Is Otter AI Here to Revolutionize Voice-To-Text Technology?

Is Otter AI Here to Revolutionize Voice-To-Text Technology?

Note-taking never misses from the agenda of any person working in an organization. If you’ve ever been employed, you’ve definitely been part of a meeting at some point. Some meetings are not very information-rich (that’s a nice way of saying they could have been an email). Other meetings, however, throw a lot of things at you that you need to get written down fast.

An AI video transcriber is a dream come true for anyone who deals with video calls regularly. With voice-to-text technology, anything from work meetings to interviews can be made so much easier. Instead of having half your attention on the speaker and half on your notes, you can just listen, knowing no information will be missed. That’s exactly what Otter AI sets out to do with its tool.

What is Otter AI? In short, an AI-based voice-to-text transcription software. However, there's more to it than meets the eye. We’ll discuss Otter’s stand-out features and its most notable use cases in this article. In the end, it’s up to you to decide if Otter AI is a valuable addition to your tool roster. Don’t worry though, we’ll also give you our thoughts on it.

Getting Started with Otter AI

First impressions matter with tools as much as they do with people. Whenever we set up an account for anything, the process influences our opinion of the tool overall. Thankfully, Otter AI makes it easy to get started with their product. Assuming you don’t already have an account with them, let’s talk about “Getting started for free”.

There are two ways you can check out Otter for free. Otter has four pricing plans (Basic, Pro, Business, and Enterprise). However, only two of them can be checked out for free. Your first option is the Basic version (which I will use moving forward). This one is always free, it’s not just a free trial. This allows you to write and share notes from your Zoom, Google Meet, and MS Teams video calls. It also captures slides and generates meeting summaries. Your second option is a 7-day free trial for their Business plan. This gives you access to everything in Basic, plus:

  • Identify frequent speakers and share your team's custom vocabulary with them;
  • Distribute tasks throughout your group;
  • Analyze how your team uses each feature.

When you’re creating your account, you can sync your work calendar right off the bat by logging in with Google, Microsoft, or Apple. Once you’re in, you can get familiar with the platform right off the bat by going through their Quick Tutorial and learning how to:

  • Connect your calendar;
  • Record a conversation;
  • Playback a conversation;
  • Capture important moments from your conversation.

With Otter AI Basic, you only get 300 minutes of Otter AI transcription time. If that is not enough, then Otter prompts you to level up to Pro, for 1200 monthly transcription minutes.

How Well Does Otter AI Work?

I already used Otter AI to record an interview for an interview-based article. I will walk you through my personal experience with it to better exemplify how it works. I only used the Basic version so far, but it’s still enough to give you a good idea about the tool’s functionalities.

First and foremost, I opted for maximum ease of use. How? I downloaded Otter’s Chrome extension into my browser. I logged into my meeting on Google Meet, met with my interviewee, and started asking away. These are the most important pros and cons I can tell you about my interview transcribed by Otter AI:

Pros

  • It shortened the interview time – no time spent taking notes throughout that could lead to unnecessary pauses;
  • They had my full attention so the conversation flowed more naturally;
  • I could pay better attention to my interviewee;
  • It was stress-free because I didn’t have to fear missing key points due to Human error;
  • My overall time working on the article was shortened and the process was more efficient.

Cons

His audio quality was severely compromised, so all of my cons stem from that. It’s not entirely Otter’s fault, but it’s still important to keep in mind this limitation.

  • The Otter AI transcription was faulty at times or overall missing small pieces;
  • Otter had trouble assigning the right Speaker at times.

Honorable Mentions

  • I could listen to the audio while reading the transcription to crosscheck – it made editing easier, though it would’ve been nicer not to have to edit in the first place;
  • I could edit the Speakers throughout – again, would have been nicer if it wasn’t necessary, but can be a huge help to polish things up;
  • I was provided Summary Keywords – not useful for that particular project, but I can see how they would be helpful on other occasions;
  • I could add highlights, comments, and images. Action items are also listed, but were not an option since I don’t have multiple seats. Assigning something to myself would have just been sad.

Otter AI at an Organizational Level

So far we’ve mainly talked about Otter AI on the Basic plan. Let’s dissect what the Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans can do for you as well feature-wise. What is Otter AI like for teams?

Pro

The Otter AI Pro plan offers an upgraded experience, building upon the Basic plan's features. Users gain access to team-oriented functionalities such as shared custom vocabulary, speaker tagging, and assigning action items. With advanced search, export, and playback options, managing transcriptions becomes effortless. The plan includes 1200 monthly transcription minutes, allowing for up to 90 minutes per conversation. Additionally, users can import and transcribe up to 10 audio or video files each month. Otter AI Pro is designed to elevate collaboration and productivity seamlessly for $8.33 USD per user/month billed annually.

Business

The Otter AI Business plan encompasses all the features available in the Pro plan, taking it a step further. Administrators gain access to usage analytics and prioritized support, ensuring smooth management. With the ability to join up to 3 concurrent virtual meetings, Otter AI automatically generates and shares meeting notes. The plan provides a generous allocation of 6000 monthly transcription minutes, enabling up to 4 hours per conversation. Moreover, users can import and transcribe an unlimited number of audio or video files, eliminating any restrictions. The price remains quite accessible, at $20 USD per user/month billed annually.

Enterprise

This is the most powerful plan Otter has to offer, building upon Business features and adding even more useful stuff. With the addition of Single Sign-On (SSO), users can conveniently access the platform with their existing enterprise credentials. The Enterprise plan facilitates organization-wide deployment, ensuring a seamless and consistent experience for all users. With domain capture capabilities, enterprises can effortlessly capture and transcribe conversations across their entire domain. Advanced security and compliance controls provide enhanced data protection and ensure adherence to industry regulations. To get your hands on the ultimate Otter AI plan, you’ll need to get in contact with Sales.

Final Thoughts

Can Otter AI do magic? No. It is still limited by things such as audio quality. However, it’s a huge ask to expect a tool to not come with flaws. At the end of the day, it’s still doing a better job at transcribing and summarizing meetings than we could do by hand.

I will actually contradict myself right away and say that perhaps it does do magic in one department. It makes video calls and audio files accessible to those with hearing impairments. Therefore, with a tool like Otter, you don’t only streamline your workflow and increase productivity, but you also make inclusivity a priority.