Fireflies.ai for German Teams: Capabilities and Limitations

Fireflies.ai is one of the most well-known AI tools for meeting transcription and summaries. Teams around the world use it to save time on note-taking and improve meeting documentation. And in Germany, many are now looking for tools like Fireflies to finally bring clarity to their meetings. But how well does Fireflies actually work in German? And is it the right choice for German-speaking users?

This article shows what Fireflies.ai can do — and where it reaches its limits for teams in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. We’ll also explain why more and more companies are switching to Sally AI.

Fireflies.ai Supports German But Not Perfectly

Fireflies advertises support for over 60 languages, including German. However, in practice, the transcription quality depends heavily on how clearly people speak. It struggles with dialects, fast conversations, or technical language.

While the interface is easy to use, it’s primarily in English. For teams with non-English speakers, that can be a blocker. Although Fireflies can summarize in German, the results often feel robotic or require manual polishing before being shared internally.

Fireflies.ai For German Teams: Privacy Matters

Another critical point is data protection. Fireflies is based in the U.S., and processing takes place outside the EU. While Fireflies claims to be GDPR-ready, many German organizations remain cautious.

In sectors like HR, legal, healthcare, or research, sensitive conversations are the norm. These teams need:

• EU-based servers
• Clear data processing agreements
• Minimal third-party involvement
• Local storage options

Fireflies doesn’t meet all these needs. And that’s where Sally AI comes in.

Sally AI: Built for the DACH Region

Sally AI is a European meeting tool developed with German-speaking users in mind. It’s fully GDPR-compliant, hosted in Germany, and built for teams that value privacy and structure.

What sets it apart:

• Transcribes even informal or fast-paced “meeting German” accurately
• Delivers clean, structured summaries that are easy to read
• Recognizes action items and assigns responsibilities
• Offers adjustable tone settings for summaries (e.g., formal vs. conversational)

Sally isn’t just a tool that “also speaks German” — it was built for both English- and German-speaking workflows.

Why Fireflies Often Falls Short for German Teams

Fireflies has plenty of features. It’s affordable, widely used, and integrates easily with Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet.

But when it comes to German-speaking meetings or sensitive data, its limitations become clear:

• Linguistic gaps: Summaries often feel like translated English.
• Data privacy concerns: As a U.S. provider, Fireflies is subject to the CLOUD Act. Even with encryption, there’s residual risk.

For teams needing compliance, structure, and linguistic accuracy, Fireflies often isn’t enough.

What Sally AI Does Better

Sally was built for teams like yours, not retrofitted for them. Its features include:

• Accurate task detection with responsible persons
• Follow-up suggestions based on unclear statements
• Speech ratio analysis
• GDPR-compliant storage on EU servers
• No installation needed; works natively with Zoom, Meet, Teams
• Mobile app for in-person meeting capture

All this makes Sally the better fit, not because Fireflies is bad, but because Sally is simply built for how German-speaking teams work.

Example: A Mid-Sized Team in Stuttgart

A project team in Stuttgart tested both tools. Fireflies delivered transcripts, but the summaries always needed editing. The internal data privacy officer also raised concerns about servers and consent.

Sally, by contrast, delivered ready-to-use protocols. Tasks synced directly to Asana, and the team had no legal hurdles — everything stayed in the EU.

They now save about 30 minutes of post-meeting work per session and feel more secure knowing no one has to take notes manually.

Conclusion: Fireflies is Good, But Sally is Built for You

If your meetings are in English, you handle non-sensitive content, and you just want quick transcriptions, Fireflies is a solid choice.

But if you:

• Run meetings in German
• Need clear and reliable summaries
• Work with confidential data
• Want seamless integration with tools like Notion, Asana, or Slack

…then Sally AI is likely the better option.

Try Sally for free and see the difference yourself.