked and can schedule follow-up meetings or draft emails. Meeting Agent launched on Zoom; we could not confirm support on Meet and Teams.
Choose Fathom if recording, summaries and CRM note syncing fit your needs without a speaking assistant. It remains available as its own product, including a free plan, following the acquisition.
Privacy and Visibility
Jarvey joins as a named participant everyone sees and speaks out loud to the whole room. Fireflies, Otter and Fathom also appear in the participant list when joining as bots. Fireflies and Otter additionally offer bot-free desktop capture. Their private panels are separate from bot visibility.
Jarvey does not train any model on your calls. All traffic goes over TLS, and its host encrypts the database at rest. It is not end-to-end encrypted. Its Data Processing Agreement is available at jarvey.io/dpa.
Fireflies’ security page lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA. HIPAA and SSO are Enterprise features. FERPA is supported on Enterprise with a data sharing agreement.
Fireflies faces an Illinois voice-biometrics class action under BIPA, filed in December 2025.
Otter faces In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation in the Northern District of California. First filed August 15, 2025 and consolidated in October 2025, it alleges that Otter records meeting participants without consent from all of them. In August 2026, the judge dismissed some claims. Claims concerning real-time interception, eavesdropping and voice biometrics continue. The allegations have not been decided.
The Real Question
Speaking during a call is no longer the dividing line. Fireflies and Otter can answer out loud when asked. Fathom focuses on recording, summaries and CRM note syncing.
The choice is about which behavior your team wants: private help, spoken answers, optional process prompts or reminders after the meeting.
Jarvey combines answers when asked with process prompts the team can turn on and follow-up with owners after the call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jarvey visible to everyone on the call, or just the person who invited it?
Jarvey joins Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams as a named participant everyone sees. It speaks out loud to the whole room.
Does Jarvey speak up on its own?
By default, Jarvey stays quiet until someone says “Jarvey.” The team can turn on optional settings that let it ask about agenda drift, ask what the meeting is about at the start and ask who will take work without an owner. These settings are off by default.
Does Fireflies Live Assist speak to the whole meeting room?
Live Assist provides a private panel with notes, a transcript, meeting prep and AskFred answers. Talk to Fireflies is the separate feature that answers in meeting chat or out loud when voice responses are enabled. It works on Google Meet, Teams and Zoom.
Can Otter.ai answer out loud during a meeting?
Yes. Otter Meeting Agent answers out loud when someone says “Hey Otter” and asks a question. It can also schedule follow-up meetings and draft emails. It launched on Zoom in March 2025; we could not confirm support on Meet and Teams.
Can Jarvey write to project management tools and follow up with owners?
Yes. After the call, Jarvey writes to Notion, Jira, Linear, Trello, Slack and Telegram. For owner reminders, the team chooses Slack DMs or email. Jarvey can also post overdue work in a Slack channel the team picks. It does not support Asana or ClickUp.
Is Fathom still available as a standalone AI meeting assistant?
Yes. After Superhuman announced its acquisition on September 14, 2026, Fathom said nothing changes for users today. It remains its own product with a free plan. Superhuman plans to bring its notetaking into other products.
How does Jarvey handle data privacy?
Jarvey does not train any model on your calls. Traffic uses TLS, and the host encrypts the database at rest. Jarvey is not end-to-end encrypted. Its Data Processing Agreement is at jarvey.io/dpa.
What is the difference between Jarvey’s monthly and annual plans?
Jarvey costs $59 per user per month billed monthly, or $29 per user per month billed yearly ($348 a year), a 50% saving. Its free plan includes 3 hours of calls. Enterprise pricing is available through sales.