AI is changing the way meetings are run but not all meetings are the same.
If you’re exploring AI note-taking software, you’re probably asking the same question as hundreds of other organisations: “Can AI take our minutes?” The short answer is yes.
The more relevant question is: “Can AI produce minutes that meet our specific requirements?”
That’s where differences start to matter. Generic AI note-taking tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Otter AI, Fireflies and Fathom each serve a valuable purpose, and were primarily built around general business meetings. Meetings in the education sector, and in organisations with specific governance and accountability requirements, often have clearly defined needs. Board and committee meetings typically need more than a transcript or a short summary of discussion points. They often involve large in-person meetings and need a clear record of challenge alongside decisions and agreed actions as well as consistency across every meeting. They often include information that needs to be handled under specific data protection and regulatory frameworks and they still rely on human judgement.
This guide compares some of the leading AI note-taking tools against the factors that matter most to organisations with governance requirements including, where information is publicly available, how each provider processes and stores meeting data.
What should schools and trusts look for in an AI minute-taking tool?
Before comparing products, it’s worth asking what you actually need.
For schools and trusts, a good AI meeting assistant should:
- Produce structured minutes rather than generic summaries
- Capture decisions, actions and challenge
- Work for large in-person meetings as well as virtual meetings
- Support consistent minute formats across multiple committees and levels of governance
- Keep governance professionals and colleagues in control of the final record
- Meet UK GDPR expectations
- Be clear about where meeting data is hosted and how it is processed, retained and shared
- Provide reliable support when you need it.
Those requirements are quite different from a typical online business call.
Scriba and Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is a natural starting point for many schools, since it’s already part of Microsoft 365, and it works well for many operational meetings held in Teams.
Copilot can summarise discussions, identify action points, and help people catch up if they missed part of a meeting. Its current feature set is generally oriented towards meeting summaries rather than governance-specific records. Board minutes typically need to demonstrate accountability, capture challenge and provide a structured statutory record of decisions — areas where a specialist governance tool may offer more built-in support. Many governance professionals using general-purpose AI note-takers say they still spend time restructuring and editing the output before it’s ready for publication.
On data processing, Copilot’s meeting data is generally handled under Microsoft’s EU Data Boundary commitments, though some processing may still occur outside the EU/UK depending on tenant configuration and service. It is worth confirming directly with Microsoft for your organisation’s current setup.
Copilot may be a good fit if most of your meetings take place in Microsoft Teams and you mainly need meeting summaries rather than governance-ready minutes
It may also be worth looking at Scriba if: your organisation runs governing boards or committees; meetings happen face-to-face as well as online; consistency across multiple boards and committees matters; and you want minutes built for governance from the outset.
Scriba and Google Gemini
Google Gemini offers similar functionality within Google Workspace. Its “Take notes for me” feature produces structured meeting notes, identifies actions and integrates with Google Docs which is a convenient option for organisations already using Google Workspace.
Like Copilot, it’s focused on summarising meetings rather than producing governance-specific records, and it doesn’t currently offer configuration for board templates, customised terminology or capture challenge. It works well as a general productivity tool and a specialist governance platform can complement it for board and committee meetings.
Gemini’s data region can be configured for some Workspace editions, with processing options in the US or EU depending on your organisation’s settings. Again, it is worth checking your current Workspace configuration for the specifics that apply to you.
Scriba and Otter AI
Otter AI is one of the best-known AI note-taking applications. It produces detailed conversation records and lets users search previous meetings quickly, which makes it popular with sales teams and organisations running lots of online meetings.
However, transcription is only one part of producing formal minutes. Governance professionals still need to turn a transcript into clear, concise minutes that record decisions. Otter is strong where the goal is capturing a full record of the conversation; where the goal is publishable board minutes, there’s often more manual work involved to get there.
Otter’s meeting data is hosted in the United States, which is a relevant factor for organisations with UK data residency preferences or requirements and it is worth checking Otter’s current data processing terms if this applies to you.
Scriba and Fireflies
Fireflies automates meeting notes across Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, integrates with a wide range of business applications, and is particularly strong at helping commercial teams manage customer conversations.
For governance meetings, a similar pattern applies as with the other general-purpose tools: Fireflies records what happened well but producing a governance-ready set of minutes from that record still relies on considerable input from a clerk or governance professional.
Fireflies’ data is hosted in the US by default, with some options available on higher-tier plans. It is worth checking the current terms if UK data residency is a requirement for your organisation.
Scriba and Fathom
Fathom is a popular meeting recorder aimed at sales calls, joining video meetings to record, transcribe and summarise them.
As with the other general meeting tools, Fathom is built around joining and summarising individual video calls rather than producing structured governance minutes, so it doesn’t currently include committee templates or governance-specific fields such as challenge and accountability tracking.
