Otter AI Overview: Helpful Instruments, Messy Transcripts

Table of Contents

Toggle

Execs

• Simple to report and edit transcripts
• Audio and textual content are linked in transcripts
• Gen AI chat software nice for catching up, producing summaries and itemizing motion gadgets

Cons

• Restricted recording time and uploads in each plan (besides enterprise)
• Transcript errors

Otter.ai desires to be your work bestie. The one you privately DM throughout a gathering and ask “Wait, what simply occurred?” and whose notes you borrow if you miss a gathering.

I have been utilizing Otter for years, and the AI software is a one-stop store for recording, transcribing and summarizing conferences. Otter has made many enhancements since I began utilizing it, making it simpler to report and edit transcripts and making a gen AI-powered chatbot that helps you discover crucial info shared throughout conferences. However like all AI-powered service, it has wonky moments and peculiarities.

When you’re out there for a gathering assistant, Otter is a powerful candidate. You may get probably the most worth out of the service in case your calendar is extra meeting-heavy, as Otter helps you observe necessary motion gadgets and choices made in every assembly. When you want solely the occasional recording, the free plan remains to be strong sufficient feature-wise to make it worthwhile. 

How CNET exams AI instruments

CNET takes a sensible strategy to reviewing AI instruments, with the objective of figuring out how good AI is at performing the duty it guarantees to help. These exams fluctuate by software, for instance evaluating the standard of summaries from Otter AI, the assembly assistant we’re reviewing right here, and whether or not AI ideas from Grammarly, a writing assistant, assist the method. We rating the software on a 10-point scale, which considers the general usefulness of the software and whether or not AI improves its effectiveness. See how we take a look at AI for extra.

Nice for enjoying catch-up on missed conferences

You should use Otter as a standalone service or combine it along with your accounts on Slack, Microsoft and Google. When you do combine it along with your calendars, you may simply see all of your conferences for the day within the left aspect menu and resolve which you wish to use Otter to report by simply toggling on and off the microphone widget. Both approach, all it is advisable to do is click on a number of buttons and also you’re able to report; it could not be simpler to navigate and use. In contrast with Zoom and Microsoft Groups, Otter helps you to share recordings fairly painlessly. Nonetheless, it’s possible you’ll not be capable of share recordings with somebody outdoors your group with a enterprise account.

Otter will solely report your audio, not your video. When your assembly is over, Otter will finalize your transcript rapidly. You possibly can tag every speaker with their title, and Otter will robotically replace the transcript to mirror every voice with their assigned title. You do not have to fret about tagging the speaker in each part — often Otter will wrestle to substantiate the voice, however it’s normally fast and straightforward.

One of many good issues about Otter is that the audio of the assembly is mixed with the transcribed textual content. So if you undergo the transcript and click on on one part of the textual content, the audio from that time will play. You possibly can observe together with the textual content because the audio performs. This makes it simple to edit your transcript since you may hear the precise audio you want whereas enhancing the transcript textual content. Different providers like Zoom and Microsoft Groups do not mix the assembly audio with the transcript, so this can be a main perk to utilizing Otter. 

Otter additionally robotically generates a abstract, define and motion gadgets for each assembly. These summaries make it simple to atone for the assignments and essential takeaways with out studying or listening to the total transcript — a good time saver. The one draw back is that after these summaries are created, they cannot be up to date, even in case you return and tag new audio system. I’ve loads of assembly summaries about “Katelyn and Speaker 2” and unassigned motion gadgets, which is annoying. However Otter’s gen AI software can create new assembly summaries and motion gadgets primarily based on the up to date transcript, so there is a workaround for this concern.

However Otter transcripts nonetheless want a very good cleansing

Transcribers in every single place can attest to the truth that making a clear, correct report is a hefty activity. AI-powered providers like Otter do the very best they’ll, but when they don’t seem to be as much as the duty, our pure speech patterns can create a jumble of a transcript. And cleansing up transcripts is painstakingly boring, detailed work. 

Otter transcripts are fairly uncooked. They require a very good little bit of cleansing earlier than you may learn them seamlessly. The problems you run into will rely in your audio system’ pure speech sample, however all through my testing of Otter, I bumped into a number of frequent points. Otter would break up the identical practice of thought from the identical speaker into separate sections. Or it could mix one speaker’s presentation into one big block of textual content. It additionally has a tough time with correct nouns, names and acronyms. 

These are points that each transcription service faces, so I am not anticipating Otter to have solved all of those points. However Otter actually does not get bonus factors for its transcript cleanliness — I’ve needed to manually edit many Otter transcripts, and never only for the occasional mistranslation. They require a very good bit of labor, particularly in case you want precise quotes or a clear doc to share. 

