Zoom has a new AI assistant available at no additional cost for paid users. But is Zoom’s offering able to compete with industry leaders like tl;dv?
Zoom, after all, is used by 350 million people per day on average. It would make sense for pre-existing users to try any new features, especially if they already have a Zoom subscription. But if they want state-of-the-art meeting intelligence, Zoom might not be the best option.
To help you decide, we’ve put tl;dv and Zoom head to head across 12 different categories to find out which one is better for your business.
It’s worth noting that they are not, strictly speaking, direct competitors. Zoom is a video conferencing platform that allows users to hold online meetings. It also has call recording, transcribing, and now AI intelligence features. tl;dv, on the other hand, is primarily a call recorder, transcriber, and AI assistant. It does not work as a video conferencing platform, rather you partner it with Zoom (or MS Teams or Google Meet) and it acts as your AI assistant during calls.
As you can see, there’s a lot of overlap so it’s worth comparing them, especially in light of Zoom’s new AI announcement. So let’s get to it. Which is the better AI meeting assistant; tl;dv or Zoom?
tl;dr
| tl;dv | Zoom AI Assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| Transcription | 20 🟢 | 15 |
| Recording | 22 🟢 | 14 |
| Conversational Intelligence | 14 | 14 |
| Automation & Integrations | 8 🟢 | 6 |
| Note-taking | 12 🟢 | 6 |
| Security | 19 🟢 | 7 |
| Coaching | 8 🟢 | 3 |
| Admin | 8 🟢 | 6 |
| Organizational | 12 | 12 |
| Support | 4 🟢 | 1 |
| Revenue Intelligence | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 6 | 6 |
| Total | 128 🟢 | 90 |
As you can see from this high-level overview, tl;dv rakes in an impressive 128 points while Zoom lags behind with just 90.
While Zoom was able to draw level in four of the categories (conversational intelligence, organization, revenue intelligence, and other), it wasn’t able to come out on top in any. This is likely because Zoom is primarily a video conferencing platform, where tl;dv is specifically designed to get the most insights out of your meetings.
Zoom includes features like recording, transcribing, and now AI intelligence as somewhat of an afterthought as it’s good to have it all under one roof. However, tl;dv focuses all their energy on building the best possible tool for extracting conversational intelligence, making note-taking simple, and improving sales team performance via sales coaching. It’s also one of the only AI meeting assistants on the market to offer multi-meeting intelligence, an unparalleled feature which enables you to get AI insights across multiple meetings at once.
We’ll get into more details about that later. For now, let’s dive into the actual categories.
tl;dv vs Zoom AI Assistant: 12 Factors to Consider While Choosing the Best AI Notetaker
How do we rank?
- We give 2 points to a platform once it is the clear winner or when the capability is equally met by the other.
- We give 1 point when the capability is present, but it’s not a winner.
- We give 0 points when the capability is not present.
Transcription Capabilities
| tl;dv (20) | Zoom AI Assistant (15) | |
|---|---|---|
| Transcriptions included | 🟢 Unlimited (free) | 🟠 Unlimited (Business Plan) |
| Real-time transcriptions | 🔴 | 🟢 |
| Languages supported | 🟢 +40 (free) | 🟠 +30 (paid) |
| Dialects supported | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Filler word removal | 🔴 soon | 🔴 |
| Speaker recognition | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Speaker names | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Transcribe video/audio uploads | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Export transcripts | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Clips from transcript | 🟢 (unlimited free) | 🟠 (5 free) |
| Custom vocabulary | 🔴 soon | 🔴 |
| Full-Transcript search | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Edit transcription | 🟢 | 🟢 |
Transcriptions Included
First things first, Zoom only offers unlimited transcriptions on its Business plan. As it’s primarily a video conferencing platform that allows users to make calls, transcription is seen as a bonus feature.
For tl;dv, however, transcriptions are completely free for as many calls as you want. Utterly unlimited.
