After a busy client review meeting, the last thing any accountant wants is to spend 25 minutes reconstructing what was said, what was agreed, and what needs to happen before the next appointment. Yet for most practices, that is exactly where the afternoon goes.
This article is part of Runbook's Best AI Tools for UK Accountants: The Complete Guide. Here, we focus specifically on AI tools for client meeting notes: what the best options are, how they actually work in a UK practice context, and what to check before you use any of them with real client data. If you want a personalised view of where your practice is ready to start with AI, the free AI Readiness Scorecard gives you a clear picture in under five minutes.
What AI meeting note tools actually do
AI meeting note tools do two things: they transcribe spoken audio into text, and they summarise that transcript into something more useful than a wall of words. The better tools go further and extract action points, assign follow-up items, and produce a structured note ready to drop into your CRM or email to the client.
The transcription part has become genuinely reliable for most UK accents and general business vocabulary. The summarisation quality varies more noticeably between tools, and for accountancy-specific terminology it is worth testing before you commit. A tool that confidently summarises "ISA allowance" as something unrelated is not saving anyone time.
There are two broad categories worth distinguishing. The first is dedicated transcription and meeting intelligence tools: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, and Fathom are the most commonly used examples. The second is AI features built into video conferencing software that your practice may already be using, most notably Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Both categories are worth considering, and the right answer depends partly on how your client meetings are typically conducted.
The best tools for UK accountancy practices
What follows is an honest assessment of the tools most relevant to UK practices in 2026. None of these are sponsored recommendations.
A note before you read on: This article does not compare tools by price because pricing, plan names, limits, and included features change frequently. For accountancy practices, the more important question is whether the tool fits your meeting workflow and whether the plan you choose provides suitable governance, security, retention, and data-processing terms for client information.
Otter.ai
Otter.ai is one of the better-known standalone transcription tools used by professional services firms. It works with live audio through your device microphone, with uploaded audio files, and with Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams calls. The transcript is produced in real time, and the summary and action item extraction run automatically once the meeting ends.
Entry-level plans may be useful for internal testing, but practices should check the provider's current limits and data-processing terms before using the tool with client information. Business plans are more likely to include the processor terms, admin controls, and retention settings needed for client data. The paid tiers also add the ability to create custom vocabulary, which is useful for practice-specific terminology.
For practices running client meetings by video call, Otter.ai is a strong first choice. For in-person meetings, the phone app works well provided the room is reasonably quiet.
Microsoft Teams transcription and Copilot
If your practice already runs on Microsoft 365, the transcription features built into Teams are the lowest-friction starting point available. Teams transcription may already be available in your Microsoft 365 environment, depending on your licence, Teams configuration, and administrator policies. Where it is available, it produces a searchable transcript linked directly to the meeting recording in your Microsoft 365 environment.
The Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on extends this significantly: it generates structured meeting summaries, pulls out action items, and can answer questions about what was discussed after the meeting has ended. For practices already using Teams for client calls, this is a genuinely useful upgrade. Transcripts and recordings are usually managed within your Microsoft 365 environment, typically through OneDrive or SharePoint, subject to your tenant's retention, access, compliance, and data residency settings.
The limitation is that it only works for meetings conducted in Teams. It does not help with in-person meetings or calls on other platforms.
Fireflies.ai
Fireflies.ai positions itself more explicitly as a meeting intelligence tool than a transcription tool, and that distinction is meaningful. Beyond transcription and summarisation, it produces topic-tagged notes, allows you to search across all past meeting transcripts, and integrates with CRM systems including HubSpot and Salesforce if your practice uses either.
The search functionality is genuinely useful for accountancy practices: the ability to search across months of client meeting transcripts for a specific discussion about a VAT treatment or a deadline agreed in a review meeting has real practical value. As with all tools in this category, practices should confirm that the plan they select includes appropriate processor terms and data-processing controls before using it with client information.
Fathom
Fathom has built a strong reputation for the quality of its meeting summaries, particularly its ability to produce clean, readable notes rather than transcripts that require heavy editing. It works with Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet.
The summaries are structured around talking points and action items rather than a chronological account, which tends to produce a more useful output for client meetings where the key deliverable is a clear record of what was agreed. For practices running a high volume of video-based client reviews, Fathom is worth testing alongside Otter.ai before committing to either. Check the available plan tiers to confirm that the data-processing terms and admin controls are appropriate for client use.
The AI Prompt Pack for UK Accountants includes 50 ready-made prompts for client emails, internal documents, report drafting, and more. Works with ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude.
Which tool should I choose?
For most UK accountancy practices, the right starting point depends on meeting workflow and data governance fit rather than price.
- Already using Microsoft Teams for client calls: Start by testing Teams transcription internally. It requires no additional software, and transcripts stay within your existing Microsoft 365 environment subject to your tenant settings.
- Need a standalone tool for both online and in-person meetings: Test Otter.ai and Fathom side by side. Both work across meeting formats and are widely used in UK professional services.
- Want searchable meeting history across a larger client base: Fireflies.ai is the most capable option for searching and tagging past transcripts, and offers CRM integrations if your practice uses one.
- Not ready to record meetings: Start with bullet-point notes and a firm-approved general-purpose AI assistant. No recording tool is required.
Whichever route you choose, confirm that the plan you select includes appropriate processor terms and data governance controls before using the tool with client information. Test on internal meetings first.
GDPR and data protection: what you must check first
Client meeting notes contain personal data. In many cases they contain sensitive financial information. Before using any AI transcription tool with real client meetings, there are three things your practice must address.
