Remote meetings are here to stay, for better or worse. If you’re drowning in Zoom links and “wait, what did we decide?” moments, you’re not alone. This guide is for remote teams who want to use Fireflies to actually remember what happened in meetings—without turning workflow setup into a second job. Whether your team is new to Fireflies or you’ve tried it and bounced off, I’ll walk you through what’s worth doing, what’s not, and how to avoid common traps.
Why Fireflies? (And When to Skip It)
Fireflies is an AI meeting assistant that joins your calls, records and transcribes, and can even summarize discussion points. Sounds great, but here’s the thing: it’s only as useful as you make it. If you already have a process that works, don’t fix what isn’t broken. But if meetings are your team’s Achilles’ heel, Fireflies can help—if you set it up right.
Step 1: Decide Which Meetings Actually Need Fireflies
Don’t default to “record everything.” Instead, set some ground rules:
- Record meetings with a real payoff: Think recurring team syncs, project kickoffs, or anything with lots of action items.
- Skip one-offs and social calls: Not every chat needs an AI scribe. Recording everything can feel invasive and creates a mess of useless transcripts.
- Check privacy and company policy. Recording without consent can land you in hot water. Make sure everyone knows when Fireflies is joining.
Pro tip: Start small. Pick one or two recurring meetings to test the waters.
Step 2: Integrate Fireflies with Your Calendar and Conferencing Tools
Fireflies connects with Google or Outlook calendars and most major video platforms (Zoom, Teams, Meet, etc.). Here’s what actually matters:
- Link your main work calendar. This lets Fireflies know which meetings to join.
- Double-check time zones. If your team spans continents, make sure events appear in the right slots.
- Restrict joining rights. If you don’t want Fireflies in every calendar event, use “Only join when invited” or similar settings. You can manually invite the Fireflies bot (usually via email) just to specific meetings.
What to ignore: Overcomplicating your integration. If you’re not using Slack or CRM sync, skip those until you actually need them.
Step 3: Set Up Automatic vs. Manual Join Rules
This is where most teams get tripped up. Fireflies can join every meeting on your calendar automatically, or you can invite it in only when needed.
- For busy teams: Set Fireflies to join only when it’s explicitly invited. Prevents accidental recording of sensitive or irrelevant meetings.
- For small teams or low-stakes meetings: Automatic joining may be fine—just communicate when it’ll be present.
- Guest meetings: Double-check before recording calls with clients or external folks. Not everyone’s comfortable with being transcribed.
Quick tip: You can always remove the Fireflies bot from a meeting if you change your mind last minute.
Step 4: Customize Your Transcript and Summary Settings
Out of the box, Fireflies spits out a wall of text. Here’s how to make it actually useful:
- Turn on speaker identification: This helps see who said what. It’s not always perfect, but it beats guessing.
- Tweak summary length. Some teams like bullet-point action items; others want a full recap. Test both.
- Decide where notes go. Fireflies can send summaries to your email, Slack, or even drop them in Google Docs. Choose what you’ll actually look at, not just what sounds cool.
What to ignore: Overly detailed, automated tagging and search features—unless you’re in a giant org, simple folders and naming conventions usually work better.
Step 5: Share and Store Meeting Notes (Without Creating More Work)
The whole point is to make meeting notes accessible and actionable. Here’s what works:
- Share summaries, not full transcripts. Most people won’t read a 15-page transcript. Send out concise recaps with clear action items.
- Centralize notes. Pick one home for all Fireflies notes—maybe a shared Google Drive folder or Notion page. Avoid scattering them across email, chat, and random links.
- Set permissions. Not every meeting needs to be visible to everyone. Be mindful of privacy and keep sensitive discussions locked down.
Pro tip: Add a “Notes” link to your recurring meeting invites so folks always know where to find recaps.
Step 6: Use Fireflies to Track Action Items (But Don’t Expect Magic)
AI can highlight tasks and decisions, but it’s not psychic. Here’s how to get the most out of it:
- Review and edit action items. Don’t just trust the AI. Someone should quickly scan the output and fix mistakes or fill in context.
- Assign owners and due dates manually. Fireflies can suggest tasks, but actual accountability still needs a human touch.
- Don’t force it. For some teams, tracking tasks in Fireflies works. For others, it’s easier to copy action items into your real to-do tool (Trello, Asana, whatever).
What to ignore: “Automagical” integrations unless they genuinely fit your workflow. If you’re not already using a linked tool, don’t start just for Fireflies’ sake.
Step 7: Regularly Clean Up and Review Your Fireflies Workflow
Set-and-forget is a myth. Here’s how to keep things useful:
- Delete old recordings you don’t need. Storage fills up fast and old transcripts can be a privacy risk.
- Check who has access. Update permissions if people leave or roles change.
- Ask your team for feedback. Are the notes useful? Is Fireflies joining the right meetings? Adjust as needed—no workflow is perfect out of the box.
Quick win: Schedule a 10-minute review every month or quarter. That’s usually enough.
What Doesn’t Work (And What to Skip)
- Trying to automate every step. AI is good, not perfect. Manual review is still necessary.
- Relying on transcripts alone. Even the best transcript is hard to skim. Summaries and action items are where the value is.
- Recording meetings without purpose. You’ll just end up with digital clutter and privacy headaches.
A Realistic Take on Fireflies for Remote Teams
Fireflies can seriously cut down on lost details and make remote meetings less painful—if you keep things simple and intentional. Pick the meetings that matter, set up your workflow with just enough automation, and always review the AI’s work before sharing widely.
Don’t try to build the perfect system from day one. Start with the basics, see what your team actually uses, and tweak as you go. Most of the benefit comes from good habits, not fancy features.
Keep it straightforward, stay skeptical of “set-and-forget” promises, and you’ll save time—and maybe even look forward to your next meeting. Or at least dread it less.