If your buyers or your own policy rule out recorded sales calls, you have three realistic paths: a platform that works from live transcription and does not record by default, a tool that offers a one-sided recording option, or a recording-based platform used only on the accounts you can record. Aircover is the first kind, Outreach Kaia advertises the second, and Gong is the third. Here is how to tell which one fits your team.
The shortlist
Four products come up when a team that can't record goes looking. Each description below uses only what the vendor states on its own public pages, and each ends with the question you still need to ask that vendor.
Aircover. An AI-native revenue agent platform. Specialist agents work before the call (account research, call prep, dynamic playbooks), during it (live guidance, battlecards, answers to technical questions), and after it (notes, follow-ups, scorecards, CRM sync to Salesforce, HubSpot, and ServiceNow, and conversation intelligence across deals). It runs on live transcription and does not record by default; recording is available as an opt-in. It works across Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, dialers, and contact center solutions, and it is SOC 2 Type II certified.
Clari Copilot. Clari's conversation intelligence product transcribes in real time, surfaces live battlecards during the call, and produces AI call summaries, notes, action items, and follow-up emails afterward. It sends buyer signals into Clari to sharpen forecasting, and it offers playbooks and Gametapes for onboarding. It records audio and video, so it fits the accounts on your list that permit recording.
Outreach Kaia. Outreach's conversation intelligence joins and records live meetings, captures real-time transcription, and shows live battlecards and content cards during the call. Its pages describe a one-sided recording option: record only the seller side of the conversation and provide coaching, while supporting compliance needs. It is positioned inside Outreach's platform for revenue teams alongside engagement, deal management, and forecasting. The question to ask is whether seller-side recording satisfies the policy your buyer actually has.
Gong. Gong captures customer interactions and maps them to business context, then surfaces insight for coaching, pipeline, and forecasting. Its public pages name Zoom and Microsoft Teams integrations and bi-directional Salesforce sync, and its security page lists custom retention and redaction settings. Gong records audio and video to run its analysis, and its pages do not describe assistance to a rep during a live call, so on an account where recording is off it has nothing to work from.
The table compares the four on the dimensions that decide this purchase. Competitor capabilities verified against public product pages, September 2026.
| Capability | Aircover | Gong | Clari Copilot | Outreach Kaia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before the call | Account research, call prep, dynamic playbooks | Not stated on public pages | Not stated on public pages | Not stated on public pages |
| During the call | Live guidance, battlecards, technical answers | Not stated on public pages | Real-time transcription, live battlecards, instant insights | Real-time transcription, live battlecards, live content cards |
| After the call | AI summaries, agent results, follow-ups, scorecards, CRM sync, next-gen conversation intelligence | Insight for coaching, pipeline, and forecasting from captured interactions | AI summaries, notes, action items, follow-up emails; signals sent into Clari forecasting | Meeting summaries, follow-ups, playlists of recordings for coaching |
| Recording | Transcription only by default; recording is available as an opt-in | Must record audio and video; custom retention and redaction settings listed | Must record audio and video | Must record audio and video; one-sided (seller only) option |
| Coaching model | Guidance during the call, scorecards after it | Manager review of recordings and playlists | Live battlecards, playbooks, Gametapes | Manager review of recordings and playlists |
| CRM automation | Bi-directional agentic sync to Salesforce, HubSpot, and ServiceNow | Bi-directional Salesforce sync | Not stated on public pages | Sync of recordings, summaries, and metadata to CRM |
| Meeting platforms | Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, Dialers, Contact Centers | Zoom and Microsoft Teams named | Not stated on public pages | Not stated on public pages |
| Best fit | Teams searching for a next-generation AI-powered revenue platform | Teams centered on forecasting and post-call review | Clari customers who want conversation intelligence inside their forecasting platform | Teams running engagement in Outreach |
Where another tool is the better choice
Gong is the better choice if your accounts all permit recording and you want reps working inside Gong rather than inside Salesforce, HubSpot, or Dynamics. Gong positions its conversation intelligence, sales engagement, and forecasting as a single place to work, and for a team that wants one screen for the rep and one screen for the manager, that consolidation is the point of the purchase. Its pages lead with pinpointing your number and the paths to target, and a revenue leader whose weekly pain is the forecast call should weigh that heavily.
It is also a good fit for teams that have people dedicated to the work its model produces: re-listening to calls, validating the outputs, and building and tuning custom workflows by hand. Gong's approach captures every interaction and derives coaching and metrics from the recording, so a team that already reviews calls together, that has enablement staff to curate call libraries, and whose accounts all permit recording gets a workflow that matches how it operates today. Two questions worth asking Gong directly: how custom insights map back into the specific CRM fields and formats your workflows use, and what total cost looks like across platform fees and per-seat licensing, since Gong does not publish pricing.