First, give clear notice and agree a process. Before recording or transcribing a client meeting, tell the client clearly what is happening and obtain their explicit agreement. Your practice should also identify and document the appropriate lawful basis for processing under UK GDPR. Consent, contract, or legitimate interests may be relevant depending on the circumstances, but the client should never be recorded or transcribed without clear notice and an agreed process. This can be handled in your client engagement letter or as a brief verbal confirmation at the start of the meeting. Retrofitting agreement after the fact is not workable.
Second, check the processor terms. Do not assume a consumer or free tier is appropriate for client data. Before processing client audio, transcripts, or meeting notes through any tool, check whether the provider offers processor terms or a data processing agreement suitable for UK GDPR. Paid business tiers are more likely to offer this, but you should still check the actual contract, sub-processors, retention terms, training-data terms, deletion rights, and international transfer safeguards.
Third, consider international transfers and data residency. If the provider or its sub-processors process or store personal data outside the UK, check whether this creates a restricted transfer and what safeguard is being used, such as adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to EU Standard Contractual Clauses. UK or EEA storage alone does not automatically make a tool compliant: compliance still depends on the contract, security, retention, and governance.
Disclaimer: Runbook does not provide legal or data protection advice. The information above is a general overview for educational purposes. Before using any AI tool to process client personal data, consult a qualified data protection adviser or your professional indemnity insurer for guidance specific to your practice.
A simple compliance checklist before you start
- Test the tool on internal meetings before client meetings.
- Decide who is allowed to use the tool and for which meeting types.
- Update client notice wording or meeting opener scripts.
- Identify the appropriate lawful basis for processing.
- Check the processor terms or data processing agreement.
- Review sub-processors, retention, deletion, training-data use, and international transfer terms.
- Set internal rules for where transcripts and summaries are stored.
- Require human review before any AI-generated note is sent to a client or added to a client file.
Using AI for notes without recording the meeting
Recording client meetings is not the only way to use AI for meeting notes, and for some practices it will not be the right approach at all. A straightforward alternative is to take brief bullet point notes during the meeting and use a general-purpose AI assistant to expand them into a structured follow-up note once the meeting has ended.
This approach avoids audio recording and removes the client's voice from the workflow, which can reduce risk. However, the typed notes may still contain personal, confidential, or commercially sensitive information, so the same basic governance principle applies: do not enter identifiable client information into a tool unless your firm has approved that tool and checked the relevant data terms.
For this workflow to produce good results, the quality of your bullet points matters. Notes that capture the key topics, decisions, and agreed actions will produce a useful follow-up. Notes that capture only vague impressions will produce a vague output. The guide to using AI to write better client emails covers the prompting approach for this type of task in detail, including worked examples for common meeting follow-up scenarios.
If you are not yet using any AI transcription tool, this prompt-based approach is a practical starting point. It builds the habit of using AI in your post-meeting workflow without requiring audio recording or a new client consent process, while still requiring sensible data governance.
Getting started: a simple workflow
The most effective way to start is to pick one tool and one meeting type, run it for three or four weeks, and assess honestly whether it is saving time and producing reliable output. Trying multiple tools simultaneously, or attempting to use transcription in every meeting type from day one, tends to produce confusion rather than adoption.
A sensible starting point for most practices is to begin with internal meetings before moving to client meetings. This removes the client-facing consent question and lowers the data-protection risk while you test the quality and workflow, while still allowing you to make mistakes in a lower-stakes environment.
Once you are comfortable with the tool and the workflow, the move to client meetings requires three things: a consent process in your engagement letter or meeting opener, a confirmed data processing agreement with your tool provider, and a brief review of the transcript or summary before it is used or shared. None of these are burdensome once the process is established.
For a broader view of how AI tools fit into your practice workflow, the Best AI Tools for UK Accountants: The Complete Guide covers the full landscape, from transcription through to drafting, research, and technical support tasks. If you want a clear view of where your practice is ready to act and where the gaps are, the free AI Readiness Scorecard gives you a personalised starting point in under five minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to use AI transcription in client meetings in the UK?
You can use AI transcription tools in client meetings, but you must tell the client clearly what is happening and obtain their explicit agreement before doing so. Your practice should also identify and document the appropriate lawful basis for processing under UK GDPR. You need processor terms or a data processing agreement with your AI tool provider before client data is processed. Consult a qualified data protection adviser if you are unsure what is required for your practice.
Which AI meeting note tool is best for a small UK accountancy practice?
For most small practices, Otter.ai or the transcription features built into Microsoft Teams are the most practical starting points. Both produce accurate transcripts with reasonable summary quality. If your practice already uses Microsoft 365, Teams transcription is the lowest-friction option because it requires no additional software. Always confirm your licence, tenant settings, and data-processing terms before using the tool with client data.
Do AI meeting notes tools work with in-person client meetings?
Yes. Tools such as Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai work with in-person meetings as well as video calls. For in-person use, you typically run the app on a phone or laptop placed in the room. Audio quality affects accuracy, so a quiet meeting room with the device placed centrally will produce significantly better results than a noisy open-plan space.
How accurate are AI meeting transcription tools?
Accuracy varies by tool and audio conditions. In good audio conditions, leading tools can produce highly usable transcripts, but accuracy still depends on speaker clarity, accent, terminology, number of speakers, and background noise. Every transcript should be reviewed before use. The AI-generated summary is often more useful than the raw transcript for capturing the key points and agreed actions from a client meeting.
Can I use AI to write up meeting notes after the fact, without recording?
Yes. If you prefer not to record client meetings, you can type brief bullet points during or immediately after the meeting and use a general-purpose AI assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude to expand them into a structured follow-up note or action summary. This approach avoids recording, but you should still avoid identifiable, confidential, or commercially sensitive client information unless your firm has approved the tool and checked the relevant data terms.