Real-time Transcriptions
Zoom provides real-time transcription capabilities. This enables users to share highlights during calls, a feature particularly useful for live note-taking and instant content sharing.
Real-time transcriptions are not available on tl;dv, marking a key difference for users who prioritize immediate transcription access.
Languages Supported
tl;dv supports transcription in over 40 languages. This provides a broad linguistic range that caters to global teams and multilingual environments.
Zoom also appeals to these markets with its 30+ languages. However, it’s worth noting that you must have a paid subscription to translate Zoom transcripts, whereas tl;dv offers all of its languages free of charge.
Dialects Supported
tl;dv excels in dialect recognition, maximizing transcription accuracy for users of diverse dialects. This capability ensures that the nuances of regional accents are accurately captured.
Zoom doesn’t allow for different dialects, potentially weakening their transcripts during calls that feature speakers of dialects.
Filler Word Removal
Currently, neither tl;dv nor Zoom offers filler word removal. However, this is to be short-lived for tl;dv as they’re in the process of adding it to their transcription services. This upcoming feature will help produce clean and crisp transcripts by eliminating unnecessary words and phrases, making it a future differentiator.
Transcribe Video/Audio Uploads
tl;dv allows users to upload files for transcription. This means that even pre-recorded calls can be transcribed and included in tl;dv’s AI insights.
Zoom does not allow for files to be uploaded for transcription. This makes Zoom a weaker offering for teams with a backlog of call recordings that they wish to extract data from.
Custom Vocabulary
In the near future, tl;dv intends to introduce custom vocabulary as a feature. This will enhance the accuracy of transcriptions even more as users will be able to add their own jargon or industry-specific terminology to the AI.
Zoom does not offer custom vocabulary, making tl;dv the platform of choice for those looking for this feature in the near future.
Recording Capabilities
| tl;dv (22) | Zoom AI Assistant (14) | |
|---|---|---|
| Video platforms | 🟢 Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet | 🟠 Zoom only |
| Storage | 🟢 Unlimited (free) | 🟠 Unlimited (Enterprise only) |
| Records video | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Concurrent meetings | 🟢 Unlimited | 🟠 (2 on Business and Enterprise) |
| Download recordings | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Capture slides | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Viewing analytics | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Integrated Calendar | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Recording Editing | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Custom Avatar Bot | 🟢 | 🟢 N/A |
| Reels | 🟢 (unlimited free) | 🟠 (5 free) |
Video Platforms
Firstly, Zoom is quite obviously only available on Zoom. If you’re already using MS Teams or Google Meet to make your calls, then switching everything to Zoom would be a pain.
With tl;dv, it doesn’t matter whether you’re using Zoom, MS Teams, or Google Meet; it will join any meeting and record, transcribe, and provide AI insights.
Storage
tl;dv provides unlimited storage on all its plans, including the free one.
Zoom reserves unlimited storage for Enterprise Plan users. Users on lower plans are able to store files locally, but not on Zoom’s cloud storage.
Concurrent Meetings
With the Business or Enterprise plans, Zoom users can join (and record) up to 2 meetings concurrently.
tl;dv enables users to record unlimited amounts of meetings simultaneously. If you’re triple booked, tl;dv can record all three meetings and give you insights on each one (even if you weren’t physically present for any of them).
Viewing Analytics
tl;dv provides a viewing analytics dashboard for its users so that managers can keep track of which of their team members have been rewatching meetings, learning from mistakes, and generating AI insights.
Zoom does not provide viewing analytics.
Recording Editing
tl;dv’s recordings can be trimmed to make them easier to digest. You can remove parts that are unnecessary, edit the transcript, and even make highlights and shareable reels.
Zoom doesn’t allow the user to edit the video recording at all, making it more difficult to share and get insights.
Custom Avatar Bot
tl;dv users can now customize their AI meeting assistant by giving it a personalized name and background image.
Zoom does not have a bot join the call to record so there is no possibility for this feature.
