TL;DR
- AI virtual assistants handle meeting transcription, scheduling, and single office tasks, with the industry moving toward fully autonomous AI Agents that complete workflows without constant prompting.
- This comparison focuses on non-voice-commanded AI assistants (excluding Alexa/Siri-type tools) like Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai, which focus on meeting subscription.
- Also check out our Productivity Tools comparison, which shows a bigger range of features which are similar to this.
Our review contains a few affiliate marketing links. If you purchase any of the tools, we might receive a small commission.
What does an AI virtual assistant do?
AI Virtual assistants can take over various tasks:
- taking meeting notes and transcribe them
- scheduling meetings for you
- taking over single office tasks
The AI industry is working on AI Agents as the next big thing. These AI assistants can do various office tasks from beginning to end instead of requiring prompts within the workflow.
For this comparison, we focused on the AI Virtual assistants that are already available and are not voice-commanded (like Alexa or Siri). Two of our three contestants offer plans for free virtual assistant services.
Sometimes, chatbots are also referred to as virtual assistants because they handle customer inquiries. We have created a separate section for
bots here, take a look!
When comparing Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai, I have found them to be quite similar. However, I personally prefer the interface and clarity of Fireflies.
But if you are looking for a better free deal, Otter.ai’s free plan is more generous.
I appreciate how easy it is to toggle both tools on and off for meetings.
IBM’s Watson and their lite plan was extremely hard to sign up to and generally it is setup for enterprises,so do not recommend this tool for small businesses.
Lili remembers the excitement of discovering the internet at 14 — a true window to the world. The AI boom now feels just as thrilling. Since 2023, she's tested many AI tools, seeing the good, the bad and the ugly (especially at the beginning). Before AI, she worked as a video marketer, crafting YouTube Ads for HelloFresh and Revolut. She believes AI should empower people, leading her to build this site for SMEs. When not exploring AI, she enjoys her 30 plants and modern art.
