I ran out of yellow notepads. The AI note taker I built to replace Fireflies.

Why do agencies lose what was said in meetings?

Agencies lose what was said in meetings because the person taking notes is also the person running the meeting. A producer on a discovery call is asking questions, reading the room, and thinking about the next question. Writing it all down is a fourth job. Something gets dropped, and it’s usually the detail the client cares about most.

Handwritten notes also stay on the notepad. Nobody else at the agency can search them, and they don’t turn into follow ups on their own.

What do most agencies try first?

Most agencies try a notetaker subscription, like Fireflies or Otter AI, and for plenty of agencies that’s the right call. They record, transcribe, and summarize, and they’re a big step up from a legal pad. I used Fireflies until I left the company that paid for it.

Where a general notetaker falls short for a benefits agency is what happens next. The summary lands in its own app. Turning it into your follow up email is still a person’s job.

Wanna fix it?

Lost meeting details get fixed with an AI note taker that records and transcribes the call, a live copilot that flags what you missed while you can still ask, and an agent that turns the summary into follow ups, with a person who approves anything that goes to the client.

1. Record both sides separately. Mine is a native Mac app that records my microphone and the computer’s audio separately, so my voice and the other side stay on their own tracks.
2. Transcribe on your own machine. Mine transcribes on the Mac itself. Nothing leaves the Mac.
3. Add a live copilot. Every 90 seconds, mine privately offers up to 3 short suggestions: a discovery question I haven’t asked yet, a claim worth probing, or a conflict with what it already knows.
4. Save the summary fast. In my experience, mine is saved within 60 seconds of the meeting ending. It has timestamped bullets, open items, and action items with an owner and a due date it never guesses.
5. Hand it to an agent, and approve what it drafts. The agent reads the summary, assesses the meeting, and drafts the follow ups. I approve before anything goes out.

What does a live copilot actually catch?

A live copilot catches the things you’d only notice on a second listen. On one call, the prospect told me one thing was their priority. Twenty minutes later, they said something else was. The copilot flagged that to me privately, and I went back and sorted out which one was the real priority before the call ended.

It made me look a whole lot smarter and more attentive than I actually am. It also flags discovery questions I haven’t asked yet, and any I never got to land in the summary’s open items.

What does it look like once it’s running?

Once the notetaker is running, the meeting is the only part I have to be present for. I run the call. The copilot taps me on the shoulder when something doesn’t line up. In my experience, within 60 seconds of hanging up, the summary is saved on my Mac and a notification pops up. My agent picks it up from there. The agent assesses how the meeting went and acts on anything that needs immediate or future follow up.

How much time it saves me, I honestly don’t know. The time it saves is immeasurable.

Can you do this yourself?

Yes. If you need notes and a summary, a Fireflies or Otter AI subscription is the simplest start. Turn it on, tell the client you’re recording, and read the summary before you write the follow up.

Where DIY stops is the handoff. A subscription gives you a summary in its own app. Transcription that stays on your own machine, a copilot that knows your discovery questions, and a summary that feeds your follow up drafts is where a custom build starts. If you want notes, buy a notetaker. If you want the meeting to run the next steps, build one.

Quick answers

What is an AI note taker?

A tool that records a meeting, transcribes it, and writes a summary.

Is there a Fireflies or Otter AI alternative built for benefits agencies?

A custom one can be. Mine runs on my Mac and hands the summary to an agent that drafts my follow ups.

What does a live copilot do?

Every 90 seconds it privately suggests up to 3 things: a question you haven’t asked, a claim to probe, or a conflict with what it knows.

How fast are the meeting notes ready?

In my experience, within 60 seconds of the meeting ending.

Does it send follow ups on its own?

No. The agent drafts them and I approve before anything goes out.

Where does the transcription happen?

On my Mac. Nothing leaves the Mac.