Granola, Otter, and Fireflies all take meeting notes. But looking at their homepages, each has a different idea of why this is valuable.
Granola calls itself “The AI notepad for back-to-back meetings.” The audience is very specific, i.e., people like PMs who spend their day in conversations and need to remember what happened in each one. Its emphasis on no meeting bot and notes that are private by default makes the product feel personal and private. Compared with taking notes yourself, you get to actually pay attention to the person talking. On the Elements of Value pyramid, I’d map this to saves time, reduces effort, and reduces anxiety within functional and emotional value.
Otter leads with “Meeting AI that turns talk into action.” It targets a broader range of users, with particular emphasis on sales workflows. Briefings, live coaching, and automated follow-ups address the work that takes place in and around meetings. The value added is less work getting to the next action post a meeting. Its strongest elements are saves time, organizes, and integrates within functional value..
Fireflies promises to “Transcribe, summarize, search, and analyze all your team conversations.” The emphasis on team stands out. Search and conversation analytics appeal to managers and teams who need to find patterns across meetings. I’d map it to organizes, informs, and integrates within functional value.
I’d choose Granola, based on the pitch on their website. Being able to stay engaged without worrying about missing something is the most compelling benefit to me. That also says something about what my own value prop would be as a PM: helping people make sense of messy information and leave a conversation knowing what to do next.
