Otter.ai

Live meeting transcription, summaries, and searchable notes.

About

Otter.ai listens to meetings and turns spoken conversation into a live transcript, a summary, and a list of action items. It can join video calls on major platforms or record in person through its mobile apps, so you can stay focused on the discussion instead of taking notes. It is most useful for people who attend many meetings and need reliable, searchable records afterwards.

Key features

• Real-time transcription for Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet calls
• An automated meeting assistant that joins calls and captures the conversation
• Speaker identification so you can see who said what in the transcript
• AI-generated summaries and action items after each meeting
• AI chat over your transcripts to answer questions about past meetings
• Searchable conversation history with playback linked to the transcript text
• Mobile apps for in-person recording, plus file imports for existing audio

Pricing

Free Basic plan $0/month; Pro plan $16.99/user/month billed monthly, or $8.33/user/month billed annually; Business plan $30/user/month billed monthly, or $19.99/user/month billed annually

Prices change — check the official pricing page before buying, and note the per-meeting and monthly minute limits on each plan.

Best for

Professionals, students, and teams who need searchable notes from frequent English-language meetings.

Limitations to know

AI transcription can mishear names, accents, overlapping speech, and specialist terms, so check important quotes, numbers, and decisions against the recording. It also works best in clear, single-language conversations, and accuracy drops noticeably with background noise, crosstalk, or heavy jargon.

What users like

• Ease of use is widely praised, with users finding it simple to start, join, and review meetings without a steep learning curve
• Transcription accuracy on clear English audio is commonly described as high, especially for one-to-one calls and well-run meetings
• Summaries and action items are frequently valued for saving time after meetings and making follow-up easier
• Searchable meeting history is a recurring benefit, letting users find past decisions and quotes without re-listening to full recordings

What users complain about

• Accuracy problems with accents, background noise, overlapping speakers, and specialist terminology are reported often
• Free and lower-tier limits frustrate some users, particularly the per-meeting cap and the small number of file imports
• Recording and speaker-labelling issues, including merged speakers and missed words, are mentioned in public feedback
• Billing friction and hard-to-reach support are recurring complaints on consumer review sites

Our editorial score

Our editorial score: 7.8/10 — our own judgement, not an aggregate of user ratings. See the full review for the reasoning.

Read the full Otter.ai review · More Voice, Search & Productivity tools · All AI tools

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