Otter.ai

Otter.ai is a meeting notes tool from a US team that has spent years on English speech transcription, and it is a default for many people in English-speaking workplaces. It produces a live transcript while you meet, assembles a summary and action items afterwards, and can join online meetings on its own as a meeting assistant.

Its strength is how tightly it fits an English-language workflow. Connect your calendar and it automatically joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls when they start, so nobody has to remember to hit record. Transcripts are split by speaker, searchable, easy to annotate and share with people who missed the meeting, and you can ask questions about the whole conversation.

For Chinese users the big issue is language: it is built for English, and Mandarin meetings are essentially out of scope. If most of your meetings are in Chinese, local tools such as Tongyi Tingwu or Feishu Minutes are a much better fit. Otter suits people who meet often with English-speaking teams or overseas clients.

Key features

• Live transcription: a transcript is generated as the meeting happens, with speakers identified.
• Auto-joining assistant: once your calendar is connected, it joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls and records them.
• Summaries and action items: after the meeting you get an overview and follow-ups ready to send.
• Ask about meetings: query one or many meetings, e.g. “what budget did the client mention last time?”
• Audio import: upload existing recordings for transcription.
• Team collaboration: share, comment on and highlight transcripts so the team has a common record.

How to use

1. Sign up on the website, or install the mobile app and browser extension.
2. Connect your Google or Microsoft calendar and choose whether the assistant joins meetings automatically.
3. During a meeting, open the live transcript to highlight key points or add notes.
4. Afterwards, review the generated summary and action items, correct anything off, then share.
5. For in-person meetings, record and transcribe directly with the mobile app.

Best for

• Meetings with English-speaking teams or overseas clients: automatic notes, no tidying up afterwards.
• Sales calls and customer interviews: revisit exact wording and track commitments.
• English lectures, courses and interviews: read along live and search later.
• Managers in back-to-back meetings: query content across many meetings in one place.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

• Accurate English transcription with mature speaker identification.
• Auto-join and auto-summary mean almost no manual effort.
• Solid integration with major video-conferencing platforms and calendars.

Limitations

• English-focused and not suitable for Chinese-language meetings.
• An assistant joining automatically can bother other participants; tell them in advance.
• The free tier caps both per-meeting and total transcription time.
• Recordings are stored on overseas servers, so companies handling sensitive information should assess compliance.