Otter.ai

What it does

Otter.ai records and transcribes meetings and conversations as they happen, then writes a summary with action items.

It can join Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls for you, or record in-person conversations on your phone.

Why use it

• Searchable transcripts of every call, so nothing gets lost.
• Summaries and action items arrive soon after the meeting ends.
• Live captions help when you need to follow closely.
• It works in person too, from your phone.

How it works

1. Sign up and connect your calendar.
2. Choose which meetings its assistant joins, or press record in the app.
3. Read the live transcript, or wait for the summary after the call.
4. Search past meetings, and share notes with your team.

How hard is it to use?

Beginner Easy to start. You need an account, not any technical know-how.

Easy to set up: connect your calendar and it handles the rest. Tidying speaker names takes a moment after each call.

What it costs

Free plan; paid plans. A free plan with limited monthly minutes. Paid plans add more minutes, longer meetings and team features.

Prices change often, so check Otter.ai’s own site before you pay.

Watch out for

• Accents and crosstalk reduce accuracy. Skim the transcript for key details.
• Some people find a note-taking bot on the call off-putting.

Your data

Tell everyone on the call that it is recording: UK law expects people to know. Check who can see shared transcripts, and delete recordings you no longer need.

Otter.ai doesn’t offer UK data storage, so check where it keeps your data before you share anything private or about other people.