AI is finding its way into more and more of our work tools and everyday behaviors. It’s especially noticeable in meetings, where notetaker bots have become a familiar presence. Tools like Otter, Fathom, and Read.ai join quietly in the background, capture the conversation, and generate summaries, transcripts, or searchable archives that help teams work more efficiently.

But here’s the real opportunity: when you bring AI into the most important moments with your team or customers, you can go beyond efficiency. Instead of just documenting what was said, what if AI can help you become a better communicator and a more trusted leader, build stronger relationships, and increase effectiveness?

That’s the difference between a traditional AI notetaker and Relate’s AI meeting analyst and coach.

AI notetakers became popular for a simple reason: we’re all overwhelmed by meetings. According to research, the average professional spends 18 hours a week in meetings. Capturing notes feels like an easy win, something AI can handle, so people can focus on talking instead of typing.

Today’s leading AI notetakers like Otter.ai, Fathom, and Read.ai typically provide:

• Meeting summaries
• Action items
• Searchable archives of conversations

These features save time, reduce context-switching, and make it easier to revisit decisions. In short, they create efficiency by streamlining how meeting information is captured and stored.

When organizations choose to bring AI into their meetings, it’s a big decision. Meetings are where strategy is set, customers are won, and culture is shaped. If your only use of AI is for summaries and transcripts, you’re capturing value but not creating it.

A recent MIT study highlighted a critical risk: when people rely on AI for surface-level tasks, they can lose the ability to think critically. But AI doesn’t have to make us complacent. Used well, it can encourage us to reflect, stay accountable, and improve over time.

AI should be more than a silent scribe. It should be an active partner in helping us engage, stay accountable, and get better. That’s where Relate comes in.

Notetakers provide efficiency. Relate builds on that foundation of efficiency but shifts the focus to effectiveness.

Relate adds a new dimension: research-based insights that improve how you and your team show up in meetings, increasing effectiveness across the organization. Relate challenges us to grow, to reflect, to improve, and show up differently in the next meeting.

So, what exactly is the difference between a notetaker and a meeting coach? Let’s break it down.

An AI notetaker tool:

• Analyzes the text of meetings
• Summarizes the meeting
• Documents key action items

An AI meeting coach like Relate:

• Does all the above, plus:
  • Behavioral insights after the meeting, tied to the Trust Equation (credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation)
  • Team-level feedback, helping leaders see how trust and engagement are trending across their organization
  • Actionable coaching prompts to improve your communication in future meetings
  • Tracks performance over time
  • And more

In other words: a notetaker helps teams remember what was said. Relate helps teams understand how they show up in meetings and how to get better next time.

This is the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency ensures things run smoothly; effectiveness ensures the outcomes are worth the time.

Both solutions deliver value but in different ways.

• Notetakers save time. You don’t have to jot down every word, and you can search a conversation later. That’s valuable.
• Relate multiplies value. By improving how people show up in meetings, Relate reduces wasted time, strengthens collaboration, and builds cultures of trust. The ROI goes beyond productivity:
  • Fewer wasted hours in repetitive or unclear meetings
  • Better decisions made faster because clarity improves
  • Stronger team engagement, which reduces attrition
  • Increased deal flow from better relationships during selling
  • Improved customer relationships driven by higher trust
  • A measurable >10% improvement in employee effectiveness. Meaning for every 10 users, organizations gain the equivalent of 1.3 full-time employees (FTEs)

The AI you choose for your meetings is more than a technical decision. It’s a leadership decision.

• Choose a notetaker and you’ll capture knowledge efficiently.
• Choose an analyst and coach, and you’ll unlock insights, improving effectiveness - gaining more from your people, your culture, and your customer conversations.

AI doesn’t have to make us less thoughtful, as the MIT study warned.  Used wisely, it can make us more reflective, accountable, and effective. Relate embodies that potential, helping leaders and teams grow, not just record.

The rise of AI in meetings is inevitable. The real choice is whether to use it only for efficiency or also for insights and effectiveness.

If you’re going to bring AI into your most important conversations, don’t stop at the surface. Choose a platform that elevates your people and transforms your meetings.

Ready to experience the difference? Try Relate today and move beyond meeting summaries.

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