Comparison
Ava vs Sembly AI
The short version
Sembly is built for professional-services production: it captures meetings across Google Meet, Teams, Zoom, and Webex, then generates branded client deliverables (pptx and docx) from accumulated knowledge. That is a post-meeting studio, not a live facilitator — the bot records; credits meter the AI work that turns notes into decks. Ava's bet is the opposite: a named participant who asks in the room and writes BA-shaped first drafts (BRD-lite, user stories, RAID) from what was said. Agencies that need client-branded output across four platforms will usually prefer Sembly. Consultants whose discovery calls fail because things stay vague or unowned in the room are the case Ava is built for.
Facts checked September 14, 2026. Pricing and features change — check their current pricing page before deciding.
Where the two approaches differ
When the work happens
- Sembly AI
- Sembly captures the meeting, then generates artifacts from accumulated client knowledge after the fact. Paid plans include unlimited capture; AI work draws down a monthly credit pool (sembly.ai/pricing, fetched 2026-09-14).
- Ava
- Ava participates during the call. When a requirement stays vague, she asks who owns it and whether it is a must — while the person who knows is still on the line — then files a structured item.
If the brief was never said out loud, a branded deck cannot invent it. If the brief was said and you need it in the client's template, Sembly's studio is the better tool.
What you get afterwards
- Sembly AI
- Branded AI artifacts — presentations, reports, case studies, sales pitches — exported as .pptx and .docx, with client-specific brand packages (sembly.ai/pricing).
- Ava
- BA-shaped first drafts from the meeting itself: BRD-lite, user stories with acceptance criteria, RAID, ADRs, test plans, minutes. Not a client-branded deck.
Sembly wins when the deliverable is a branded client artifact. Ava wins when the deliverable is requirements you can hand to delivery before anyone opens PowerPoint.
Pricing model
- Sembly AI
- Per-seat. Basic is $17/month for one user (or $10 billed annually). Pro is $29/user/month (or $20 billed annually) up to 40 users. MAX is $39/user/month (or $30 billed annually) from 3 to 500 users. Credits: 2,500 / 3,000 / 3,500 per user per month. Free trial covers 1 meeting hour (sembly.ai/pricing, fetched 2026-09-14).
- Ava
- A flat $39/month (or $390/year) per account for a 120 hours pool of meeting time, with no per-seat multiplier and no separate credit meter for document generation.
A one-person shop comparing $17/month Basic to Ava's $39/month will see Sembly as cheaper for capture-and-decks. A single heavy discovery user who needs live elicitation is paying for a different job.
Platforms and compliance
- Sembly AI
- Google Meet, Teams, Zoom, and Webex on every paid plan, 45+ languages, unlimited meeting hours per user on paid tiers. SOC 2 Type II and GDPR on every plan; HIPAA on MAX and Enterprise (sembly.ai/pricing).
- Ava
- Microsoft Teams and Zoom only, joining as an external guest. No named SOC 2 or HIPAA offering today. Meeting content is not used to train models.
If you need Webex, Google Meet, SOC 2, or HIPAA, Sembly has those named on the pricing page and Ava does not. If IT will not approve a tenant install, Ava's guest join is the simpler path on Teams and Zoom.
Side by side
| Capability | Sembly AI | Ava |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting platforms | Google Meet, Teams, Zoom, and Webex | Microsoft Teams and Zoom only |
| Entry-level paid price | $17/month Basic (1 user), or $10/month billed annually | $39/month or $390/year, flat — not per seat |
| During the call | Captures and transcribes; AI artifacts are generated afterwards from credits | Asks clarifying questions live as a named participant |
| Primary output | Branded client deliverables (.pptx, .docx) — decks, reports, case studies | BA-shaped artifacts — BRD-lite, user stories, RAID, ADRs, minutes |
| Free trial | 1 meeting hour, then paid plans | 60 minutes within 30 days, then General Notetaker and Business Analyst stay free |
| Compliance named on pricing | SOC 2 Type II and GDPR on every plan; HIPAA on MAX and Enterprise | No named SOC 2 or HIPAA offering at this time |
| Meeting content used to train models | Managed through opt-out settings on every plan (sembly.ai/pricing) | Never. Transcripts and artifacts stay on your account |
| Pricing | Usually per seat per month — check their current pricing page | 60 minutes within 30 days, no credit card, all 18 personas. Then $39/month or $390/year · 120 hours per billing period. Video avatar +$149/month. |
Pick Sembly AI when
- You need Google Meet or Webex as well as Teams and Zoom, or you need 45+ language transcription in one tool.
- The thing you sell the client is a branded deck or report, and you want the meeting tool to produce that in their template.
- You need SOC 2 Type II, GDPR-aligned operations, or HIPAA (MAX/Enterprise) named on the vendor's pricing page today.
- You are rolling this out per seat across a consulting roster and Sembly's Basic at $17/month (or $10 annually) undercuts a flat $39 plan.
Pick Ava when
- The meeting itself is where requirements go vague, and you need someone to ask in the room — not a deck generated from an incomplete transcript.
- You want BA-shaped output (BRD, user stories, RAID) rather than a branded presentation.
- You would rather pay one flat account price for pooled meeting time than a per-seat fee plus a credit meter for AI artifacts.
- IT will not approve a tenant install, so joining Teams or Zoom as an external guest is the only viable route.
Where Ava falls short
Worth knowing before you spend the trial on her. None of this is on a roadmap promise — it is how she behaves today:
- Microsoft Teams and Zoom only — no Google Meet or Webex support today.
- She joins as a visible, named participant, and you are responsible for telling the room she is there.
- Facilitator personas speak during the call. For client-sensitive meetings use the silent scribe personas instead.
- Artifacts are structured first drafts built from what was said — review and edit them before they go to a client.
- Billed by meeting time rather than per seat, so heavy weekly use runs into the plan's time cap.
- The on-screen video avatar is a paid add-on (+$149/month) and bills for the whole time it is visible.
Which persona replaces what you have
The comparison changes depending on the meeting. These are the personas most relevant here:
- Business Analystfree planFor discovery workshops where Sembly would produce a branded recap and Ava would chase acceptance criteria live.
- Requirements LeadProFor a full elicitation session — problem, use cases, NFRs, risks — the job Sembly's artifact studio is not designed to run in the room.
- Sales / DiscoveryProSembly's sales-pitch artifacts are post-call decks. The Sales / Discovery persona files a MEDDIC scorecard from what was said on the call.
Common questions
- Does Sembly ask questions during the meeting?
- Sembly's paid plans include unlimited meeting capture and transcription, then generate branded artifacts from credits after the fact (sembly.ai/pricing). It is not a live facilitator that asks the room a clarifying question. Ava's facilitator personas do that as a named participant.
- Is Sembly cheaper than Ava?
- Sembly Basic is $17/month for one user, or $10/month billed annually (sembly.ai/pricing, fetched 2026-09-14). That is a lower entry price than Ava's flat $39/month. Pro at $29/user/month and MAX at $39/user/month scale per seat. Ava does not scale per seat; you pay for a pooled block of meeting time.
- Which meeting platforms does each one support?
- Sembly captures Google Meet, Teams, Zoom, and Webex on every paid plan (sembly.ai/pricing). Ava supports Microsoft Teams and Zoom only.
Try it on a real meeting
60 minutes within 30 days, no credit card, all 18 personas. Paste a Teams or Zoom link into the dashboard, pick a persona, and see what comes back — no tenant install and no admin consent needed.