Otter.ai

Otter.ai is the go-to meeting transcription tool for professionals who are tired of scribbling notes while trying to stay engaged in conversations. It joins your Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams calls automatically, records audio, and produces a real-time transcript with speaker labels — so you can actually participate in the meeting instead of documenting it.

What sets Otter apart from basic transcription services is its AI layer on top. After each meeting, it generates a structured summary with key takeaways, action items, and decisions. You can search across all your past meetings by keyword, ask questions about what was discussed, and share specific moments with teammates who missed the call.

The free tier is genuinely useful for individuals — you get 300 minutes per month of transcription, which covers a decent number of meetings. Where Otter gets expensive is at the team level: the Business plan at $20/user/month adds collaboration features, admin controls, and analytics. Speaker identification accuracy is generally strong for English but drops noticeably with heavy accents or crosstalk, which is worth knowing before relying on it for critical meetings.