Otter.ai is one of the most popular transcription tools due to the accuracy of the notes generated through machine learning. The software has both a free and paid plan.
If you’re a paid user, you can use the Otter Assistant feature to activate your calendar and automatically attend and reschedule appointments even when you’re away.
The AI-powered voice transcription service introduced this feature to Zoom in May 2021. Back then, users could automatically join Zoom meetings on their calendars, transcribe the conversations and share the notes with other participants. However, today companies are expanding Otter Assistant to integrate it with Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Cisco Webex Meetings.
This is a useful feature depending on the platform you are meeting on. For example, Zoom now offers third-party transcription features, while Teams has its own built-in free transcription tools. If you’re already using one of these services, adding Otter Assistant doesn’t make much sense.
However, if you are holding meetings on multiple platforms and are already registered with Otter.ai, the assistant makes it easy to keep all your notes in one place. Like Microsoft’s command transcript tool, the generated notes are also viewable in real time, so you can search for the notes during meetings. However, this requires you to have a business plan on Otter. It costs $20 a month and gives you access to a range of other features, including custom dictionaries, audio imports, and more.
The idea of automating meeting recording fits into the remote work environment created by the pandemic, where people divide their time between work, parenting, homeschooling, and other tasks. This can often lead to meetings where users miss what was said during the meeting.
This is one area where Otter.ai is really helpful. However, there can be times when meetings overlap or large meetings where only a few topics are directly related to a task might be useful, but you want to view the rest of the discussion later rather than in real time.
To use the new Otter Assistant, you must first sync your Google Calendar or Microsoft Calendar with the Beaver service. For greater transparency, Otter assistant automatically joins any Zoom meeting where it appears as an additional attendee. It will also post a link to the transcript in the Zoom chat so that everyone can access it. In other words, it is not an opportunity to miss an appointment without the knowledge of the boss. Instead, the assistant helps, but for those times when everyone has agreed the meeting will be transcribed.
