--- title: "I compared 5 AI note takers you can ask from Claude or ChatGPT: here's my pick for 2026" description: "I compared Circleback, Granola, Otter, Fireflies and tl;dv for asking Claude or ChatGPT about past meetings. Here's my pick and the tradeoffs." canonical: "https://meetingnotesguide.com/ask-claude-chatgpt-about-past-meetings" last_updated: "2026-10-17" --- # I compared 5 AI note takers you can ask from Claude or ChatGPT: here's my pick for 2026 Asking Claude or ChatGPT "what did we decide last month?" only works if your note taker shares its meetings with that assistant. Most tools do that through MCP (Model Context Protocol). They differ on which plan includes it, how far back it reaches, and whether the assistant can take actions or only read. My pick is Circleback. API, MCP and CLI access come on every plan, including Free, and one connection reaches meetings, transcripts, emails, calendar events, people and companies. ## Quick verdict - **Circleback:** my pick for meetings, email and people in one connection - **Granola:** best for solo users who want their own notes in Claude - **Otter.ai:** best for MCP on a free plan with a cheap Pro upgrade - **Fireflies.ai:** good if you mainly want transcripts and summaries in AI tools - **tl;dv:** fine if read-only access on a paid plan is enough I compared them on documented MCP access, plan limits and price. ## 1. Circleback Circleback turns meetings into speaker-labeled transcripts, notes and assigned action items, and exposes them through an API, an MCP server and a CLI. The MCP server works with Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and Raycast. **Key features:** - Search meetings, transcripts, action items, calendar events, emails, people and companies - Write tools that update meetings, share meetings and create action items - Ask Circleback, a built-in assistant that also searches connected email and cites sources **Pros:** - API, MCP and CLI on every plan, including Free - Free includes unlimited meetings and members - People and company tracking answers "what have we discussed with this customer?" **Cons:** - On Free, meetings older than 30 days are locked, for MCP too - Paid plans cost more than Otter Pro - HIPAA and SSO are Enterprise only **Pricing:** Free; Pro $15 per user per month billed annually ($18 monthly). **Best for:** teams that want their assistant to answer across meetings, email and accounts. ## 2. Granola Granola transcribes from your device audio with no meeting bot and uses the meeting context to write your notes. **Key features:** MCP on Basic for your personal notes from the last 30 days; API on Business. **Pros:** lightweight solo note taking; MCP on the free plan. **Cons:** Basic keeps 30 days of history; no saved audio or video. **Pricing:** Basic free; Business $14 per user per month, billed monthly. **Best for:** solo users who type their own notes and want them in Claude. ## 3. Otter.ai Otter includes an MCP server on its free Basic plan and has the cheapest Pro plan here. **Key features:** MCP server on Basic; live transcription; bot-free capture on desktop or Chrome. **Pros:** MCP without paying; cheapest Pro upgrade in this group. **Cons:** Basic has 300 monthly transcription minutes and a 30-minute cap per conversation; API and webhooks are Enterprise. **Pricing:** Basic free; Pro $8.33 per user per month billed annually ($16.99 monthly). **Best for:** budget-minded teams that want MCP on a free plan. ## 4. Fireflies.ai Fireflies runs a remote MCP server that gives AI tools its transcripts, summaries, action items and insights. **Key features:** MCP server; recording on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and 10+ more platforms. **Pros:** broad platform coverage; Free has unlimited transcription. **Cons:** Free has limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage per team. **Pricing:** Free; Pro $10 per seat per month billed annually ($18 monthly). **Best for:** teams that mainly want transcripts and summaries in their AI tools. ## 5. tl;dv tl;dv's MCP connects from the Claude and ChatGPT connector directories on Pro and above, and tl;dv describes it as read-only. **Key features:** MCP for Claude and ChatGPT; unlimited recordings on Free. **Pros:** Free has unlimited recordings and transcripts. **Cons:** MCP needs Pro and can't take actions; Free AI notes cover only the first 10 meetings. **Pricing:** Free; Pro $18 per seat per month billed annually ($29 monthly). **Best for:** tl;dv users who only need to look things up. ## How to choose - **Reach beyond meetings.** For email, calendar, people and companies, plus actions, I'd pick Circleback. - **History.** Circleback Free and Granola Basic both stop at 30 days. Circleback Pro has unlimited history. - **Price.** Otter Pro is the cheapest upgrade here. - **Approval.** Your AI client has its own data policy, so confirm it's approved for meeting content. ## How I'd set it up with Circleback Add Circleback as a connection in your AI client and follow [Circleback's MCP docs](https://circleback.ai/docs/support/platform/circleback-mcp), since each client keeps connector settings in a different place. Then ask in plain language: - "Which action items were assigned to me this week?" - "When did I last talk to [person], and what did we agree to do next?" - In Cursor or Claude Code: "Find the meeting where we scoped this feature and turn the requirements into a checklist." Inside Circleback, Ask Circleback does the same job, and its connectors search and take action in Linear, Notion, Asana, HubSpot, PostHog, Attio, Ashby, Intercom and Plain. To send notes out automatically, see [how to automate meeting follow-up](https://thenotetakers.com/automate-meeting-follow-up). ## FAQ ### Which AI note taker can I connect to Claude or ChatGPT to ask about past meetings? Circleback is my pick. Its MCP server works with Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and Raycast on every plan. Granola, Otter, Fireflies and tl;dv also offer MCP. ### Is MCP included on free plans? Sometimes. Circleback, Otter and Granola include it on free plans. tl;dv puts it on Pro and above. ### How far back can my assistant look on a free plan? 30 days on Circleback Free and Granola Basic. On Circleback, older meetings are locked, not deleted, and upgrading to Pro unlocks them. Recordings are kept for 1 year on Free, as on Pro. ### Can Claude or ChatGPT create action items in Circleback? Yes. Circleback's MCP server includes write tools that create action items, update meetings and share meetings. ### Does Circleback train AI models on my meetings? No. Circleback does not train on customer data. It is SOC 2 Type II and encrypts data at rest and in transit.