Otter’s transcripts are higher than Zoom’s, however that actually is not saying a lot. Whereas Zoom recordings embrace video, one thing Otter does not do, the uncooked TXT information for Zoom transcripts are a nightmare to wash. Otter is an effective center floor, with the audio linked to the textual content as a simple verification methodology and straightforward enhancing skills. Simply be ready to make use of these options usually to repair transcription errors.

Otter AI Chat cuts by the noise

Is it actually an AI service if it does not have a gen AI chatbot? Don’t fret, Otter has one, appropriately named Otter AI Chat. The function is offered in each Otter plan and analyzes the textual content in your assembly transcript to reply your questions and prompts. It will probably analyze key bulletins, create a listing of assigned duties, isolate last choices and extra. It’s also possible to simply chat with the software utilizing the channel within the aspect menu, however I’ve discovered it is most useful in parsing by a selected recording. 

To begin testing AI Chat, I used an Otter dialog from an interview I did almost a yr in the past. I solely vaguely remembered what we talked about, so I wished to see how properly Otter may jog my reminiscence with out my studying the entire transcript.

Otter AI Chat produces extra helpful assembly summaries than the preliminary ones Otter robotically generates after a recording has ended. It’s because the AI makes use of the newest model of the transcript as its base — no extra “Speaker 2” and unassigned motion gadgets after you’ve got tagged audio system. After I requested AI Chat to offer me a abstract of the assembly, it gave me an in-depth bulleted abstract that nailed all the primary questions I requested and the interviewee’s basic solutions. It was like combining the abstract and description, which was extra useful than both individually. The AI Chat did not embrace any precise quotes, which I’d’ve favored, however it was fairly thorough.

Otter AI Chat can also be nice for reducing by the noise. In a more recent Otter transcript of Disney’s 2024 first quarter earnings name, the automated abstract is stuffed with company buzzwords that do not actually inform me a lot in regards to the firm’s upcoming plans. However once I requested “Otter, what have been the largest bulletins,” I received a listing of the highest 5 upcoming releases and partnerships, most of which have been absent from the unique abstract.

Need to improve? You may nonetheless have limits

Whereas the precise performance and options of Otter are respectable, I take concern with its pricing construction. If I will shell out my hard-earned cash for a premium model of Otter, I feel it is honest to ask for limitless recording minutes and limitless uploads. Sadly, this is not the case. With the Fundamental plan, you get 300 minutes of recording time per 30 days, a 30-minute cut-off for every recording and three alternatives to add an outdoor file for Otter to investigate and transcribe. With the Professional plan beginning at $10 a month, you get 1,200 minutes of recording time, with a 90-minute cutoff for every and 9 free uploads.

Let’s put these numbers into context. The Professional plan presents 1,200 minutes of recording time per 30 days, which is 20 hours. Utilizing 4 weeks per 30 days, that comes out to five hours of recording time per week — which can or will not be sufficient to cowl your wants. With the Fundamental plan, you get 5 hours complete for the month, a bit of greater than an hour per week. However even in case you have leftover time on the finish of the month, it will not carry over to the subsequent.

I do not thoughts a number of inconveniences in alternate for a free service, but when I am paying, I need the coaching wheels taken off. I do not wish to run into paywalls if I am paying for a premium service. Or worse, notice that the top of my assembly did not report or that I’ve to seek out one other option to transcribe an audio file. It is the precept of the matter for me.

If you’d like limitless minutes and uploads, you may want a enterprise or enterprise plan — which then may restrict your capacity to share recordings.

Otter is nice total

Within the years I’ve used Otter, it is made substantial enhancements. There are locations the place Otter knocks its competitors out of the park, like how simple it’s to report conferences and edit transcripts, together with its useful AI Chat. However being the very best in some locations does not make it proof against issues, significantly with transcript accuracy and cleanliness. 

The worth you may discover in Otter relies upon closely on how usually you are in conferences it is advisable to report. When you’re continually booked up — particularly with longer conferences — Otter Professional could be an effective way to make sure you do not forget or miss something. When you want solely the occasional transcript, persist with the free plan. Regardless of your plan, I’d advocate utilizing Otter AI Chat for summaries, outlines and motion gadgets. The preliminary ones populated are good, however the gen AI ones are higher. 

So, ought to Otter turn into your new work bestie? It actually cannot harm. For these unavoidable absences, Otter’s recording, transcription and analyses make it simple to catch up with out listening to the whole recording (… so long as somebody remembers to report the assembly).

Editor’s observe: CNET is utilizing an AI engine to assist create a handful of tales. Evaluations of AI merchandise like this, similar to CNET’s different hands-on critiques, are written by our human crew of in-house consultants. For extra, see CNET’s AI coverage and how we take a look at AI.