Fathom’s data is hosted in the United States by default which is worth checking against your organisation’s data residency requirements.
Why schools and trusts choose Scriba
Scriba was designed from the outset for schools and trusts, rather than adapted from a general business meeting tool.
That means governance has been a consideration throughout the platform’s design and Scriba produces minutes in a recognised format. It’s been built with feedback and input from colleagues across the sector and combines AI with human oversight, so clerks and governance professionals stay in control of the final record. It also supports consistent standards across boards and committees, aiming to help trusts strengthen governance rather than simply speed up administration and all meeting data is hosted in the UK.
How the main tools compare
The table below compares the leading options across areas relevant to meeting administration in the education sector. This comparison focuses on the capabilities most relevant to school and trust governance and meeting administration. It is not intended as a complete comparison of every feature of each product. Several of the tools below offer strong capabilities in other areas, such as broader third-party integrations or real-time in-call transcription, which are noted below for balance.
| Capability | Scriba | Microsoft Copilot | Google Gemini | Otter | Fireflies | Fathom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best suited for | Schools, trusts, public sector organisations & governance professionals | General Microsoft 365 users | General Google Workspace users | Sales & business teams | Sales & business teams | Sales calls |
| Captures in-person board & committee meetings | Yes | Primarily Teams meetings | Primarily Google Meet | Possible via mobile app, with some limitations | Possible, with some limitations | Not a current focus — joins video calls |
| Works on any meeting platform | Yes | Primarily Teams | Primarily Google Meet | Zoom, Meet, Teams | Most major platforms | Zoom, Meet, Teams |
| Meeting bot joins virtual calls | Not applicable — different approach for online meetings | Native to Teams | Native to Google Meet | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Produces | Formatted minutes | Meeting notes & summary | Meeting notes & summary | Transcript & summary | Transcript & summary | Transcript & summary |
| Customisable minute templates (board / committee) | Multiple customisable formats | Not a current feature | Not a current feature | Not a current feature | Summary templates available | Summary templates available |
| Captures governor challenge & accountability | Yes | Not a specific feature | Partial — generic decisions section | Not a specific feature | Not a specific feature | Not a specific feature |
| Action & decision logs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clerk / human-in-the-loop review | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Standardised quality across multiple boards | Yes | Output structure depends on prompt/template used | Output structure depends on prompt/template used | Not a specific feature | Not a specific feature | Not a specific feature |
| Breadth of third-party app integrations | Focused on governance workflow tools rather than integrations with other apps | Extensive — native across Microsoft 365 | Extensive — native across Google Workspace | Wide range of integrations | Wide range of integrations | Integrates with major calendars & CRMs |
| Real-time in-call transcript view | Not the primary focus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data hosted in the UK | UK only | EU Data Boundary; some processing may occur outside the EU | Configurable — US or EU region | United States | US by default; options on higher tiers | United States |
| Designed around UK GDPR & DfE expectations | Yes | General compliance framework | General compliance framework | Not sector-specific | Not sector-specific | Not sector-specific |
| Personalised support | Yes | Standard Microsoft support | Standard Google support | Standard vendor support | Standard vendor support | Standard vendor support |
| Pricing model | Organisation subscription (unlimited users) | Per-user paid add-on | Per-user / bundled in Workspace | Per-user subscription | Per-user subscription | Per-user (free tier available) |
Comparison reflects publicly available product information at the time of writing (September 2026). Vendor features and data processing arrangements change frequently. Please verify current details directly with each vendor before procurement.
Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Otter, Fireflies and Fathom are trademarks of their respective owners. This comparison has been independently prepared by Scriba and is not endorsed by, sponsored by or affiliated with these companies.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI tools produce board minutes?
AI can produce a strong first draft, but board minutes should always be reviewed and thoroughly checked by an appropriately trained person before publication.
Does Scriba only work online?
No. Scriba is designed to support large in-person meetings as well as online and hybrid meetings.
Which AI note-taking tool should your school or trust choose?
If your priority is recording and summarising meetings generally, there are several good AI tools available, including Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Otter, Fireflies and Fathom. If your priority is strengthening governance while reducing the time spent producing accurate, consistent board and committee minutes, it’s worth considering software designed specifically for that purpose such as Scriba.
Can AI replace a governance professional?
No. AI can reduce administration, draft minutes and identify actions, but governance still relies on human judgement. The role of the governance professional remains essential.
Which AI note-taking tool is best for schools?
That depends on your needs. If you want summaries of Teams or Google Meet meetings, Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini may suit you well. If you need governance-ready minutes that reflect challenge, decisions and accountability, a specialist platform such as Scriba is designed with that in mind.