Hybrid and In-Person AA Meetings

Key takeaway

Alcoholics Anonymous says meetings are in person, online, or by phone, and that each group decides. One intergroup describes a hybrid meeting as people in a room and people online in the same meeting, not two separate meetings. Meeting Guide lists in-person and online meetings. Confirm the format on the listing before you go.

Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The listing says hybrid, and you do not know whether to get in the car, click a link, or try to do both. Alcoholics Anonymous says its meetings are held in person, online, or on the telephone. The members of each meeting decide when, where, and how often they meet. That is the national description. The word "hybrid" is not defined on that page. People use it anyway, often for a meeting that tries to include a room and a screen at the same time. What follows separates A.A.'s meeting page from one intergroup's working definition, so you do not drive across town for a link that was never connected to the chairs.

If this is a medical emergency, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.

What in person, online, and phone mean in A.A.'s words

In-person meetings, A.A. says, happen where a room can be rented. The examples it gives include office buildings, churches, treatment centers, recreation or community centers, and clubhouses that rent to recovery groups. It also says you can find meetings on beaches, in parks, or in other outdoor settings. The address on a listing is the group's. A church basement or a treatment-center conference room does not mean the host organization runs the meeting. The group is renting space. A.A. says the members of the meeting decide how it runs. The format is theirs.

Online and telephone meetings use whatever platform the members prefer. Some are video. Some keep video off. Some are a dial-in number. That choice stays on the online meetings guide. You can listen without speaking in any of these formats. Open and closed meetings, and what the chair usually does, are on the first-meeting guide.

Meeting Guide, the free app A.A. describes, lists both in-person and online meetings. A detail view can show format and notes the group provided. Search by location or by keyword. A.A. says the information is refreshed twice daily and comes from local service entities, who keep control of their lists. If a meeting is missing, the fix goes to that entity.

What one intergroup means by hybrid

The Washington Area Intergroup Association published a plain description, and it labeled the page as general information, not permission and not a method every group must follow. It says each group can determine what hybrid means. In general, it says, a hybrid meeting combines the online format with the in-person space. That connection can be a phone in the middle of the table or a more elaborate setup. The point is that people online and people in the room are in one meeting.

The same page says what is generally not a hybrid: a group that runs an online meeting in addition to its in-person meeting, without combining the attendees. That is two meetings, like two meetings in different rooms. The office says it lists a hybrid meeting the way the group asks. On its list, a meeting can show as in person, and it can also show as online when a link is attached. Groups often ask for the word "hybrid" in the name or the notes, and that word can be searched. A group that keeps both formats as two meetings gets two listings.

That is Washington-area practice. It is a useful definition because it is specific. It is not a rule from the General Service Office, and a group in another city may use the word more loosely. Read the notes. If the notes only say "hybrid" with no link, ask before you plan to attend from home. If there is a link and a street address, ask whether remote participants are actually heard.

The meetings search can filter in-person and online listings from public feeds. It may not have a separate hybrid switch. Use the keyword, then confirm. The search does not verify each group. Find A.A. Near You, Meeting Guide, and the Online Intergroup are the broader set on the how-to-find guide.

What changes for you, practically

In the room, A.A. says there is often a social stretch after the meeting. Someone may offer a phone number. You can leave. You also have the trip. How long that trip takes belongs on the city pages. An in-person meeting assumes you can get there and get home.

Online, you skip the trip and you lose some of what a room carries. SAMHSA's TIP 65, writing about digital mutual-help meetings in general, names the loss of body language and other nonverbal cues as a disadvantage. It also says digital meetings can reach people without transportation, people who cannot leave home, and people who need a setting they cannot find nearby. The protocol says that, in the absence of rigorous studies, these meetings likely mobilize the same supports as in-person meetings. "Likely" and "in the absence of rigorous studies" are the finding. It is not a verdict that a hybrid camera equals a chair for every person. The longer version of that evidence limit is the online support-groups guide.

A hybrid meeting asks the group to solve both problems at once. The intergroup page does not promise that remote people feel included. If you are on the laptop side, notice whether anyone speaks to you. If you are in the room, notice whether the remote people can hear the share. Neither problem is yours to fix on a first visit. If the format does not work, try a meeting that is only one thing.

Anonymity still applies. Do not record people. Do not name them outside the meeting. A camera pointed at a room is a privacy question the group has to answer before anyone hits record.

Treatment is a separate decision

NIDA says mutual-help groups complement professional treatment. They are not a substitute for it. The format, hybrid or otherwise, does not change that. After a long stretch of heavy drinking, quitting all at once can threaten your life. A convenient meeting time is not a detox plan. A clinical visit by video, which is not an A.A. meeting even when both use a screen, is the telehealth guide.

SmarterRecovery is a referral helpline. SMART Recovery is a separate mutual-help program. Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding a treatment program. Use Meeting Guide or the meetings page if you want the meeting, and read the notes before you choose a room, a link, or both.

Additional Resources

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Common Questions

Does A.A.'s General Service Office define a hybrid meeting?

Its public meeting page names three ways a meeting is held: in person, online, or by telephone. It says the members of each meeting decide when, where, and how they meet. It does not publish one national definition of the word hybrid. A local service body may define the word for its own list. Read that body's note, and read the group's listing.

What does hybrid mean on one intergroup's site?

The Washington Area Intergroup Association says each group can decide what hybrid means. In general, it says, a hybrid meeting combines an online format with the in-person room, so the two are connected. It says two meetings, one online and one in person, that do not combine the attendees, are two meetings. That is one office's description, not a rule for every city.

How do I tell which kind I am opening?

Meeting Guide lists in-person and online meetings and can show format notes the group provided. That intergroup says a hybrid listing may show both an in-person marker and a link, and that groups often put the word hybrid in the name or notes. If the notes are unclear, ask the local office or the group. Do not assume a link means you will be seen by the people in the room.

Which format should I pick first?

A.A. does not rank them. In person, you are in the room A.A. describes, including the talking that often happens after. Online, you can attend without the trip, with video on or off depending on the group. Hybrid is an attempt to do both at once, and the equipment and the welcome for remote people vary by group. Try the one you can actually attend, then try another if it does not fit.

Is a meeting format the same as treatment?

No. NIDA says mutual-help groups are peer-led, not professionally led treatment. Call 911 for a seizure, an overdose, or trouble breathing. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. A format choice does not replace a clinical program when you need one.