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Journalists and anyone needing fast, accurate transcriptions should try Otter.ai Otter.ai is an AI-powered transcription tool designed to convert speech into text in real time, useful for meetings, interviews, and lectures. With automatic speaker identification, live captions, and the ability to integrate with video conferencing platforms, Otter.ai streamlines note-taking for individuals and teams. Its AI-driven summaries and collaboration tools make it particularly useful for businesses, educators, and content creators. Whether you need to transcribe a lecture, document a conversation, or generate captions for videos, Otter.ai offers a convenient, hands-free solution. This article was correct as of February 2025. AI tools are updated regularly and it is possible that some features have changed since this article was written. Some features may also only be available in certain countries. Otter.ai is a speech-to-text transcription service that leverages AI and machine learning to transcribe spoken words into written text. Founded in 2016 by Sam Liang, Yun Fu, and their team at AISense, Otter.ai quickly became popular for its real-time transcription capabilities and automated note-taking features. The tool is widely used in business settings, particularly for transcribing meetings, interviews, and lectures, and it can identify different speakers, generate summaries, and integrate with popular conferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Otter.ai also lets users edit transcripts, highlight key moments, and collaborate on shared notes. Its AI-driven transcription engine should improve over time, learning from past recordings and user edits. While not 100% accurate, Otter.ai provides a solid alternative to traditional manual transcription, making it a useful productivity tool for professionals, students, and journalists. Otter.ai is primarily used for transcribing conversations, meetings, and lectures in real time. It's particularly beneficial for business professionals who need meeting notes without manually typing them. The tool can also generate live captions for accessibility and help students create searchable lecture notes. Users can integrate Otter.ai with Zoom and Microsoft Teams to get automatic meeting transcriptions, complete with timestamps and speaker identification. Journalists and researchers often use Otter.ai to transcribe interviews quickly, while content creators may rely on it for podcast or video subtitles. While Otter.ai is great for transcription, it's not a perfect tool for all audio processing needs. It can struggle with low-quality audio, heavy accents, and multiple speakers talking at once, which can lead to errors. Unlike human transcription services, it doesn't offer guaranteed accuracy or context-aware editing. Otter.ai is also not suitable for transcribing confidential or sensitive meetings due to cloud-based storage. Otter.ai offers a free plan with limited transcription hours per month, and Paid plans provide more features: Discounted rates may be available for enterprises, students, and educators. Otter.ai is available via a web app and mobile apps for iOS and Android, and integrates with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet for live transcription during virtual meetings. Users can also upload pre-recorded audio files for transcription. Otter.ai is a strong AI transcription tool, particularly for those who need automated note-taking for meetings or lectures. It's widely praised for its real-time transcription, speaker identification, and easy collaboration tools. However, its accuracy can be inconsistent, especially in noisy environments or with non-native accents. TechRadar Pro hasn't reviewed Otter.ai yet, but user reviews generally highlight its convenience and affordability compared to human transcription services. - Otter.ai is a great choice if you need an efficient, AI transcription tool for meetings, lectures, or interviews. - Students and researchers can also benefit from Otter.ai's ability to transcribe lectures and interviews, making reviewing information much easier. - If you work in a team and need collaborative transcription with shared notes and highlights, Otter.ai provides a convenient solution. - Otter.ai isn't the best option if you require 100% accurate transcriptions, as its AI-generated text often needs manual corrections, especially in noisy environments or with speakers who have strong accents. - Businesses handling highly sensitive or confidential discussions may prefer a tool with on-device processing rather than cloud-based transcription to ensure maximum data security. If Otter.ai doesn't meet your needs, there are several other transcription tools worth considering. Rev.com is a premium service that offers human-generated transcripts with high accuracy, making it ideal for professionals who need precise and polished documentation. Sonix.ai is another AI-powered transcription tool that supports multiple languages, a better option for non-English speakers who require accurate transcriptions. For those who prefer a budget-friendly alternative without a subscription model, Temi provides an AI transcription service with pay-as-you-go pricing.

If you spend a lot of time in virtual meetings and conference calls for work, you know how much of a game changer a good headset and microphone can make. But while clear audio helps, that's not the only thing you need since you could potentially miss or forget key information that's discussed while you struggle to keep up with your frantic note-taking. What if there was a device that could do it all? That's exactly what you get with the viaim RecDot AI Recording Wireless Earbuds.

