Key takeaway
You need a meeting tonight and you cannot get to a room, or you are afraid you will have to show your face and say your name. Alcoholics Anonymous says meetings can be online or by phone. You can listen without speaking. Use Meeting Guide or the Online Intergroup, then confirm the link with the group.
Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
You need a meeting tonight and you cannot get to a room, or you are afraid the camera will force your name. Alcoholics Anonymous says you can attend online or by phone. You can listen without speaking. Open Meeting Guide or the Online Intergroup, then confirm the link with the group before you build the evening around it.
If this is an overdose, a seizure, trouble breathing, or someone who will not wake, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. A video room is not an emergency department.
You can listen
A.A. says meetings are held in person, online, or by telephone, and that each group decides when and how. Online is not one product. Some groups use video. At others, video stays off. Some meetings are a phone conference. Anyone with a desire to stop drinking is welcome, and you do not have to pay. You can sit and listen, or you can share. A chair may ask if anyone new wants to introduce themselves. Identifying yourself is not mandatory.
Open and closed still apply on a screen. An open meeting is for anyone interested in A.A.'s program, and nonalcoholics may attend as observers. A closed meeting is for members, or for people who have a drinking problem and a desire to stop. Read the listing, or ask the host, before the sharing starts. What the hour feels like is in what to expect at your first A.A. meeting.
Many meetings read a statement about anonymity. The open-meeting description asks people not to disclose members' names outside the meeting. On a video call, that practice still matters, and ordinary internet caution still matters. A fellowship tradition is not a hospital privacy rule. Use the name you are comfortable using.
Where the list lives
A.A.'s website does not contain a meeting finder. For phone and online meetings, the General Service Office names the Meeting Guide app and the Online Intergroup of A.A.. Local intergroups and central offices may publish lists too. Meeting Guide is a free app. A.A. says it lists more than 150,000 weekly meetings. Local groups keep control of their own listings. If a line looks wrong, the app points you to the service entity that supplied it.
The public meetings search is built from public feeds, including online listings. Those listings are not verified. A feed can lag. Confirm the day, the link, and whether the meeting is open or closed with the group. How in-person and online search fit together is in how to find an A.A. meeting. A meeting that tries to seat people in a room and on a screen at once is in hybrid and in-person meetings.
Some online groups may sign a proof-of-attendance slip by a digital method if they choose to. A.A. says proof of attendance is not part of A.A.'s procedure. Each group decides.
A meeting is not treatment
Mutual-help groups are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, so they are not the same as treatment. They are free and not time-limited. Many people use them alone or with professional care. Most of the research NIDA cites is about 12-step programs, particularly Alcoholics Anonymous. That is not a promise about one login.
A sudden stop after chronic heavy drinking can be life-threatening. If that risk is real for you, the next step is a clinician. A clinical visit by video is a different appointment, in telehealth for addiction. Licensed programs are on FindTreatment.gov.
SMART Recovery is a separate mutual-help program with its own meetings. The names are easy to mix up. How they differ is in the SMART Recovery overview. Narcotics Anonymous has its own virtual search, in online NA meetings.
Call or text (800) 653-9376 if what you need is help finding treatment. If what you need is a meeting, start with Meeting Guide or the Online Intergroup and confirm the listing.
Additional Resources
Sources cited on this page:
- A.A.: Can I attend a meeting online or by phone?
- A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting
- A.A.: Meeting Guide
- A.A.: Find A.A. Near You
- A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem?
- Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous
- NIDA: Treatment, including mutual-help groups
- SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- NIAAA Core Resource: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
- SmarterRecovery meetings page (public meeting search; listings are not verified)
Common Questions
Can I attend an A.A. meeting online?
Yes. A.A. says meetings can take place online and by phone. The Meeting Guide app and the Online Intergroup of A.A. both provide that information. A.A. says the app draws on more than 500 service entities and refreshes twice a day. Local groups control their own listings. Confirm the link with the group before you rely on an old screenshot.
Do I have to turn my camera on or say my name?
Some online meetings are video, some keep video off, and some use a phone conference. You can sit and listen, or you can share. Introducing yourself is not mandatory at a typical meeting. Anonymity is a privacy practice inside the fellowship. A screen name is not a hospital record. The platform can still see the account you used to join.
Is an online A.A. meeting the same as telehealth?
No. An A.A. meeting is members sharing experience with one another. Telehealth is a clinical visit with a licensed provider. Mutual-help groups are peer-led, not professionally led treatment. Many people use them alone or alongside professional care. A meeting does not manage withdrawal.
Are online A.A. meetings the same as SMART Recovery?
No. SMART Recovery is a separate mutual-help program with its own meetings. Use that program's own site for a SMART meeting. Use A.A.'s Meeting Guide or the Online Intergroup for an A.A. meeting. The names are easy to confuse. The organizations are not the same.
What if I need medical care, not only a meeting?
Call 911 for an overdose, a seizure, trouble breathing, or someone who will not wake. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. A sudden stop after chronic heavy drinking can be life-threatening. Search licensed programs on FindTreatment.gov if withdrawal or treatment is the need. A meeting does not replace that.