If you find it difficult to take notes in online meetings, don’t worry, we have good news for you! Otter.ai is ready to help you, and all you have to do is say it. The AI tool can easily take voice notes and transcribe meetings which are must-have needs in today’s remote work order. It implies, finally, we can finally put an end to such unproductive meetings. Sounds good, right?
In this blog post, we will explain how to use Otter AI, how much you should pay for it, and everything you need to know about it. So, is Otter.ai “the AI tool” you are looking for or another voice in the wilderness? Let’s take a closer look.
What is Otter.ai?
Otter.ai is an AI-powered software that provides automatic speech recognition and transcription for audio and video files. Transcribing meetings is not the only feature that Otter.ai offers. Otter.ai can help you capture, organize, and share your notes from meetings, interviews, lectures, podcasts, and more. Otter.ai uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to generate accurate and searchable transcripts that you can edit, highlight, comment on, and export. Otter.ai also integrates with popular platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Dropbox, and YouTube to make your workflow easier and more efficient.
Otter.ai is more than just a transcription tool. It is a smart assistant that helps you turn your conversations into actionable insights and collaborative knowledge. For example:
- The Otter app allows you to record your own ideas or conduct an interview with anybody, wherever.
- You may submit voice-containing audio or video files to Otter, and it will begin transcribing the content into text.
- When you have a lot of video conferences to attend, the Otter Bot may be programmed to join in on the calls and transcribe the conversations for you.
How does Otter.ai work? You seem concerned about how things are going. It listens to an audio source, runs the speech through an artificial intelligence system, and outputs the text in a format that can be read, highlighted, and copied.
If everything is clear now, here is the breakdown of Otter.ai features:
- You can use it on all the platforms that you work on (iOS, Android, Web)
- Custom vocabulary
- Otter Assistant for Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet
- Import pre-recorded audio/video files
- Live captions for Zoom and Google Meet
- Playback Control
- Edit text, speakers, and time codes
- Search notes by keyword, speaker, and date
- Sync from Zoom and Dropbox
- Easy sharing
- Speaker name identification
- Summary keywords and word clouds
- Inline images
- Personalized admin controls
- Export audio, text, and captions
- Usage analytics
- Connect calendars (Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, iOS Calendar)
- Two-factor authentication
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
With all these features, we think Otter.ai is worth trying, and if you think the same, here is how to get started with it.
Reminder: Otter now only supports English (both American and British) with regional accents.
How to use Otter.ai?
Whether you want to capture a meeting, an interview, a lecture, or a podcast, Otter.ai can make your life easier and more productive. Here are some steps on how to use Otter.ai effectively.
- Sign up for an account
- Download the app: Otter.ai is available for iOS, Android, and web browsers. The app allows you to record audio and video directly from your device or import files from other sources.
- Start recording or importing: To record audio or video, tap the blue microphone icon at the bottom of the app. You can pause, resume, or stop the recording at any time. To import an existing file, tap the plus icon at the top right corner of the app and select Import from. You can choose from various options, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Zoom, YouTube, and more.
- Edit and share your transcript: Once you have recorded or imported a file, Otter.ai will automatically generate a transcript for you. You can view the transcript on the app or on the web browser. You can also edit the transcript by tapping on any word and making changes. You can add speaker names, highlights, comments, photos, and keywords to enrich your transcript. To share your transcript with others, tap the share icon at the top right corner of the app and choose from various options, such as email, text message, social media, or copy link.
Otter.ai is a complex software to explain how to use every feature in one part. If you have questions about how to integrate it, how to manage your Workspace, and more, click here and learn!
Whether you need to transcribe a personal conversation, a professional meeting, or an educational lecture, Otter AI can handle it with ease and accuracy. However, like most good things, there is always a price for the full experience.
Otter.ai pricing plans
Here are the Otter.ai pricing plan tiers:
- Basic – Free
- AI meeting assistant records and transcribes in real time
- Joins Zoom, MS Teams, and Google Meet to automatically write and share notes
- Automatically captures slides and generates meeting summaries
- 300 monthly transcription minutes; 30 minutes per conversation
- Pro – $8.33 USD per month
- Everything in Basic +
- Imports and transcribes audio or video files
- Joins virtual meetings when you are double-booked
- Advanced search, export, and playback
- 1200 monthly transcription minutes; 90 minutes per conversation
- Business – $20 USD per user/month
- Everything in Pro +
- Team features: shared custom vocabulary and speakers, assign action items to teammates
- Joins virtual meetings when you are triple-booked
- Admin features: usage analytics, centralized billing, prioritized support
- 6000 monthly transcription minutes; 4 hours per conversation
Do you need more comprehensive solutions? Contact the Otter.ai sales team for the Enterprise plan, which offers:
- Everything in Business +
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Organization-wide deployment
- Domain capture
- Advanced security and compliance controls
Otter.ai free trial
Yes, you can freely try Otter.ai for 7 days. All you have to start Otter.ai’s 7-day free trial is to click here.
Otter AI is a powerful tool that can help you save time, improve communication, and enhance productivity. Try it out today for free and see with your own eyes! Do you want a discount? Otter.ai thought of that too.