The worst part about asking questions during meetings is not knowing what to ask. What if an app could capture every important detail and serve you with the perfect follow-up questions? Hedy AI does just that. It's your new secret weapon for turning any meeting into an opportunity to impress, and it is only 29.99 for life. Forget scrambling for notes -- Hedy does the heavy lifting. It automatically creates concise transcripts and smart summaries, so you never miss details. Seamlessly integrating with your iPhone, Hedy works for in-person meetings and video calls, clearly capturing audio from your computer speakers. Most importantly, it highlights key points and suggests follow-up questions you might not have thought to ask, giving you an edge in every discussion. Hedy AI transforms your meetings into a masterclass of engagement and clarity. It's a tool of the future for professionals and students alike, ensuring you always have the right things to say and never miss out on crucial points.

Transcribing interviews is the thing I dislike most about being a journalist. My hat goes off to stenographers because sitting there and typing out an interview is anything but fun. Thankfully, we now have AI tools to help make transcribing much easier. For a recent interview I conducted I turned to Otter.ai, which is built specifically for transcribing. I actually tried Google AI Studio first, but when I went to try and ask it for help transcribing I got a message stating it doesn't currently accept MP3 uploads. Ironically enough, Google AI Studio recommended I use Otter.ai. If Google suggested I use a competitor, then who was I to argue? So, what is it like using Otter.ai to transcribe interviews and how well does it perform the task? Read on to find out. Otter is an AI-based transcription program that uses voice recognition software to transcribe interviews, meetings, conversations, and other real-time events. Currently, Otter only translates English, Spanish, and French. Otter.ai offers free and paid versions. The Pro and Business options cost $17 or $30 a month, respectively. Yearly plans can save you up to 51%. There is also an Enterprise tier for organizations. The paid tiers are most useful for folks who frequently attend meetings throughout the week and require a streamlined way of keeping track of what was discussed. If you're like me and only need it for the occasional interview transcription, the free version is fine. However, you're limited to 30 minutes per conversation, 300 total minutes of overall use, and 3 transcriptions with the free option. Since I only needed a single interview transcribed, I signed up for the free version of Otter.ai by logging in with my Google account. Since I didn't know the process, I asked Otter.ai how I could upload an MP3 file for it to transcribe. This required me to go to the home page and import the file. If you're used to uploading images or other files, all of this is rather straightforward. The upload took about six minutes. When it finished, Otter.ai produced a rough transcription of the interview. By "rough," I mean that it looked like a simple text file denoting the speakers (in this case, myself and the interviewee)in the interview. However, after some time, Otter produced a cleaner version that appeared like a group text chat, with different speakers having their own color avatar bubbles. Otter.ai even produced a summary of the interview, which is very helpful for detailing the most important points. One interesting aspect of the interview I conducted was that it was with Japanese speakers. Since Otter.ai doesn't yet translate that language, the text it produced was only for what I asked and what the translator translated. However, the program did transcribe the bits of English the Japanese speakers said, which made things a little messier when looking through the transcript. As I mentioned above, the free version of Otter.ai only allows for 30 minutes per conversation. Thankfully, my interview was just shy of 30 minutes, so Otter.ai transcribed the entire conversation. Though the transcription isn't perfect, making minor errors throughout, I found the end result more than satisfying. I still have to edit the interview as I would one I had meticulously written myself. But I was spared the process of actually writing everything out, which is exactly what I wanted from this software. I'm a tech writer, so you might think I regularly use AI for work. While I dabble with the technology when reviewing the best laptops with AI capabilities like the Snapdragon X Elite-powered HP OmniBook X or Dell XPS 13, I don't regularly use AI. It's admittedly a point of pride that I produce work without AI assistance. However, my disdain for transcribing overrides my hesitation to use AI -- hence why I gave Otter.ai a shot to transcribe an interview. And I'm glad I did. Will I continue using Otter.ai to help me transcribe interviews and will I recommend it to others? Absolutely. Otter.ai will make my life much easier, which is exactly what AI has been promising. If you're like me and somewhat skeptical about AI, I suggest you give Otter.ai a shot if you need something transcribed. I promise you won't regret it.

Otter.ai launches three AI agents for meetings, including a voice-activated Meeting Agent, Sales Agent, and SDR Agent, aiming to enhance productivity and automate various aspects of virtual collaboration.