Online AA Meetings — How to Join

You're in a moment where the distance between you and a drink — or a use — feels smaller than it usually does. Or maybe you've already used and you're trying to find your footing again. Or maybe you're sober and stable but something is quietly wrong and you know you need people around you before it gets louder.

All of those are valid reasons to look for a meeting tonight.

Online AA meetings became widely available during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they never went away — because it turned out they worked. People who had never been able to access meetings due to rural location, disability, social anxiety, work schedules, or fear of being recognized in person found that online meetings gave them something real. Not a lesser version of recovery. Real connection.

What you'll find in an online AA meeting is mostly what you'd find in person: a reading, some sharing, silence that means something, people who have been where you are. The format varies. Some meetings are speaker meetings where one person shares their story. Some are discussion meetings where anyone can speak. Some are step study meetings. Some are open to anyone curious about sobriety. Some are closed, meaning for people who identify as having a problem with alcohol.

You do not need to speak. You can sit in the virtual room and just listen. That counts. That is showing up. Many people attend meetings for months before they ever unmute. Nobody is going to call on you. Nobody will pressure you to share.

The hardest part is almost always getting into the room. The meetings themselves are usually the easier part.

Here is exactly how to get into an online AA meeting tonight, step by step.

1. Go to aa.org/find-aa. This is the official Alcoholics Anonymous website. Click 'Find AA Near You' and then select 'Online Meetings.' This will take you to a directory of meetings organized by time zone, day, and type.

2. If aa.org feels slow or confusing right now, go to IntheRooms.com instead. Your first week is free. You create a basic account and can join a meeting within minutes. They host dozens of online AA meetings daily, including right now.

3. Another fast option: search 'online AA meeting now' in Google. You will find platforms like OnlineMeetings.aa.org, AAOnline.net, and others. Several run 24-hour meetings — meaning there is always someone in the room, no matter what time it is.

4. Choose a meeting type. If this is your first time or you're not sure what you need, look for an 'open discussion' meeting or a 'beginners' meeting. These are the most accessible. Open meetings welcome anyone. Closed meetings are for people who identify as alcoholic — both are available online.

5. Click the meeting link. Most online AA meetings use Zoom. You do not need a Zoom account to join as a guest. You will be asked for the meeting ID and sometimes a password — these are listed in the meeting directory next to each meeting.

6. When you join, you will likely hear a greeter welcome newcomers. You do not have to say anything. If you want to let people know it's your first time, you can type it in the chat or say it out loud — but this is optional.

7. If you have trouble finding a meeting or the links aren't working, call AA's meeting line: 1-800-839-1686. A real person will help you find a meeting right now.

8. If you're outside the US, go to aa.org and select your country. Most regions have active online meeting directories.

You do not need to introduce yourself. You do not need to share. You just need to get into the room.

Turning your camera off helps if that's what lets you actually show up. Some people need to ease into visibility. The camera can come later. What matters is that you're in the room and you can hear people.

Listening helps more than most people expect. Even if you don't share a single word, hearing other people describe feelings you thought were uniquely yours — the specific shame, the specific loneliness, the specific way cravings lie to you — does something that's hard to explain and easy to feel.

Having a cup of something helps. Tea, water, coffee. It gives your hands something to do and makes it feel a little more like you're sitting with people.

Telling someone you're going to a meeting helps. Text a friend, a family member, a sponsor if you have one. Accountability is just another word for not being alone in something.

Going to more than one meeting before deciding whether it's for you helps. Online AA meetings vary enormously in tone, size, and energy depending on the group. Some feel formal. Some feel like a living room. Some have 200 people and some have 8. If the first one doesn't click, try another before writing it off.

Using the chat function helps if speaking feels like too much. You can type 'first time here' or just a simple 'thank you' at the end and that small act of connection matters.

Knowing that the awkwardness is normal helps. Most people felt weird the first time. The regulars remember feeling weird. They will not judge you for it.

Waiting until you feel ready doesn't help. Readiness is not a feeling that arrives before you act. It usually arrives after. If you wait to feel ready, you may wait a long time.

Reading meeting reviews or spending an hour comparing platforms doesn't help right now. Pick one. Get in. You can be selective later once you have some experience.

Telling yourself this isn't the right kind of help for you — before you've actually tried it — doesn't help. You may be right. AA is not for everyone. But you don't know yet, and tonight is not the night to make that call.

Having the app open in one window while you scroll something else in another window doesn't help. If you're going in, go in. Close the other tabs.

Perfecting your introduction in your head doesn't help. You don't need an introduction. You can just listen. The pressure you're putting on yourself to say the right thing is made up — nobody in that room is waiting for you to perform.

Online AA meetings are real meetings. The connection you feel in them is real. The sobriety people maintain through them is real. Don't let anyone — including the voice in your own head — tell you that a Zoom meeting is a lesser thing.

You are not behind. There is no schedule you've fallen off. People find AA for the first time at 22 and at 67 and everywhere in between. People return to it after years away. The door does not close.

One meeting is not a commitment. You're not signing anything. You're not promising to come back. You're just going to a meeting tonight, and that's all tonight requires of you.

If you're in crisis right now — if you're thinking about hurting yourself or you don't feel safe — please call or text the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the call is free and confidential.

You found this page. Go find a meeting now. That's the whole next step.