Otter.ai

What is Otter.ai?

Otter.ai is an AI-powered meeting assistant that records and transcribes conversations in real time, then generates useful summaries and action items from those meetings. Target audience: Professionals and teams who frequently engage in meetings, interviews, or lectures – including business executives, project teams, sales reps, educators, and journalists – and want to capture information without manual note-taking. It’s especially popular in business settings for keeping track of meeting content and follow-ups. Core functionality: Otter automatically converts spoken words into written text during meetings (whether in-person via a mobile app, or virtual meetings via integration with platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams). Once a session is transcribed, Otter’s AI analyzes the text to identify key points, decisions, and tasks (action items) discussed. Key features: Users can invite Otter’s meeting assistant to join scheduled online meetings, where it will transcribe the discussion live. The transcription includes timestamps and can distinguish between different speakers. After the meeting, Otter automatically provides an AI-generated summary highlighting the main topics and any identified action items or decisions. The full transcript is saved and becomes searchable, so team members can later find specific details by keyword instead of scrubbing through a recording. Otter also allows you to share transcripts and summaries with others who need the information, even if they weren’t in the meeting. Benefits and advantages: The biggest advantage is that participants can focus on the conversation rather than worrying about writing notes – Otter captures everything said, so nothing is missed. This leads to more engaging and productive meetings. People who couldn’t attend a meeting can quickly catch up by reading the summary or searching the transcript for relevant points, improving overall team communication. Automatic identification of action items ensures follow-up tasks are clearly documented. Over time, using Otter can save hours that would otherwise be spent on manual transcription or trying to recall details from memory. It promotes accountability (since everyone has a clear record of what was discussed and agreed upon) and can help resolve disputes about who said what by providing an authoritative transcript. Integrations: Otter.ai works with major video conferencing platforms: it can be synced with your calendar and set to auto-join meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams to start live transcription. Transcribed notes and summaries can be accessed through Otter’s web or mobile apps and easily exported (for instance, as text documents). Otter also offers a Chrome extension for Google Meet and has a direct integration with Zoom, making it straightforward to use without disrupting meeting workflows. Additionally, users can connect Otter to collaboration tools (for example, sending summaries to a Slack channel or linking notes to a project management system), ensuring meeting insights are distributed to the right places. Overall, Otter.ai turns meetings into searchable, shareable documentation through AI, which improves team productivity and information flow.