Otter.ai Review – Real-Time Transcription & Meeting Assistant

4.5/5

Otter.ai is an AI meeting assistant that turns speech into searchable text in real time, offering live transcription, speaker labels, summaries, and collaboration tools to save time and prevent missed details.

Productivity 1222 views 4 reviews Updated August 2025
Otter AI featured image
Freemium
Starting Price
2016
Founded
AISense
Company

Overview

Otter.ai is an AI-powered transcription and meeting assistant built to make meetings more productive and organized. It captures spoken conversations in real time, turning them into accurate, searchable text with speaker labels for easy reference. Beyond transcription, Otter.ai automatically generates concise summaries, highlights key points, and identifies action items, helping professionals, students, and teams stay aligned without the hassle of manual note-taking.

With features like live multilingual support, integrations with Zoom, Teams, and Slack, and advanced collaboration tools, Otter.ai addresses common meeting pain points such as missed details, unclear ownership of tasks, and post-meeting confusion. Its AI-driven insights and searchable archives make it a valuable tool for anyone who wants to save time, improve accuracy, and ensure no critical information is lost during discussions.

Key Features

Real-Time Transcription

Converts speech to text live during meetings on Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet, so you can focus on the conversation.

Speaker Identification

Automatically detects and labels different speakers in the transcript, clarifying who said what.

Automated Summaries

Generates concise overviews of meetings with key topics and action items, saving hours of re-listening.

OtterPod

A dedicated AI microphone that cancels background noise to achieve 99% transcription accuracy, even in loud environments.

Multilingual Translation

Provides live transcription and translation for 12 languages, breaking down barriers for global teams.

Predictive Insights

Analyzes meeting history to flag at-risk tasks and suggest agenda improvements, preventing missed deadlines.

Integration Hub

Syncs your notes, highlights, and action items with tools like Slack, Salesforce, Zoom, and other CRMs.

Pricing Plans

Plan Price Features
Basic Free
  • AI meeting assistant transcribes and summarizes in real time
  • Basic AI Meeting Templates
  • Transcription and summaries in English, French, or Spanish
  • Otter AI Chat
  • Joins Zoom, MS Teams, and Google Meet
  • 300 monthly transcription minutes
  • 30 minutes per conversation
Pro $8.33 per user/month
  • Everything in Basic +
  • Advanced AI Meeting Templates
  • Enhanced team features (shared vocabulary, assign action items)
  • Advanced search, export, and playback
  • 1200 monthly transcription minutes
  • 90 minutes per conversation
  • Import and transcribe 10 audio or video files per month
Business $20 per user/month
  • Everything in Pro +
  • Admin features: usage analytics, prioritized support
  • Joins up to 3 concurrent virtual meetings
  • 6000 monthly transcription minutes
  • 4 hours per conversation
  • Import and transcribe unlimited audio or video files
Enterprise Custom
  • Everything in Business +
  • Single Sign-On (SSO)
  • Organization-wide deployment
  • Domain capture
  • Video Replay for Zoom and Google Meet
  • Otter Sales Agent
  • Advanced security & controls (HIPAA coming soon)

Use Cases

For Business Teams

Automate meeting documentation and track action items with real-time transcription and predictive insights to improve follow-ups.

For Journalists

Instantly transcribe interviews and extract key quotes with speaker labels and keyword highlighting, cutting transcription time significantly.

For Healthcare Professionals

Securely capture patient notes and maintain compliance with HIPAA-compliant vaults and accurate transcription.

For Education

Record lectures and automatically create study guides with highlighted key concepts, summaries, and student Q&A.

For Legal Professionals

Transcribe depositions with timestamped exports and create defensible audit trails for court cases and compliance.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Unmatched real-time transcription accuracy, especially with the OtterPod.
  • Revolutionary multilingual support with live translation for 12 languages.
  • Predictive insights help prevent missed tasks and improve meeting outcomes.
  • Seamless integrations with essential business tools like Zoom, Slack, and Salesforce.
  • Offers enterprise-grade security features, including HIPAA and GDPR compliance.

Cons

  • Can be expensive, especially when factoring in the cost of the OtterPod hardware.
  • Requires a constant internet connection and has no offline mode.
  • Some users have privacy concerns about features like tone detection.
  • Advanced features like predictive insights can have a steep learning curve.
  • Speaker identification can become less accurate in large meetings with more than 10 people.

Frequently Asked Questions

My meeting recordings are always ruined by background noise. How accurate is Otter?

This is a common problem Otter solves well. In moderately noisy environments, it's about 85% accurate. For high-noise areas like factories or cafes, the dedicated OtterPod microphone increases accuracy to 99%.

I can't keep up with taking notes and participating in meetings. What's the solution?

Otter is designed for this. It provides real-time transcription during your Zoom or Teams meetings, so you can focus on the conversation. Afterward, it generates automated summaries with key topics and action items, so you don't miss anything.

Our team is global and speaks multiple languages. Can Otter handle this?

Yes, the latest version offers real-time transcription and translation for up to 12 languages. This allows team members speaking different languages to follow the conversation in their native tongue.

We handle sensitive patient/client data. Is Otter secure enough?

For this pain point, Otter's Enterprise plan is the solution. It is HIPAA and GDPR compliant, offering end-to-end encryption and full audit trails to ensure data security for legal and healthcare needs.

What happens if I don't have an internet connection during a meeting?

This is a major limitation. Otter.ai requires a constant internet connection to function and does not have an offline mode. It is not suitable for fieldwork or travel situations without reliable internet access.

It's hard to remember who said what in group calls. How does Otter help?

Otter's speaker identification feature automatically detects and labels different speakers in the conversation (e.g., 'Alex:', 'Sarah:'). This makes the transcript easy to follow and clarifies who is responsible for which action items.

Prompts Collection

Global Team Meeting

Transcribe our quarterly review with speakers in English, German, and Japanese. Provide real-time translation to English, extract action items with owners, and generate a predictive risk report on deadlines.

Global Collaboration

Factory Safety Briefing

Record our OSHA compliance meeting in a noisy plant using OtterPod. Transcribe with 99% accuracy, tag safety violations mentioned, and create an audit trail for legal compliance.

Industrial Safety

Journalist Interview

Transcribe my 60-minute podcast interview about 'AI ethics'. Extract quotes about 'bias', 'regulation', and 'transparency'. Tag speakers and generate a summary with timestamped highlights.

Media Production

User Reviews

Dr. Evans

HIPAA Compliance Makes This Essential for Healthcare

The Enterprise version of Otter.ai is exactly what our clinic needed. It allows us to transcribe patient consultations securely, and the HIPAA compliance gives us peace of mind. The audit trails are crucial for our records. It has significantly reduced our administrative burden and documentation errors.

Source: Software Advice

Sarah Jenkins

Great for Interviews, But Needs an Offline Mode

As a journalist, Otter cuts my transcription time from hours to minutes. The speaker identification is perfect for interviews, and I can easily pull quotes. The major downside is that it requires an internet connection. I can't use it for field interviews where Wi-Fi is spotty or non-existent, which is a huge limitation for my work.

Source: Trustpilot

David Chen

The Multilingual Support is Revolutionary, But It's Not Cheap

As a manager for a global team, the live translation feature is incredible. We had a meeting with speakers in English, German, and Japanese, and everyone could follow along. The accuracy is top-notch. My only issue is the cost – the Pro plan adds up, and the OtterPod is an extra expense. Still, for breaking down language barriers, it's worth it.

Source: Capterra

Otter AI

4.5

AISense

Productivity

Freemium

Web, iOS, Android

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