What Is Otter.ai and How to Use It for Your Small Business

If you often find yourself typing furiously during client calls or struggling to remember what was said in a meeting, Otter.ai can feel like a personal assistant that never misses a word.

It is an AI-powered transcription tool that automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings or interviews in real time and can be a real productivity booster for small businesses, helping you capture ideas and meetings accurately without breaking focus.

But it’s also a tool that needs to be used carefully, especially when it’s connected to your calendar or used in shared spaces.

If you are a small business owner who considers using it, just make sure you understand what it records, how it connects to your tools, and how to control its access.

What Is Otter.ai?

Otter.ai is an AI-powered transcription and note-taking tool designed to capture conversations accurately and turn them into searchable text. Created by Otter.ai, Inc. in California, it helps small businesses document what’s said in meetings, calls, and brainstorming sessions — without anyone having to type.

You can use Otter.ai to record video calls, in-person discussions, lectures, or interviews. As it listens, it automatically generates a transcript you can later edit, search, or share with your team. The app also recognizes speakers and highlights key phrases, making it easier to review who said what and when.

Otter.ai works with all major meeting platforms — Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex — and connects to tools like Google Calendar and Outlook, allowing it to join your scheduled meetings and start taking notes automatically.

How Otter.ai Works

It combines speech recognition and artificial intelligence to turn spoken conversations into accurate, time-stamped text.

Once the meeting begins, Otter.ai listens in real time, transcribing what’s said as it happens. When the session ends, Otter.ai automatically saves the transcript in your account, ready for review. You can:

Edit the text to correct names or phrases.
Add highlights and comments to mark important decisions.
Share the transcript with teammates or clients who couldn’t attend.

Otter.ai’s built-in AI summary tools go a step further by identifying the main themes, action points, and decisions discussed during the meeting. That means you don’t have to spend time creating separate notes — they’re generated for you, neatly organized, and easy to revisit later.

The platform also supports search across all your transcripts, so if you need to find where a specific topic or commitment was discussed, you can locate it in seconds. For small businesses managing multiple clients or projects, this level of organization can make follow-ups and documentation far more efficient.

Why Small Businesses Use Otter.ai

For very small businesses or solo entrepreneurs, time and clarity are everything. Otter.ai helps you:

• Stay focused during meetings instead of worrying about taking notes.

• Keep accurate records of client conversations or project briefings.

• Save time writing summaries or reports after meetings.

• Collaborate easily — your team can highlight key moments and add comments directly in the transcript.

• Improve accessibility for teammates or clients who prefer reading over listening.

Writers, marketers, consultants, and coaches often use Otter.ai to record interviews, brainstorms, or training sessions — anything that involves lots of talking and idea sharing.

How to Create an Otter.ai Business Account

Otter.ai Business is designed for teams that need shared access, user management, and consistent meeting documentation. It brings all of Otter.ai’s transcription and collaboration features into one secure workspace for small and medium-sized businesses.

How to upgrade an existing account

If you’re already using Otter.ai, you can switch to a Business plan in just a few steps:

Sign in to your Otter.ai account.
Click your profile name in the top-left corner and choose Create Team or Upgrade Plan.
Use your work email address and the legal name of your organization to complete the setup.

How to create a new account

If you’re new to Otter.ai:

Visit the Otter.ai pricing page and click Get Started under the Business plan.
Enter your work email address and your organization’s official name.
Once you’re in, you can invite teammates, share meeting transcripts, and manage permissions from one dashboard.

How Much Does Otter.ai Cost? Free vs. Paid Plans

Otter.ai offers several pricing options depending on how much you use it and how many people are on your team.

The Free plan gives you up to 300 minutes of transcription per month, with a limit on how long each recording can be. It’s enough to test the app or handle occasional meetings.

The Paid plans — Pro, Business, and Enterprise — increase those limits and unlock features built for regular or team use. With these plans, you get: shared workspaces for collaboration, advanced search and export tools, automatic summaries and outlines and custom vocabulary for specialized terms.

For small businesses, the Business plan starts at $20 per user per month (billed annually). It includes more transcription minutes, admin controls, reporting tools, and analytics to track usage across the team.

Larger companies can choose the Enterprise plan, which offers custom pricing and adds organization-wide management, enhanced security, and video replay features.

For most small teams, the Pro or Business plan strikes the right balance between cost and capability — giving you full meeting documentation without needing enterprise-level infrastructure.

Privacy and Security Considerations

Because Otter.ai connects to your meeting links and can auto-join calls, it’s important to control when and where it records. If left connected to your calendar, Otter.ai may automatically show up in future meetings, even ones you didn’t intend to record.

To avoid surprises:

Review Otter.ai Assistant settings and turn off auto-join if you don’t want it attending all meetings.
Regularly check your connected apps (Zoom, Google Calendar, Outlook) and disconnect Otter.ai when not needed.
Make sure everyone in the meeting knows if you’re recording or transcribing — it’s both ethical and required in some regions. Only record meetings with everyone’s consent.
Review sharing settings: Choose who can view or edit transcripts, and disable public sharing if not needed.
Protect your account: Enable two-factor authentication, use a strong, unique password, and regularly review connected apps.
Delete old data: Remove recordings or transcripts you no longer need to reduce risk exposure.

Related: Otter.ai Keeps Joining Your Meetings Uninvited? Here’s How to Make It Stop

• Combine Otter.ai with a reliable cybersecurity solution to protect against breaches, phishing links, or unauthorized access.

For example, Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security can help keep your work environment safe by protecting your devices, emails, and cloud data from attacks or leaks. Its Phishing and Email Protection blocks fake meeting links, and Scam Copilot detects suspicious messages before you click.

Try Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security free for 30 days.

FAQs

Is Otter.ai safe for business use?

Otter.ai uses encryption to protect your recordings and transcripts, and it complies with standard privacy and security practices. However, the safety of your information also depends on how you use it. Always record with consent, review sharing settings, and protect your account with two-factor authentication. For extra protection, consider pairing Otter.ai with a trusted cybersecurity solution like Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security to secure your devices and cloud data from phishing or unauthorized access.

How do I prevent Otter.ai from joining Teams meetings automatically?

If Otter.ai is connected to your calendar, it can auto-join meetings to take notes. To stop that, go to Settings → Otter Assistant and turn off Auto-join meetings. You can also disconnect your calendar integration or remove Otter.ai’s access from your Microsoft account if you prefer to join manually.

Can you use Otter.ai without anyone knowing?

No — and you shouldn’t try to. Transparency is key when recording. All participants should be aware and give consent before a meeting is transcribed. Secretly recording without permission may violate privacy laws or workplace policies.

Can the Otter.ai Notetaker join anonymously without others seeing it?

No. The Notetaker (or Otter Assistant) always appears in the meeting as a visible guest participant. Everyone in the call can see that Otter.ai is present. The company recommends obtaining consent and following your local laws about meeting recordings, as stated in its Terms of Service.

What are the downsides of Otter.ai?

Otter.ai is a strong transcription tool, but it does have limits. It doesn’t record video, speaker identification isn’t always perfect, and it currently supports only a few languages. The transcription accuracy also depends on audio quality, accents, and background noise.

How long can I use Otter.ai for free?

The Free plan gives you up to 300 minutes of transcription per month, with a 30-minute limit per recording. It includes basic features like live transcription, real-time summaries, and slide capture. Once you reach the monthly limit, you’ll need to upgrade to continue recording.