I remember the first time I ever pulled out my credit card for an AI tool.

It wasn’t for an image generator, or a chatbot, or one of today’s trendy AI companions.
It was for a note-taker.

Specifically, Fireflies.ai.

At the time, voice transcription still felt like magic. The idea that I could record a meeting, upload the audio, and get back a written transcript? That was revolutionary. I still remember testing it for the first time — part skeptical, part giddy. I’d been in enough meetings where my hand-scribbled notes later looked like a mix between a crossword puzzle and a doctor’s prescription. Suddenly, I had clean, searchable, full-sentence notes.

That first subscription was a turning point for me. Not because Fireflies was perfect — it wasn’t — but because it showed me something bigger: how AI could quietly reshape the way I worked, long before the word ChatGPT became a household name.

The Early Days: Why Fireflies Mattered

When I first started with Fireflies, I used it like most people did:

• Recording video calls so I could focus on the conversation

• Uploading voice memos after meetings so I had a clean record

• Skimming transcripts to catch the parts I missed

It was practical. It was efficient. And it felt futuristic.

The real game-changer for me, though, was its ability to be in more than one place at once.

If there was a meeting I couldn’t attend — maybe because I was already booked, or because it wasn’t one I needed to actively contribute to — I could send Fireflies in my place. It would join the call, capture the conversation, and deliver a summary afterward.

In those early days, this felt like cheating time itself.
Suddenly, I could “attend” two meetings at once. That was mind-blowing.

And then, something unexpected happened: the value started spreading beyond me.

When a Tool Becomes a Teammate

At first, Fireflies was a personal assistant. It helped me remember things, saved me from scribbled notes, and gave me a record to refer back to.

But over time, I noticed something: sharing the summaries with others was just as valuable.

After a meeting, I’d send the notes and action items around to the team. And people loved it. Instead of walking away with fuzzy memories and half-understood tasks, everyone had a shared reference point. It was like having an invisible meeting secretary who never got tired, never zoned out, and never missed a detail.

That was when Fireflies stopped feeling like just a tool.
It started feeling like a teammate.

Looking back, I think that was my first real lesson in how AI slips into our workflows. First, it helps you. Then, if it’s useful enough, it starts helping the group.

From Magic to Mundane

I laugh now thinking about how innovative Fireflies seemed back then.
Today, transcription is almost boring.

Every platform has it. Zoom, Teams, Google Meet — they all offer built-in transcription and summaries. Even my phone’s voice recorder can handle it.

No one asks “Which AI note-taker do you use?” anymore, the way they once did. Because they all work pretty well. It’s like calculators: once upon a time, having one was special. Now, we assume everyone has one, and the only real question is, “Do you prefer the one on your phone or the one built into your computer?”

In a way, that’s progress. What once felt extraordinary becomes ordinary.
What once was a feature becomes infrastructure.

But here’s the funny part: I still pay for Fireflies.
I just don’t use it the same way.

How I Use It Today

These days, I find myself caring less about the summaries and more about the transcripts themselves.

Why? Because transcripts are raw material. And in the era of more advanced AI, raw material is gold.

Here’s what I do now:

• I take the transcript and feed it into my AI assistants

• Instead of just asking, “What was said?” I ask, “What does this mean in context?”

• I have my AI compare notes across multiple meetings and surface patterns

• I ask it to do background research on next steps

• I even train it to flag key decision points or moments where the conversation veered off course

It’s less about recording history and more about interpreting meaning.

To put it another way: Fireflies gives me the transcript. My AI teammates help me turn that transcript into insight, strategy, and sometimes even action.

That shift — from notes to meaning — is the real evolution in how I use AI today.

Looking Ahead: When AI Joins the Meeting

Right now, most of this happens after the meeting. The conversation ends, the transcript is generated, and then I loop in AI to make sense of it.

But what I’m really waiting for is the next step: AI joining the conversation in real time.

Imagine this:

While I’m in a meeting, AI is live-listening alongside me.
If a question comes up, it can instantly surface an answer or relevant past context.
If someone raises a concern, it can quickly pull up data that supports or challenges the point.
Instead of waiting until after, AI becomes a live collaborator — like a sharp colleague who always has the receipts.

We’re not quite there yet, at least not in a seamless way.

Sometimes, if I’m in a one-on-one meeting, I’ll bring in an AI agent to participate. That works. But in bigger conversations, when multiple voices overlap, things get messy. AI struggles to keep track of who’s saying what, and its contributions can feel clunky.

Still, I don’t think we’re far off.
And when we get there — when AI can sit at the table as a true participant — that’s going to change meetings forever.

The Bigger Picture: Growing With Our Tools

Here’s the thing: tools evolve. But so do we.

Fireflies hasn’t really changed that much since I first signed up.
What’s changed is me. The way I use it. The way I pair it with other AI tools. The way I fold it into bigger workflows.

That, I think, is the real lesson. The tools we keep paying for aren’t always the flashiest or newest. They’re the ones that grow with us — or at least give us the raw material we need to grow ourselves.

For me, Fireflies started as a magic trick. Now, it’s a steady, reliable partner that feeds into more advanced ways of working. I don’t love it because it’s cutting-edge.
I love it because it’s consistent.

So here’s my question to you:
What was the first AI tool you ever paid for?
And do you still use it today — even if for different reasons than when you started?

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: the tools we choose say a lot about where we were.
But the way we use them says even more about where we’re going.

Closing Reflection

When I look back at that moment years ago — pulling out my credit card for Fireflies — I smile. Not because I knew what was coming, but because I didn’t.

I couldn’t have guessed that AI note-taking would one day feel as ordinary as a calculator.
I couldn’t have guessed that transcripts, not summaries, would become the real treasure.
And I certainly couldn’t have guessed that I’d be training AI not just to take notes, but to think alongside me.

And that’s the beauty of it.

The first tool you buy isn’t about the tool.
It’s about the journey it takes you on.

Mine just happened to start with Fireflies. Yours might be different. But wherever you began, I suspect you’ll look back someday and say the same thing I do now:

It started as a novelty. Somewhere along the way, it became a necessity.