- What Fireflies does, in plain English
- Getting started with Fireflies in seven moves
- The two ways to bring the notetaker into a call
- During the meeting: Live Assist
- After the meeting: what you get
- Settings to sort out before your next call
- Limits to know about
- Where Fireflies fits among meeting tools
- My take on setting up Fireflies
- Frequently asked questions
Using Fireflies starts with signing up through a Google or Microsoft account and allowing calendar access. You then choose which meetings its notetaker joins, or invite [email protected] by hand, and after each call you receive a transcript, an AI summary and action items.
Fireflies only produces notes for the meetings it's in, so most of getting started comes down to two decisions: which meetings the notetaker joins, and who receives the recap afterwards. Its defaults answer both questions for you, and the help centre says both can be changed.
This walk-through follows the Fireflies help centre at guide.fireflies.ai. It covers the sign-up route, the two ways to get the notetaker into a call, what the help centre says you get during and after a meeting, and the settings its pre-meeting guide covers.
What Fireflies does, in plain English
The help centre describes Fireflies as an AI notetaker assistant that captures, transcribes, summarises and searches meetings in one workspace. It can join live meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Webex, and you can also use the Chrome extension, the desktop app or the mobile app, or upload audio and video files.
After a meeting you receive a transcript with speaker labels, an AI summary and action items. Most of the settings are about deciding which meetings it attends and who gets the notes.
Getting started with Fireflies in seven moves
- Go to the Fireflies website, choose Get started, then Continue with Google or Continue with Microsoft.
- Allow calendar access when it asks, so Fireflies can spot your upcoming meetings.
- Decide whether the defaults suit you: Fireflies joins all calendar meetings with a web-conference link and sends recaps to everyone on the invite.
- Make sure your calendar events include a video conferencing link, or add [email protected] as an invitee on an event.
- Hold the meeting with the bot in it. If you want live notes, open the View Realtime notes link it posts in the meeting chat.
- Afterwards, read the transcript, summary and action items Fireflies produces.
- Go through the settings the pre-meeting guide covers: auto-join, email recaps, privacy and meeting language.
The two ways to bring the notetaker into a call
Let it join automatically
The help centre says that by default Fireflies joins all calendar meetings that have a web-conference link and sends recaps to everyone on the invite. You can change both. Auto-join lives in Settings, under Meeting Settings, with the Auto-join calendar meetings toggle, and it offers options such as all meetings with a web-conf link or only meetings you own.
If your invites include people outside your team, check the recap setting before your next call, because by default the recap goes to everyone on the invite. The vendor's page also says unlimited free transcripts on the Free plan require auto-join to be turned on, so weigh that before you switch it off.
Invite it by hand
For one-off meetings, add a video link to the calendar event and add [email protected] as an invitee. Do it before the meeting starts: the help centre says that if the address is added after a meeting has already begun, Fireflies won't join, and it points to a separate live-meeting method for that situation.
During the meeting: Live Assist
Live Assist shows live notes and a transcript while the call is happening. The bot posts a View Realtime notes link in the meeting chat, and that's your way in.
Two conditions apply, according to the help centre: the Fireflies notetaker has to have joined the meeting, and you have to be logged in to see the live notes.
After the meeting: what you get
Once the call ends, you receive a transcript with speaker labels, an AI summary and action items. The help centre's post-meeting features list includes searching meetings, editing and sharing transcripts, downloading transcripts, the Notebook and AskFred.
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| Post-meeting item | What the help centre lists |
|---|---|
| Transcript | Delivered after the meeting, with speaker labels |
| Summary | An AI summary of the meeting |
| Action items | Delivered with the transcript and summary |
| Search | Searching across your meetings |
| Corrections | Editing transcripts |
| Passing notes on | Sharing and downloading transcripts |
| Other features | The Notebook and AskFred |
Settings to sort out before your next call
The help centre's pre-meeting guide covers auto-join preferences, email recap settings, privacy settings and meeting language, which defaults to English (Global). If your meetings run in another language, that's the setting to change first.
- Auto-join: options include all meetings with a web-conf link, or only meetings you own.
- Recaps: by default they go to everyone on the invite, and that can be changed.
- Privacy: the pre-meeting guide includes privacy settings.
- Language: English (Global) is the default.
Limits to know about
- The standard sign-up route needs a Google or Microsoft (Outlook) account with calendar access.
- The bot only joins meetings with a supported video conferencing link.
- Adding the bot once a meeting has started won't bring it in; there's a separate live-meeting method for that.
- Live Assist needs the notetaker in the meeting, and you need to be logged in.
- The vendor's page says unlimited free transcripts on the Free plan require auto-join to be turned on.
- The help centre now lists newer areas such as AI Skills, a desktop app and Voice Agents, so menus may look different from older tutorials.
Where Fireflies fits among meeting tools
Fireflies is one of several notetakers that join your calls. If you're still choosing, my comparison of the best AI note takers sets them side by side. If what you mostly need is accurate text from recordings rather than meeting summaries, look at AI transcription software for business as well.
My take on setting up Fireflies
Go through Meeting Settings before you connect it to a busy calendar. Decide which meetings it joins and who gets the recap, keep the Free plan's auto-join rule in mind, and set the meeting language if your calls aren't in English.
Frequently asked questions
How do I sign up for Fireflies?
Choose Get started on the Fireflies website, then Continue with Google or Continue with Microsoft, and allow calendar access.
How do I add Fireflies to a meeting?
Add a video link to the calendar event and add [email protected] as an invitee, or switch on auto-join in Meeting Settings.
Why didn't Fireflies join my meeting?
Check the event has a supported video conferencing link. If [email protected] was added after the meeting started, the help centre says it won't join.
Can I stop Fireflies sending recaps to everyone?
Yes. By default recaps go to everyone on the invite, and the help centre says that can be changed.
Can I see notes during the call?
Yes. Live Assist shows live notes and a transcript, through the View Realtime notes link the bot posts in the meeting chat.
Can I use Fireflies without a live meeting?
Yes. The help centre says you can upload audio and video files as well as joining live calls.
