The Best Note-Taking Apps for Agencies — From Simple Notes to AI Meeting Summaries
Jul 16, 2025
If you work in client services long enough, you realise note-taking isn’t admin — it’s risk management.
Good notes protect decisions, scope, budgets, and relationships. Bad notes (or worse, no notes) lead to “I thought you said…” moments, messy handovers, and projects drifting off course. I’ve seen it happen more times than I’d like.
Over the years, I’ve tested plenty of tools with agencies, freelancers, and in-house teams. Some are brilliant. Some look clever but add friction. Below is a practical, no-nonsense view of what actually works — and where AI genuinely helps.
Why note-taking matters in client services
In agency life, notes do a few critical jobs:
Capture decisions, not just discussion
Create shared understanding across delivery teams
Protect against scope creep and memory bias
Turn conversations into action
The biggest mistake I see is treating notes as passive storage. Notes should move work forward. That’s where the right tool, and the right structure, really matters.
My take on the core note-taking tools agencies actually use
Google Docs
Website — https://docs.google.com/
Core features
Real-time collaboration: Multiple people editing at once, with comments and suggestions
Version history: Clear tracking of who changed what, and when
Universal access: No onboarding friction — everyone knows how to use it
How it’s different
Google Docs doesn’t try to be clever. That’s its strength. It’s not a “system” or a “workspace” — it’s a shared page where work happens visibly and collaboratively.
Unlike tools like Notion or Obsidian, Docs doesn’t encourage over-structuring. It stays focused on communication rather than organisation.
Why it’s beneficial
For agencies, Docs is still the safest place for:
Discovery outputs
Meeting summaries
Decision logs
Client-facing documentation
When something needs to be seen, agreed, and referenced later, Google Docs wins. It reduces misunderstandings and keeps everything transparent — which matters hugely in client services.
Evernote
Website — https://evernote.com/
Core features
Quick capture: Fast note creation across desktop and mobile
Tag-based organisation: Simple categorisation without rigid structure
Web clipping: Save articles, ideas, and references easily
How it’s different
Evernote sits between “notes app” and “digital filing cabinet”. It’s less structured than Notion and less intentional than Obsidian.
It’s designed for collecting information rather than building systems or insight.
Why it’s beneficial
Evernote works best for:
Personal admin notes
Research snippets
Ideas you don’t yet know what to do with
For agency work, it’s useful at an individual level — but it struggles when notes need to become shared delivery insight. It’s a capture tool, not a collaboration tool.
Notion
Website — https://www.notion.so/
Core features
Databases & templates: Structured content for processes, playbooks, and tracking
Pages within pages: Deep organisation for complex projects
Shared workspace: Teams can build and maintain internal systems together
How it’s different
Notion is a system builder. It doesn’t just store notes — it defines how teams work.
Compared to Google Docs, it trades speed for structure. Compared to Obsidian, it prioritises collaboration over personal thinking.
Why it’s beneficial
Notion shines when used intentionally:
Agency process documentation
Delivery frameworks
Internal knowledge bases
Repeatable client workflows
The benefit is consistency. The risk is over-complication. When someone owns the structure, Notion becomes incredibly powerful. Without ownership, it turns into a slow, bloated wiki no one trusts.
Obsidian
Website — https://obsidian.md/
Core features
Bi-directional linking: Connect notes into a knowledge graph
Local-first storage: Your notes live on your machine, not the cloud (if you chose)
Markdown simplicity: Fast writing without formatting distractions
How it’s different
Obsidian is not a collaboration tool — it’s a thinking tool.
Instead of folders and databases, it encourages connections. Notes link to notes. Ideas evolve over time. Patterns emerge naturally.
Why it’s beneficial
For agency leaders, PMs, and strategists, Obsidian is gold for:
• Capturing lessons learned
• Connecting insights across projects
• Developing personal frameworks and thinking
It’s where information turns into understanding. I wouldn’t share Obsidian notes with clients — but I regularly use them to shape how I approach future projects.
Otter.ai
Website — https://otter.ai/
Core features
Live transcription: Records and transcribes meetings in real time
Speaker identification: Separates voices for clarity
Searchable transcripts: Quickly find specific moments or topics
How it’s different
Otter focuses on accuracy and completeness. It captures everything, not just highlights.
It’s closer to a recording assistant than a summariser.
Why it’s beneficial
Otter is best used as:
A backup memory
A reference for complex discussions
Protection against missed details
However, raw transcripts are not client-ready. The real value comes when you use Otter to support human-written summaries — not replace them.
Fireflies.ai
Website — https://fireflies.ai/
Core features
Automated summaries: Pulls out key points and actions
Task extraction: Identifies follow-ups and responsibilities
Tool integrations: Works with PM and CRM platforms
How it’s different
Fireflies sits between transcription and productivity. It doesn’t just record — it tries to interpret.
Compared to Otter, it’s more action-focused and more suited to operational teams.
Why it’s beneficial
Fireflies works well in agency environments with:
Lots of recurring meetings
Multiple stakeholders
High admin overhead
It helps reduce the “what did we agree?” follow-up work — but still benefits from a human sense-check before anything is shared externally.
Fathom
Website — https://www.fathom.ai/
Core features
Clean summaries: Highlights decisions and outcomes clearly
Timestamped highlights: Jump back to exact moments
Minimal setup: Simple to use, especially with Zoom
How it’s different
Fathom feels more opinionated. It prioritises clarity over completeness.
Instead of capturing everything, it focuses on what matters most — decisions, actions, and outcomes.
Why it’s beneficial
Fathom is ideal when:
You want fast, usable summaries
Meetings are decision-heavy
You don’t want to wade through transcripts
It’s one of the few AI tools I’ve seen that genuinely reduces admin without adding cleanup work — which is rare.
A quick note on my own setup
Right now, my own workflow is pretty simple: Obsidian for thinking, and Otter for meetings.
I use Obsidian as my personal knowledge space. Not as a place to store everything, but as somewhere ideas can actually breathe. Over time, patterns start to emerge, similar delivery issues across different clients, the same risks cropping up in different shapes, lessons that only really make sense when you look back across multiple projects. Obsidian is brilliant for that. The linking forces you to think, not just file things away, and because it’s local and distraction-free, it feels more like a working notebook than a “system” you have to maintain.
For meetings, I rely on Otter.ai — not to replace note-taking, but to remove pressure. I don’t want to spend calls half-listening while frantically typing. Otter lets me stay present, ask better questions, and focus on what’s being decided rather than trying to capture every word. After the meeting, I’ll skim the transcript, pull out what matters, and write a short human summary in plain English.
This step is key — the value isn’t the transcript, it’s the clarity that comes from reviewing it.
That combination works well for me because it separates concerns:
Otter captures what was said
Obsidian helps me understand what it means
I still use Google Docs and Notion when the situation calls for it, especially for shared delivery and client-facing work, but Obsidian and Otter are the backbone of how I personally think, listen, and learn. And for me, that’s where good project leadership really starts.
Article by Adam Flanagan