Reels
tl;dv empowers users to make as many reels as they want from their call transcripts. This includes users of the free plan. There’s a little button that makes creating reels super easy.
Zoom only allows users to make 5 reels on the free plan. This limits the shareability of call insights for Zoom’s free plan users.
Conversation Intelligence Capabilities
| tl;dv (14) | Zoom AI Assistant (14) | |
|---|---|---|
| Single Meeting AI Insights | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Multi Meeting AI Insights | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Keyword tracking | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Sentiment Analysis | 🔴 No, as per EU AI Act | 🟢 |
| Key Topic detection | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Speech Analytics | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Action item detection | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Question detection | 🟢 | 🟢 |
Single Meeting AI Insights
Both tl;dv and Zoom offer single meeting AI insights. This means you can get AI summaries, notes, and key takeaways from every meeting you have, whether you use Zoom’s AI or tl;dv.
Multi-Meeting Insights
tl;dv takes single meeting AI a step further by allowing users to receive multi-meeting insights. This lets the AI pull from all your team’s meetings within a given time period and provides AI insights across all of them at once. This is perfect for identifying trends and patterns, particularly with Sales teams. Furthermore, you can schedule recurring reports to get multi-meeting insights to your inbox at regular intervals. It’s a sales manager’s dream.
Zoom fails to offer multi-meeting insights, making it far weaker in terms of the insights it can offer.
Keyword Tracking
tl;dv allows users to track keywords so that you can quickly and easily find information across multiple meetings about the same topic. It also enables users to find specific meeting moments using key topics and other smart filters.
Zoom also provides keyword tracking. Similarly, it enables users to identify particular meeting moments based on semantic topics, making your life easier.
Sentiment Analysis
As tl;dv is registered in Germany, it abides by the EU AI Act and does not provide sentiment analysis for this reason.
Zoom, on the other hand, does provide sentiment analysis, allowing the AI to detect the emotion or intent behind the words.
Speech Analytics
Zoom’s new AI claims to have speaker analytics that provide insights such as talk-listen ratio, talking speed, and monologue length.
tl;dv also offers speaker analytics for the same topics and more, allowing sales managers to review their reps’ calls more efficiently. This feature is also great for Customer Success teams.
Automation & Integration Capabilities
| tl;dv (8) | Zoom AI Assistant (6) | |
|---|---|---|
| CRM Integrations | 🟠 in Pro plan | 🟢 |
| Email Integrations | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Zapier Integrations | 🟠 in Pro plan | 🟢 |
| Post-Meeting summary email | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Schedule Reports | 🟢 | 🔴 |
CRM Integrations
Zoom is a behemoth of a company. As such, it has tons of CRM integrations. Salesforce and Hubspot are both available for free users, and those on the paid plans have access to countless more on the app marketplace.
tl;dv integrates directly with several top CRM systems, including your regulars: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, and Pipedrive. However, CRM integrations aren’t unlocked until the first paid plan is activated.
Zapier Integration
Both Zoom and tl;dv integrate with Zapier, but Zoom allows this for free users whereas tl;dv only unlocks Zapier with the Pro plan.
Post-Meeting Summary Email
Zoom does not provide a post-meeting summary email to meeting participants. Instead, users would have to send this manually.
tl;dv automatically sends a post-summary email to all meeting participants, making sure everyone is on the same page in regard to what was discussed.
Schedule Reports
tl;dv enables users to schedule recurring reports across multiple meetings at a date and time convenient to you. This is perfect for sales managers that want to keep track of their sales reps’ performances, especially when they want to track specifics such as how a particular objection is handled.
Zoom does not allow for scheduled reports and its AI cannot think across multiple meetings at once.
Note-Taking Capabilities
| tl;dv (12) | Zoom AI Assistant (6) | |
|---|---|---|
| AI Notes | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Manual notes during calls | 🟢 needs app | 🔴 |
| Tag people in notes | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Assign tasks | 🔴 | 🟢 |
| AI Tags / Bookmarks | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Custom Meeting Templates | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Comments | 🟢 | 🔴 |
AI Notes
Both tl;dv and Zoom offer AI notes so that you can focus on the conversation at hand.
