Table of contents
- Step 1: Sign up for an Otter account
- Step 2: Download Otter's mobile app
- Step 3: Get to know Otter
- Step 4: Train Otter to recognize your voice
- Step 5: Manage custom words or phrases to increase accuracy
- Step 6: Extend your account with connected apps and services
- Video conferencing for remote working and accessibility
- Need additional help?
With Otter, you'll be able to create and collaborate on transcriptions to get work done faster and be more productive. Our What is Otter? article and demo will help you learn the basics of how Otter works. Once you’ve checked those out, read on to learn more about downloading the Otter mobile app, creating and sharing conversations, connecting to third-party apps, and more. Let's get started!
Note: You can use Otter with a limited number of features for free with the Basic plan, but if you need more, we offer two paid plans (Pro and Business). Learn more about Otter's plans and features.
Step 1: Sign up for an Otter account
First, sign up for an Otter account. We'll ask you to verify your email by sending a validation link to your email address. You will need to verify your email before being able to use Otter and any of its features.
Note: Please check your spam or junk folder if you have not received the verification email yet. We recommend adding Otter.ai as a contact to ensure emails are delivered to your inbox.
Step 2: Download Otter's mobile app
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Step 3: Get to know Otter
Let's explore the different parts of Otter!
A. Record & transcribe a conversation
Record a conversation in Otter using the record button in the top right. On your mobile device, tap 
. Otter will begin transcribing your voice and show the transcription in real-time. You can share the conversation with someone or a Channel; add a photo, comment, assign tasks, and highlight within the transcript; and present the real-time transcription on a full screen.
Otter can also transcribe online meetings, webinars, and virtual events.
Learn more about:
- Takeaways
- Automatic Summary
- Automatic Slide Capture
- Recording conversations
- Transcribing an online meeting, webinar, or event
- Transcribing a recorded conversation
B. Import an audio or video file
Otter allows you to import existing audio or video files for transcription.
- Click the Import in the top right. On your mobile device, tap
. - Select a file to import.
- The file will upload to Otter and transcribe the voice audio.
Learn more about importing an audio or video file.
C. My Conversations
Find conversations you've recorded or imported in My Conversations. Then, share a conversation with someone or a Channel.
D. Shared Conversations
You can find conversations that others have shared with you in Shared with Me.
Note: You cannot delete conversations that are shared with you.
E. Channels
A Channel is a set of people with who you often share a conversation with such as teammates, classmates, etc. When you share a conversation with a Channel, everyone in the Channel will have access to the conversation and be notified via email and push notification. This saves time by not having to enter the names of each person individually.
💡 Pro Tip: Automatically share a conversation with a Channel by navigating to a Channel, and then click Start recording. Your Channel will receive a notification when the recording starts with a link to the transcription.
F. Folders
You can organize your conversations by creating folders within your Otter account to help you find them more easily.
Learn how to create a folder and move a conversation to a folder.
G. Account profile and settings
To update the basic info in your profile and change your settings, click your profile photo or initial in the top left > Account Settings.
The account settings page enables you to configure and manage your account. Here are some of the things you can do:
- Update your profile photo, email, and password.
- Add custom vocabularies such as acronyms, names, product terms, or jargon that are unique to your organization to increase accuracy.
- Manage your Otter subscription and payment details.
- Connect apps and services to centralize and streamline your workflows.
- Manage notifications to keep you informed about things that need your attention and how to customize them to suit your needs.
H. View upcoming meetings
With the Otter for Google and Microsoft calendar add-on, you can view upcoming meetings and receive reminder notifications.
Connect your calendar to Otter from the Apps page.
I. View recent activity
The recent activity is a feed on your Otter homepage is your first stop to find content that matters from people who matter to you. You can view conversations and updates from your team in the feed and easily share them with others.
Step 4: Train Otter to recognize who is speaking
Train Otter to recognize your voice and others, to automatically tag speaker names within the transcript.
Learn more about adding speaker names to a conversation.
Step 5: Manage custom words or phrases to increase accuracy
You can teach Otter jargon, names, and any other vocabulary words you choose to increase the accuracy of Otter, becoming the AI assistant you've always wanted. With the Otter Business plan, you can share terms with team members.
Learn more about custom vocabulary.
Note: This feature is available with the Pro plan or higher.
Step 6: Extend your account with connected apps and services
Apps connect your Otter account with the tools and services you use every day. Click Apps in the left navigation menu to see the available apps.
Connect your calendars and contacts to Otter to centralize and streamline their work. You can also connect apps such as Dropbox and Zoom to improve collaboration and save time.
Learn more about connected apps and services.
Video conferencing for remote working and accessibility
Many of us are remote workers for the time being, and phone/video remains an important tool for daily work communication. Video conferencing solutions such as Zoom have become a key component of people's daily workflow. Additionally, we strive to ensure that people of all abilities can meet and collaborate with one another.
Therefore, we introduced an integration with Zoom ("Otter Live Notes") to improve remote working productivity and enhance the meeting experience for those with accessibility needs. Otter Live Notes automatically starts recording and transcribing when the Zoom meeting begins and enables participants to view a real-time transcription and captioning so they can follow along.
Learn more about enabling real-time transcriptions in Zoom and syncing Zoom cloud recordings with Otter.
Note: Otter Live Notes is only available on the Otter Business plan.
Need additional help?
You're bound to have questions and we're here to help! Explore our Help Center for commonly asked questions, in-depth guides, and troubleshooting tips. Or contact our support team with questions.