Otter Meeting Agent

Getting Started

Otter Meeting Agent is an AI-powered notetaking tool that automatically transcribes, summarizes, and extracts action items from your meetings, interviews, and lectures. It lets you focus on the conversation while it captures every detail, identifies speakers, and generates searchable notes. This guide is for professionals, students, journalists, and remote workers who want to save time, improve recall, and stay organized.

Setup & Registration

1. Create an account – Go to otter.ai and sign up with your email, Google, or Microsoft account. A free tier (Otter Basic) is available with 300 minutes of transcription per month.
2. Verify your email – Check your inbox and click the verification link. No additional wait time is needed; you can start using Otter immediately.
3. Connect your calendar – To automatically join meetings, go to Settings > Integrations and connect your Google Calendar or Microsoft 365 calendar. This lets Otter automatically detect and join your scheduled meetings.
4. Install the mobile app (optional) – Download Otter for iOS or Android from the app store to record live conversations on the go.

Your First Use – Recording a Meeting

After setting up your account, the easiest way to start is by recording a test meeting using the Otter web app or browser extension.

Example: Using Otter with Zoom (manual recording)

1. Open your Zoom meeting as usual.
2. Open Otter in a separate browser tab at otter.ai and click Record (the red microphone icon).
3. In the pop-up, select Record from this tab or Record from computer audio (depending on your setup). Otter will capture the meeting audio.
4. When the meeting ends, click Stop in Otter. The transcription is automatically saved to your Otter account.

Expected output: A few seconds after stopping, you’ll see a new note titled with the date and time. It contains:

• A full word-for-word transcript with speaker labels (e.g., "Speaker 1: Let's discuss the Q3 budget.")
• An AI-generated summary at the top (bullet points of key topics)
• Action items highlighted in the transcript (e.g., "Action: John to send the report by Friday.")

Example: Automated recording via Google Calendar

1. After connecting your calendar, Otter will automatically join any meeting that includes a join link (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, etc.). You’ll receive a confirmation email.
2. Attend the meeting normally. Otter runs silently in the background.
3. After the meeting, the note appears in your Otter dashboard within minutes. No manual steps needed.

Common Use Cases

1. Interview Transcription

Record interviews with Otter on your phone or laptop. Afterward, search the transcript for keywords like "budget" or "deadline" to quickly find key quotes. Share the note with your team via a link.

2. Lecture or Conference Notes

Use Otter to record a lecture. The AI summary gives you a digest of the main points. You can export the transcript as a PDF or Word document for future study.

3. Team Meeting Action Tracking

Connect Otter to your team’s recurring stand-ups. It automatically identifies action items (e.g., "Action: Sarah to update the roadmap"). Use the Highlights feature to pin these items and share them with your team afterward.

Tips & Best Practices

• Stay within free tier limits: The free Otter Basic plan gives 300 minutes of transcription per month. To avoid hitting the cap, stop recording when not needed, and delete old notes you no longer need. Upgrade to Otter Pro ($16.99/month) for 1,200 minutes and advanced features like custom vocabulary.
• Common pitfalls to avoid:

- Background noise – Otter works best with clear audio. Use a good microphone and avoid noisy environments.

- Overlapping speech – If multiple people talk at once, Otter may miss lines. Encourage turn-taking for best accuracy.

- Forgetting to connect your calendar – Without calendar integration, Otter won’t auto-join meetings. Double-check your settings before important calls.

• Performance optimization tips:

- Use speaker labels – In Otter, you can rename speakers (e.g., "John" instead of "Speaker 1") by clicking on the label in the transcript.

- Set custom vocabulary – In Settings, add industry jargon, product names, or acronyms (e.g., "Q3 forecast") to improve transcription accuracy.

- Tag notes with keywords – After a meeting, add tags like "#marketing" or "#client" to organize notes for easy searching later.

For more details, visit the Otter Help Center.