Manual Notes During Calls
Zoom doesn’t enable you to take manual notes during the call in the app itself. You can still take notes externally, but this is even more distracting.
tl;dv has a built-in note-taking feature which empowers users to make manual notes mid-call if they so choose. This is only available with the tl;dv app, however it is beneficial for those who still want to make notes that the AI may not pick up on.
Assign Tasks
tl;dv doesn’t enable users to assign tasks to other users.
However, assigning tasks is simple with Zoom. This is particularly great for managers who can assign tasks in the call itself so that your whole team has a central source of truth and can fall back on it to find out who is responsible for what.
Custom Meeting Templates
tl;dv provides users a way to create their own custom meeting templates and assign them to specific meetings based on predefined criteria. This is incredibly useful for multiple different departments, including Sales, Customer Success, and Product Management.
Not only will tl;dv ensure that each meeting hits all the required points, it will simultaneously record, transcribe, and generate higher quality AI insights that focus specifically on these points.
Zoom’s AI is not capable of providing custom meeting templates.
Comments
tl;dv facilitates collaboration by enabling users to comment on meeting transcripts. This back-and-forth directly on the transcript is crucial for async teams.
Zoom does not allow comments.
Security Capabilities
| tl;dv (19) | Zoom AI Assistant (7) | |
|---|---|---|
| Data retention | 🟢 6 months on FREE plan. Unlimited on all paid plans | 🟠 6 months on cloud storage |
| SOC2 Compliant | 🔴 (certification underway) | 🟢 |
| SAML-based SSO | 🟠 Only on Enterprise | 🟢 Business or Education Account |
| GDPR Compliant | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| EU AI Act Compliant | 🟢 | 🔴 not disclosed |
| Uses your data to train AI | 🟢 (No, your data is kept private) | 🔴 (Yes for video, audio, and chat if you opt in. Yes to everything else by default) |
| Private storage | 🟢 Only on Enterprise | 🔴 not disclosed |
| Anonymised sensitive data sent to LLMs | 🟢 | 🔴 not disclosed |
| Meeting data chunking and randomizing | 🟢 | 🔴 not disclosed |
| BAA with LLM providers | 🟢 | 🔴 not disclosed |
| 0-day data retention policy with vendors | 🟢 | 🔴 not disclosed |
Data Retention
tl;dv’s data retention policy is clear: 6 months for free plan users and unlimited for all paid plan users.
Zoom only enables 6 months cloud storage, and it’s unclear whether they offer unlimited at any stage.
SOC2 Compliant
Zoom is SOC2 compliant, making it a great choice for the security-conscious. Teams that need to ensure compliance for legal reasons are more inclined to opt for SOC2 compliant AI meeting assistants.
tl;dv is not yet SOC2 compliant, however it is working towards certification and should be in the near future.
SAML-based SSO
Both tl;dv and Zoom offer SAML-based SSO. The only difference lies in which plan you can access it.
tl;dv offers SAML-based SSO only on the Enterprise plan, while Zoom provides this feature on the Business or Education plans.
EU AI Act Compliant
As mentioned earlier, tl;dv is registered in Germany. As such, it complies with the EU AI Act.
Zoom has not disclosed whether or not they are compliant with the EU AI Act, making them a riskier choice for EU-based companies.
Uses Your Data to Train AI
tl;dv does not use your data to train AI. This includes call recordings, transcripts, notes and comments.
Zoom, however, does use your data to train AI. If you opt in (by agreeing to the terms and conditions), Zoom uses your video, audio, and chat to train its AI. Any other data stored on Zoom is fair game for training AI even if you haven’t opted in.
This poses a serious privacy risk, not to mention the fact that some of the data can be used without your consent.