Otter.ai student discount
The Otter.ai Pro premium tier is discounted for students and educators through the Student & Teacher program. Otter.ai offer a 20% discount on Otter Pro Monthly and Otter Pro Annual plans for individual students and teachers. Here are the marked-down costs:
- Otter Pro Annual: $6.67 USD per month (billed $79.99 annually)
- Otter Pro Monthly: $13.59 USD per month
The Pro plan is the only one eligible for the Student & Teacher discount; the Business plan is excluded.
Who is eligible for the Otter.ai student discount? Each student, faculty member, and full-time employee must be a member of one of the following groups to get the discount:
- Nonprofit educational institutions
- Accredited primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions
- School districts and regional service agencies
How to get into Otter.ai Student & Teacher program?
Sign up for the free Basic plan with your school’s email address (for example, [email protected]) if you haven’t already. To continue using Otter, please proceed as described below.
- Launch your Otter.ai account and log in.
- Go to the top left and click your username.
- To upgrade your plan, use the link provided. Alternatively, you may go to Account Settings > Plan.
- Access the Student & Teacher Discount link under the Pro tab. You’ll find the link at the end of the page, under the description of the Pro plan.
- Put in your credit card details and hit the Next button.
That’s all!
Is Otter.ai transcription accurate?
Although Otter has improved greatly, it is still not 100% accurate. Large, echoing rooms with lots of ambient noise are its biggest enemies.
While Otter can understand even the most difficult English accents, it may still be fooled by the occasional mumble. Let’s look at what others think about its performance.
Otter.ai reviews
There are some Otter.ai reviews from Product Hunt:
“A very intuitive and effective tool that makes your day a win by releasing you from extra and boring admin tasks such as manual note-taking, agreement tracking, collaboration and sharing, etc. I call it my productivity-monster tool 😉
Well done Folks, I’m looking forward to experiencing more powerful features with you.”
-Marat Avetisyan
“I have been using Otter for a couple of months and it really helps me with my meetings. It gives me a nice summary of keywords and full transcription. Moreover, the competitive things for me are using annotation and commenting on important parts of the text (transcription of meeting).
Besides, Otter’s integrations are really awesome. Personally, I use Google Meet more due to it being my preferable way of communication, and also Otter offers to use its integration for free.
All in all, I really like Otter and look forward to bringing more features (like suggestions while editing transcriptions, what Grammarly does, or a summary of the meeting!) soon.”-Reza Bozorgi
“Otter has changed my worklife for the better. My role requires me to interview multiple people each month to help ideate B2B articles. I used to have to manually transcribe those conversations which was a productivity killer. Now Otter does that work for me, freeing me up for the more creative side of my job.”
-Tim Horan
Otter.ai has 4.9 stars out of 5 on Product Hunt. However, if you don’t like it anyway, there are more tools that may meet your similar needs too.
Otter.ai alternatives
If you are looking for a transcription service that can record and transcribe your voice conversations in real time, you just met Otter.ai. However, Otter.ai has some drawbacks that might make you look for other options. For example, Otter.ai only supports English transcription, so if you need to transcribe other languages, you are out of luck. So what are some of the best Otter.ai alternatives for transcription in 2023? Here are five of them:
- Airgram: Airgram is an all-in-one meeting assistant that records and transcribes your video conferences on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. It supports eight languages and offers video recording as well. Airgram also has a powerful transcription editor that lets you edit, comment, highlight, and export your transcripts in various formats. Airgram has a free plan with unlimited transcription minutes and a paid plan that costs $9.99 per user per month.
- Rev: Rev is a professional transcription service that can transcribe audio and video files with high accuracy and fast turnaround time. Rev uses human transcribers to ensure quality and offers 15 languages to choose from. Rev charges $1.25 per minute for transcription and does not have any subscription plans or limits.
- Descript: Descript is a creative tool that lets you edit audio and video files by editing text. Descript uses AI to transcribe your files and lets you make changes by typing, deleting, or moving words around. Descript also has features like overdubbing, screen recording, podcasting, and collaboration. Descript has a free plan with 3 hours of transcription per month and paid plans starting from $12 per user per month.
- SpeechText.ai: SpeechText.ai is an AI transcription service that can transcribe audio and video files in over 40 languages and dialects. SpeechText.ai uses domain-specific models to improve accuracy and offers features like speaker identification, timestamps, punctuation, and custom vocabulary. SpeechText.ai charges $0.05 per minute for transcription and does not have any subscription plans or limits.
- Happy Scribe: Happy Scribe is another AI transcription service that can transcribe audio and video files in over 120 languages and accents. Happy Scribe also has an interactive editor that lets you edit, share, and export your transcripts easily. Happy Scribe charges $0.12 per minute for transcription and does not have any subscription plans or limits.
As you can see, there are many alternatives to Otter.ai that can suit your transcription needs better. Depending on your budget, language preference, file type, and desired features, you can choose the one that works best for you.
Oh, are you new to AI, and everything seems too complicated? Keep reading…
Image courtesy: Otter.ai
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We hope you liked our article about Otter.ai. See you in the next post!
