Granola vs Fathom vs Fireflies: which is named first in AI answers?

You are comparing three AI meeting notetakers and you want to know which name an AI answer reaches for first. Order matters, because the first product named is the one a buyer reads before anything else. Across the 50 recorded answers, Granola is named first most often at 19 of 50, while Fathom and Fireflies are named in more answers overall, so the first-position order and the mention order are not the same.

Our AI meeting notetakers research compares mention frequency and first position for Granola, Fathom and Fireflies across recorded buyer questions. In the 15 OpenAI answers, Granola was named first 8 times, Fathom was named first 3 times, Fireflies was named first 0 times. In the 15 Anthropic answers, Granola was named first 8 times, Fathom was named first 2 times, Fireflies was named first 2 times.

What do these AI-answer counts measure for Granola, Fathom and Fireflies?

They measure where vendor names appear in AI answer text, nothing more. A mention counts when the vendor’s name or a known alias appears in the answer. Answer share measures whether a tracked vendor appears at all. Named first records the earliest appearance among all 20 tracked vendors, including products outside the selected three.

The September 2026 category contains 50 recorded answers from 10 models across 5 fixed English-language buyer questions. The category tracks 20 products and 19 were named. This article selects Granola, Fathom and Fireflies for comparison. We report the dated sample and the exact questions so you can judge whether a visibility comparison supports your conclusion.

Which of the three is named first most often in AI answers?

Granola. It was named in 39 of 50 answers and first in 19. Fathom was named in 48 of 50 answers and first in 8. Fireflies was named in 47 of 50 answers and first in 4. The mention order and the first-position order are not the same.

Vendor	Named answers	Answer share	Named first answers	Named first share
Granola	39/50	78%	19/50	38%
Fathom	48/50	96%	8/50	16%
Fireflies	47/50	94%	4/50	8%

First-position counts for the three selected products sum to 31 of 50 answers. Other tracked products occupy 19 first positions.

How does the leader change across the five buyer questions?

It changes a great deal. Granola led 3 of the 5 recorded questions, Fathom led 1 of the 5 recorded questions and Avoma led 1 of the 5 recorded questions. Ties are preserved as ties.

Recorded question	Granola named first	Fathom named first	Fireflies named first	All-category first-position leader
1. What is the best AI meeting notetaker for a founder? Name specific products.	6/10 (60%)	1/10 (10%)	0/10 (0%)	Granola
2. Which AI meeting notetaker would you recommend to a founder in 2026?	8/10 (80%)	0/10 (0%)	0/10 (0%)	Granola
3. Compare the top AI meeting notetaker options right now.	0/10 (0%)	5/10 (50%)	0/10 (0%)	Fathom
4. I’m a founder and I need an AI meeting notetaker. What should I use and why?	5/10 (50%)	0/10 (0%)	1/10 (10%)	Granola
5. Best AI meeting notetaker for sales calls with CRM sync?	0/10 (0%)	2/10 (20%)	3/10 (30%)	Avoma, Fireflies

The founder-framed questions put Granola first. The comparison question hands first position to Fathom on 5 of 10 answers. The sales and CRM question drops Granola to 0 of 10 and lifts Fireflies to 3 of 10. Prompts stay fixed between editions, so these differences track the wording and not a changing question set.

Does the answer depend on which AI model you ask?

Yes. Granola is first in 8 of 15 OpenAI answers and 8 of 15 Anthropic answers, and 0 of 10 Perplexity answers.

Provider family	Recorded answers	Granola named first	Fathom named first	Fireflies named first
OpenAI	15	8/15 (53.3%)	3/15 (20%)	0/15 (0%)
Anthropic	15	8/15 (53.3%)	2/15 (13.3%)	2/15 (13.3%)
Google	10	3/10 (30%)	3/10 (30%)	1/10 (10%)
Perplexity	10	0/10 (0%)	0/10 (0%)	1/10 (10%)

Each sampled model is weighted equally. OpenAI contributes 15 answers, Anthropic contributes 15 answers, Google contributes 10 answers and Perplexity contributes 10 answers. Alias matching is string-based. API models differ from consumer chat products. Prompts are English and not localised.

What can this comparison not decide about which notetaker to buy?

It cannot decide which product suits your meetings. First position records where a product name appears in the text. Product quality, purchase suitability and recommendation strength are separate questions.

One response was collected per question-model combination. The results are a descriptive snapshot. Repeated controlled trials would be needed to estimate repeatability or isolate wording effects. Your decision here is how to read an AI-visibility comparison. A purchase decision needs separate evidence about your requirements and the products themselves. Every raw answer sits behind the figures if you want to check them.

Frequently asked questions

Which AI notetakers are named ahead of Fireflies?

Granola and Fathom both lead Fireflies on first position, and so do several other tracked products. Granola was first in 19 of 50 answers, Fathom in 8 and Fireflies in 4. First-position counts for the three selected products sum to 31 of 50 answers, so other tracked products occupy the remaining 19 first positions.

Is Granola better than Fathom?

This data cannot answer that. First position records where a product name appears in the text. Product quality, purchase suitability and recommendation strength are separate questions. What the counts show is visibility order.

Vendor	Named answers	Answer share	Named first answers	Named first share
Granola	39/50	78%	19/50	38%
Fathom	48/50	96%	8/50	16%
Fireflies	47/50	94%	4/50	8%

Which meeting notetakers do AI models put first?

Granola, Fathom and Avoma lead the recorded questions. Granola led 3 of the 5 recorded questions, Fathom led 1 of the 5 and Avoma led 1 of the 5. Ties are preserved as ties. The category tracks 20 products and 19 were named, so first position is spread wider than these three names.

Is Fireflies the notetaker AI answers name first?

No. Fireflies is named first in 4 of 50 answers, behind Granola on 19 and Fathom on 8. It does share the first-position lead on the sales and CRM question with Avoma, where it is first in 3 of 10 answers. Named first records the earliest appearance among all 20 tracked vendors, not only the three compared here.

How visible is Granola in these AI answers?

Granola is named in 39 of 50 answers, a 78% answer share, and named first in 19 of 50, a 38% first share. Its strongest single question is the 2026 founder recommendation, where it is first in 8 of 10 answers.

How often is Fathom named first in AI answers?

Fathom is named first in 8 of 50 answers, a 16% first share, while appearing in 48 of 50 answers at a 96% answer share. Most of that first position comes from one question: the open comparison question puts Fathom first in 5 of 10 answers.

How often is Fireflies named in AI answers?

Fireflies is named in 47 of 50 answers, a 94% answer share, and named first in 4 of 50 answers, an 8% first share.