Private Storage
tl;dv offers private storage for all Enterprise users.
Zoom has not disclosed whether it offers private storage for any of its users.
0-Day Data Retention Policy With Vendors
tl;dv provides a transparent 0-day data retention policy with vendors, ensuring that third parties are not able to use your data to train AI or for any other purposes. Third parties are not able to keep your data at all.
Again, Zoom has not disclosed its data retention policy with vendors. This opens up the possibility that Zoom’s third party vendors are using your data too.
Coaching Capabilities
| tl;dv (8) | Zoom AI Assistant (3) | |
|---|---|---|
| Playbooks Scorecards | 🟢 | 🟠 |
| Custom Playbooks | 🟢 | 🟠 |
| Template Playbooks | 🟢 | 🟠 |
| Objection Handling | 🟢 | 🔴 |
Playbooks Scorecards, Custom Playbooks, and Template Playbooks
tl;dv provides specific features for all of the above. You can use preset playbooks like MEDDIC and BANT, or you can create your own custom playbooks to abide by during your sales calls. Finally, tl;dv offers a scorecard system that enables managers to track the activities, development, and goals of individual sales reps.
Zoom offers all three of these features through integrations only. If you scroll through Zoom’s app marketplace, you’ll encounter things like Upmarket Playbooks for Zoom which allows users to access playbooks during Zoom calls. Despite its new AI features and promises for sales teams, Zoom is still not capable of quality sales coaching all by itself.
Objection Handling
Zoom does not offer any specific objection handling features. It provides some speech analytics which makes it a little easier to analyze your sales team performance in this respect, but it does not offer anything specific for objection handling.
tl;dv, on the other hand, provides the speaker analytics and AI insights and tips to improve your team’s objection handling on the go. It also enables sales managers to track multiple meetings to provide a better high-level overview over your sales strategy.
Admin Capabilities
| tl;dv (8) | Zoom AI Assistant (6) | |
|---|---|---|
| Apply auto-record to all meetings in the team members’ calendar | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Apply auto-share to meetings recorded by team members | 🟢 | 🔴 |
| Prevent Deletion | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Admin rights over all recordings | 🟢 | 🟢 |
Apply Auto-Record to All Meetings in Your Team Members’ Calendars
Both tl;dv and Zoom enable admins the right to auto-record all meetings in your team members’ calendars. This is particularly beneficial for tl;dv as managers can generate recurring multi-meeting intelligence reports across all their team’s meetings (even when they’re not in the call themselves).
Apply Auto-Share to Meetings Recorded by Team Members
Only tl;dv allows admins to auto-share meetings recorded by team members. This makes sharing meetings much easier, especially for managers that want to highlight strengths or weaknesses in a sales rep’s performance.
Zoom doesn’t let admins auto-share recordings made by team members.
Prevent Deletion
Both tl;dv and Zoom give admins power to prevent their team from deleting recordings. This means that all meeting organization falls onto the admin, however it also prevents malicious actors from deleting incriminating call recordings before the manager is able to see it.
Admin Rights Over All Recordings
If you’re an admin on either tl;dv or Zoom, you’ll have rights over all recordings made within your team’s workspace. This is perfect for managers who need to keep track of everything, and even better for tl;dv users as they can quickly generate reports across multiple meetings at once.
Organizational Capabilities
| tl;dv (12) | Zoom AI Assistant (12) | |
|---|---|---|
| Team Workspaces | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Meetings Library | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Smart Filters | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Global Search | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Search within meetings | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| Folders | 🟢 | 🟢 |
tl;dv and Zoom are equally matched when it comes to organizational capabilities. They both offer team workspaces, meeting libraries, and folders to organize everything. Similarly, they both allow users to search for specific meeting moments quickly and easily via smart filters. This works both globally (across all your meetings at once) and within an individual meeting transcript.
In essence, both users of tl;dv and users of Zoom have the tools available to organize their meetings in a way that’s beneficial to them.
