Which Tool Should Professionals Use? Briefly vs. Competitors

The market for AI meeting assistants is exploding. From global giants like Otter.ai to feature-packed tools like Fireflies.ai, there’s no shortage of options.

Every service claims to be the "fastest" or "most accurate." But for consultants—consultants, lawyers, executives—the real question isn't about features, but about value. Which tool actually helps you make better decisions faster?

Today, we frankly compare the major players and analyze why high-performing professionals are switching from generic tools to Briefly.

1. The Landscape: Who is Who?

Let’s map out the current market leaders by their primary use cases.

🌏 Global Meeting Assistants

Otter.ai: Real-time English transcription. Joining Zoom calls as a bot. (Best For: Students, General business users)
Fireflies.ai: Connecting with various CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot). Sentiment analysis. (Best For: Sales teams, CS managers)
Fathom: Totally free for personal use. Simple Zoom integration. (Best For: Individual users, Freelancers)

👉 The Verdict: These tools are excellent for general recording and basic transcription. They are built for the masses.

2. The Professional's Dilemma: "Transcription isn't enough"

Why do professionals try these tools and then leave? Because transcription is not the same as insight.

❌ The "Data Dump" Problem

Information Overload: A 1-hour meeting generates 10 pages of text. If you have to read the whole transcript to find the point, the AI hasn't saved you any time.
Generic Summaries: A summary that says "Comparison of Option A and B was discussed" is useless. You need to know what the decision was and why.
Security Risks: Professionals handle sensitive client data. Uploading this to a generic public cloud that trains its models on your data is a compliance nightmare.

3. Why Briefly? Built for the 1%

Briefly wasn't built for "everyone." It was built for decision-makers who need clarity, speed, and absolute privacy.

✅ Focus on Insight, Not Just Record

Our goal isn't to give you a perfect script; it's to give you time.

Formatted Briefs: Instead of a wall of text, you get structured, consulting-grade memos (Key Takeaways, Implications, Next Steps).
Decision-Ready: We filter out the small talk and highlight the decisions and blockers that actually matter.
Copy-Paste Ready: Output that goes straight into your client deliverables without needing a rewrite.

✅ Vertical Specialization

Generic models struggle with jargon. Briefly excels at it.

Whether it's Due Diligence, Market Sizing, or Legal Discovery, Briefly understands the context of professional services. We don't just transcribe words; we capture meaning.

✅ Enterprise-Grade Privacy

Your data is yours. Period.

No Training on Your Data: Unlike many free tools, we do not use your confidential client meetings to train our public models.
SOC2 Compliant Architecture: Built from the ground up to meet the strictest enterprise security standards.
Data Isolation: We offer options for strict data retention policies and immediate deletion.

Conclusion: What is your time worth?

If you need a tool to record a lecture or catch up on a missed team sync, Otter or Fireflies are great choices.

But if you are a professional whose time is billed at hundreds of dollars an hour, you can't afford to waste time formatting notes. You need a tool that thinks like an analyst.

Briefly doesn't just record meetings. It turns conversations into assets.

"Leave the recording to AI. Keep the insight for yourself."

Experience the cleaner, smarter way to work with Briefly.