What Is Otter.ai
Otter.ai is a tool that transcribes meeting audio in real time and even produces summaries and task extraction. It's strong for English meetings and integrates with Zoom / Google Meet / Microsoft Teams, so it's often used for minutes of meetings that include overseas members. It also supports Japanese. This article walks a first-timer through account creation, pricing, the 3 ways to use it, Japanese accuracy, and privacy.
How to Create an Account
- Go to otter.ai
- Register with a Google / Microsoft account or email
- You can start from the free plan
Pricing (Rough Guide as of May 2026)
Plans and prices change often, so always check the official site for the latest before subscribing. The rough 2026 structure is as follows.
| Plan | Monthly guide | Main content |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (Free) | USD 0 | Up to 300 min/mo, up to 30 min/conversation, file imports limited to 3 lifetime |
| Pro | ~USD 8/mo annual (~USD 17/mo monthly) | 1,200 min/mo, 90 min/conversation, 10 file imports/mo |
| Business | ~USD 20–30/user/mo (cheaper annual) | Effectively unlimited meeting transcription, admin features, long conversations |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Enterprise features like SSO / audit |
Discounts for students/teachers may be offered. The free tier's "3 file imports" is a lifetime count, not monthly, so people who want to process many recording files should consider paid early.
3 Ways to Use It
1. Auto-Join Meetings (Otter Assistant)
Linked to your calendar, Otter auto-joins meetings and records, then emails the transcription/summary after. Good for turning daily recurring meetings entirely into minutes.
2. Upload a Recording File
Upload an already-recorded MP3 / WAV / MP4 and it's transcribed in minutes.
3. Transcribe in Real Time
Start recording in the phone app and text appears as you speak. Handy for in-person meetings.
Main Features
- Speaker identification: auto-separates who said what
- Keyword extraction: picks up "action," "decision," etc.
- AI summary: auto-generated after the meeting and emailed
- Ask the AI: ask past meetings "what were the key points of last week's marketing meeting?"
- Full-text search: search across past conversations
How Good Is Japanese Accuracy
Otter supports Japanese, but jargon and names tend to be misrecognized more than in English. Reading proper nouns aloud at the meeting start to train it improves accuracy. If your meetings are mainly Japanese, consider tools like Notta covered in this chapter's "tl;dv / Notta / Fireflies Comparison." In short, it's strong for English/global meetings; for Japanese-only, comparing with other tools is realistic.
Integration with Zoom / Teams / Meet
- Zoom: add Otter from the App Marketplace; a bot joins the meeting
- Microsoft Teams: invite to the meeting after admin approval
- Google Meet: a Chrome extension shows transcription in a side panel
Privacy and Cautions in Client Work
- Announce "I'll record with Otter" at the meeting start (especially with external participants)
- Conversations can be set shared / not shared and deleted manually anytime
- Before using in client meetings, confirm their consent and the NDA scope
- Data training use and region handling differ by plan, so check the latest official terms
Common Misunderstandings
- "Transcription is perfect": assume jargon/proper nouns are misrecognized and have a human check before distribution
- "Free runs unlimited meetings": free has limits—300 min/mo, 30 min/conversation, 3 lifetime file imports
- "Confidential meetings are fine as is": if non-public info is involved, check terms and plan conditions, and use another method (local transcription) if needed
The next article compares tl;dv / Notta / Fireflies, which suit Japanese meetings.