Clari Copilot is the better choice if you are already a Clari customer. Clari's main focus is its forecasting product, and Copilot exists to feed it: every call it captures becomes a signal inside the platform your CRO already trusts, with no integration to build and no second vendor to manage. For a Clari shop, that is where the value of a conversation tool lands. Copilot records audio and video, so it belongs on this shortlist only for the accounts that permit recording.
Outreach Kaia is the better choice if you are already an Outreach customer. Outreach's main focus is its sales engagement product, and Kaia is built to serve that motion: the recording is the input, and the sequence, the task list, and the forecast are the outputs. A team whose reps live in Outreach all day, and whose buyers accept seller-side recording, gets summaries and playlists without adding a login. Whether recording only the seller side satisfies the policy in question is a decision for the people who own the policy, not the tool. Outreach's public pages do not describe licensing Kaia separately from the engagement platform. If your account executives need conversation intelligence but do not run sequences, ask Outreach whether Kaia can be bought on its own, because the alternative is buying an SDR tool for AEs in order to get it.
And if nobody on your team needs help while the customer is talking, the during-the-call agents are a capability you would be paying for and not using. A post-call product fits a team whose coaching happens in review sessions and whose reps are already fluent on the questions they get asked.
Where Aircover is the better choice
Aircover is the choice for teams that want a next-generation, AI-native revenue platform rather than a system that captures calls and reports on them afterwards. Specialist agents work before the call (account research, call prep, dynamic playbooks), during it (live guidance, battlecards, technical answers), and after it (notes, follow-ups, scorecards, and bi-directional sync to Salesforce, HubSpot, and ServiceNow), so prep, live help, and post-call work come from one platform instead of several tools and a recorder.
The clearest day-to-day difference is during the call. A rep who freezes on a technical question, misses a competitor mention, or skips a discovery question is helped in the moment rather than in a review a week later. Teams ramping new sellers feel this first.
Transcription by default, with recording as an opt-in, is a large advantage on top of that. Adoption is higher when reps and customers know nothing is being recorded, so more of the pipeline gets covered. Regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, and the public sector can run the full workflow on accounts that prohibit recorded sales calls, and international customers, who often work under stricter expectations about recording, get the same coverage. No-recording does not eliminate applicable notice, consent, privacy, or contractual requirements. Use your organization's approved notice and consent process for the jurisdictions and customers you serve.
Running both
Many teams that can't record everywhere end up with two systems: a recording-based platform on the accounts that allow it and Aircover on the ones that don't, or Gong for forecasting and post-call review with Aircover carrying the before, during, and after work for reps. Because Aircover syncs its fields to Salesforce, HubSpot, and ServiceNow, the CRM stays the shared record either way.
If you go this route, decide up front which system is the source of truth for coaching scorecards, so managers are not reconciling two rubrics, and which system's notes reps are expected to review before the next call.
If some of your accounts can't be recorded and you want to see what agent coverage looks like on those calls, book a demo and bring one of those accounts as the example.
Gong, Clari, Outreach, and Kaia are trademarks of their respective owners; names are used here for identification only.
Frequently asked questions
Which Gong alternatives don't require recording calls?
Aircover runs on live transcription and does not record by default, with recording available as an opt-in. Gong, Chorus, Clari Copilot, and Salesloft all record audio and video, and Outreach Kaia records with a seller-only option, so Aircover is the option on this list that works on accounts that prohibit recording.
Does Gong work without recording calls?
No. Gong records audio and video to run its analysis, so an account where recording is off gives it nothing to work from.
Can Aircover replace Gong entirely?
For teams whose main job is forecasting and post-call review, Gong's focus may still be the better fit. Many teams run Aircover for accounts that can't be recorded and for the before, during, and after work, and keep Gong for forecasting.
Does using a tool that doesn't record change our notice obligations?
No. A tool that does not record still processes what is said on the call, and your notice, consent, privacy, and contractual obligations apply as they did before. Use your organization's approved notice process for the jurisdictions and customers you serve.
Which meeting platforms does Aircover support?
Aircover works across Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Webex. Gong's public pages name Zoom and Microsoft Teams; Clari Copilot and Outreach Kaia do not name platforms on their pages.
Which CRMs does Aircover sync to?
Aircover syncs call fields to Salesforce, HubSpot, and ServiceNow. Gong's pages describe bi-directional Salesforce sync.