Otter
Live transcription, meeting notes and AI summaries for calls, lectures and interviews
by Otter.ai, Inc. · listed Nov 13, 2026
Quick verdict
One of the most practical ways to get searchable transcripts and meeting summaries on your phone. The free plan is enough to try it out, but regular users will likely end up paying.
Best for Students, journalists and teams who want live transcripts and automatic summaries of meetings and lectures
Reviewed by AppsPicks on Nov 13, 2026. How we review
Otter review
Otter records speech and turns it into searchable text as people talk. It handles in-person conversations through your phone's mic and can join Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls to take notes automatically. Afterwards it produces a summary, and you can ask its AI chat questions about a meeting or have it draft a follow-up email. It suits students recording lectures, journalists doing interviews and teams that want shared notes without assigning a note-taker.
In daily use you tap record and watch the transcript build in near real time. You can highlight lines as they appear, snap photos of slides or a whiteboard into the notes, and scroll back to grab a quote. Transcripts sync to the web app, where editing and exporting are easier than on a phone screen. Sharing a conversation with colleagues takes a couple of taps.
Why we picked it: Live transcription plus automatic meeting summaries in one app, with notes that stay searchable across every recording.
Watch out for: Live transcription needs an internet connection, the free plan limits how much you can record, and language support is narrow, mainly English, Spanish and French.
What we like
- Transcribes in near real time while you record
- Joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls to take notes automatically
- AI summaries and chat for questions about past meetings
- Photos of slides and whiteboards can be added to transcripts
- Notes sync with the web app for editing, sharing and export
What could be better
- Real-time transcription only works when online
- Free plan has recording limits, with heavier use behind a paid plan
- Supports only a handful of languages
- Recording conversations raises consent and privacy questions you need to handle
Questions about Otter
Is Otter free?
The app is free to download and has a basic free plan. Longer recording time and more advanced features require a paid subscription bought in the app or on the web.
Which platforms does it run on?
Otter is available on iPhone and Android, and there is also a web app that syncs with your mobile recordings.
Does it work offline?
You can record without a connection, but live transcription happens online, so text appears only when you have internet access.
What languages does it support?
It focuses on English, Spanish and French, with the App Store listing also mentioning Japanese. It is not a good fit if you need many other languages.
What are the alternatives?
Built-in transcription in tools like Microsoft Teams or Zoom covers basic meeting notes, and apps such as Fireflies.ai or Notta offer similar AI note-taking.
From the developer: how Otter describes itself
Never take meeting notes again. Otter AI is the fastest way to transcribe voice in real time. Get a meeting assistant that records audio, writes notes, automatically captures slides, and generates summaries.
Available in English, Spanish, French and Japanese. Otter AI is also available on the web. Start for free.
Trusted by over 10 million people and featured by Apple as "App of the Day" and "Editors' Choice."
Automated meeting notes for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and more. Stay connected and collaborative when you work from home.
Otter transcribes all your meetings, interviews, lectures, and everyday voice conversations in real time, so you can focus on the discussion.
KEY FEATURES • AI Meeting Assistant: get automated meeting notes & summaries • AI Chat: get answers and generate content • AI Channels: combine live conversations with async updates. Chat with teammates. • Record & transcribe live • Automated meeting notes & summaries • Share & collaborate • All notes are searchable & shareable • Edit & highlight • Organize & export • Import & sync
Looking for a specific feature? Here are the details:
RECORD & TRANSCRIBE LIVE • Instantly record in one tap • Transcribe in real time • Highlight key points to review later • Insert photos of whiteboard discussions, slides, etc. • Input audio via built-in mic or Bluetooth device
ENRICH NOTES WITH AI • Gather information across all your conversations • Ask questions about a specific meeting • Generate follow- up emails • Automated Slide Capture during virtual meetings • Generate summary, outline and keywords after all meetings • Punctuate, capitalize, and break paragraphs automatically
SHARE & COLLABORATE • Invite group members to view, edit, and highlight collaboratively • Add comments and assign action items • Share links externally
SEARCH & PLAYBACK • Search the text so you don't have to scrub through the whole audio • Playback at adjustable speeds • Follow along the highlighted word as the audio is playing • Tap on any word to jump the audio to that spot
EDIT & HIGHLIGHT • Edit the text to correct any errors • Tag the speakers to label the paragraphs and train Otter to identify speakers too • Highlight sentences in one tap
Text from the app store listing, quoted for reference. Our own take is above.
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