Support Capabilities
| tl;dv (4) | Zoom AI Assistant (1) | |
|---|---|---|
| Support in Free Plan | 🟢 chat & email | 🔴 Help center only |
| Priority Support | 🟢 in Pro plan | 🟠 Business plan+ |
Support in Free Plan
Zoom’s free plan support is limited. Free users only have access to the help center. While this resource can be beneficial, it’s definitely not an equivalent to an actual human. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you’re pretty stuck.
tl;dv’s free support is two-fold: chat and email. This means you can email customer support and you’ll receive a prompt reply within working hours. Or you can start up a live chat and contact a rep that way. Both of these methods are more beneficial than a batch of evergreen articles that may or may not address your specific problem.
Priority Support
As for priority support, tl;dv gives this to all paid users, starting with the Pro plan. This means you’ll get quicker response times.
Zoom only enables stronger support features for those on the Business plan or above.
Revenue Intelligence Capabilities
| tl;dv (0) | Zoom AI Assistant (0) | |
|---|---|---|
| Forecasting | 🔴 | 🔴 |
| Deal execution | 🔴 | 🔴 |
Neither tl;dv nor Zoom offer any features related to Revenue Intelligence such as Forecasting and Deal Execution.
For users that are in the market for specialized tools to assist with sales forecasting or deal execution, you’d need to take a look at alternative solutions. However, with these kinds of features, the monthly cost for the subscription of such a platform will get quite pricey.
Who Is It For?
| tl;dv (6) | Zoom AI Assistant (6) | |
|---|---|---|
| G2 Rating | 🟢 4.8 | 🔴 4.5 |
| Ease of set up | 🟢 Generous free plan + Clean UI | 🟢 Easy to get started |
| Localized platform | 🟠 (7 languages) | 🟢 (16 languages) |
| Best suited for whom | 🟢 SMB Sales | 🟢 Anyone holding online meetings |
As stated at the beginning, tl;dv and Zoom are not direct competitors. tl;dv can actually work with Zoom if you hold your online meetings there but want an AI meeting assistant with an edge.
Having said that, tl;dv’s G2 rating is higher, indicating that users receive more value from tl;dv than they do from Zoom.
Both tools are easy to get started with, however their free plans are targeted towards different markets. tl;dv’s free plan offers unlimited call recordings and transcriptions as well as AI summaries and the ability to create sharable reels. Zoom’s free plan is more catered towards being able to hold meetings in the first place, how long they last (40 minutes) and how many participants are able to join (100).
For international teams, Zoom has a localized platform in a whopping 16 different languages, making it easy to use no matter which part of the world you’re from. tl;dv offers 7 localized platform languages, which is still fairly impressive. This makes either tool an excellent choice for multilingual teams.
Verdict: tl;dv vs Zoom AI Assistant – Which One is the Best?
| tl;dv | Zoom AI Assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| Transcription | 20 🟢 | 15 |
| Recording | 22 🟢 | 14 |
| Conversational Intelligence | 14 | 14 |
| Automation & Integrations | 8 🟢 | 6 |
| Note-taking | 12 🟢 | 6 |
| Security | 19 🟢 | 7 |
| Coaching | 8 🟢 | 3 |
| Admin | 8 🟢 | 6 |
| Organizational | 12 | 12 |
| Support | 4 🟢 | 1 |
| Revenue Intelligence | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 6 | 6 |
| Total | 128 🟢 | 90 |
To summarize, Zoom is a fantastic video conferencing platform, but its new AI features are not yet up there with the industry leaders.
tl;dv’s multi-meeting intelligence and scheduled reports, on top of its sales coaching features, place it as the undisputed champion in the hunt for the best AI meeting assistant.
However, that’s not to say Zoom doesn’t have its fair share of quality features. And depending on what your business actually needs, if it’s already got a paid subscription to Zoom, these additional features are all free and worth trying out. If you decide that your team needs some extra oomph then don’t hesitate to try out tl;dv.
