Otter.aiReviews of otter.ai

Worst customer service experience of the last few years. I have requested several weeks ago to cancel our subscription (can’t do it through the system) and only received automated responses. I have opened several tickets and the subscription is still not cancelled and there’s an automatic renewal set up. When finally someone got in touch weeks later, they still have not actioned it or got back to me. Unbelievable.

Unauthorised charges. Also it doesn't work properly.

I made a one time purchase more than two years ago of a one year access for over $100. I ensured it was a one time purchase because I only needed it for a few sermon MP3 files I wanted transcribed. It was a good system at the time and the price was right. Not any more! A couple of weeks ago I discovered that they have been charging me $35 a month for who knows how long, never authorized them to do so, AND THE PLAN THEY ENROLLED ME IN WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THAN THE ONE I PAID FOR! I found the original email showing my first and only authorized purchase, customerservice@ and when I replied it kicked back. I called the number showing for the vendor on the Amex website and got a recording that the number is disconnected. Amex wants me to research and provide all documentation to cancel out the few charges I still can. I reported the card lost to get it cancelled and replaced. I don't understand how people like this sleep at night.

Pros: Otter is mostly accurate for clear audio from native speakers with standard accents when especially when recording live events and meetings. It also integrates with Zoom, Outlook, and Google Calendar. The Tagging and Annotation is a nice feature, which allows users to tag speakers, add comments, and highlight text, enhancing organization and analysis of transcripts. The ability to put audios in folders helps with organizing transcripts effectively. The new AI chat feature allows users to ask questions about the recording, speakers, and request analysis of the content. It also Provides an automatic summary of the audio, saving time on reviews. **Cons:** Accuracy Issues with Accents:Struggles with diverse accents, non-native speakers, and even some native English speakers with slight variations. I had several two-hour recording of someone speaking English with an accent, and the transcriptions were full of errors. It took me several hours to edit, and in the end, I had to abandon the editing process. The duration of the task was lengthened because I had to stop, pause, and start the recording manually for each incorrect transcription with my hands. A professional human transcriber would have the proper tools to make this process much easier. Expensive Paid Plans: Full features require pricey subscriptions. Recording Limitations: Despite the £130 annual cost , paid plans restrict users to a maximum of 90 minutes per recording and 1200 minutes per month, which is insufficient for me, with my average lectures being two hours. Cumbersome Error Correction: While users can edit transcriptions to correct errors, as mentioned above the process is not convenient or smooth. Lack of Human Transcription Option: No option to have inaccurate transcriptions reviewed and corrected by human transcribers, which would be valuable given the price point. Pricing: The paid plan costs £130 per year, which may be steep considering the recording limitations and lack of human transcription options. **Overall:** Otter.ai offers a robust set of features including real-time transcription, organizational tools, and advanced AI capabilities like chat and automatic summaries. These additions significantly enhance its value for content analysis and review. However, accuracy issues with diverse speech patterns, recording limitations, and the lack of smooth error correction options pose significant challenges, especially considering the price point. It excels for users working primarily with standard English speakers and shorter recordings but may frustrate those dealing with varied accents, non-native English speakers, or those needing to transcribe longer or more frequent recordings. Improvement needed: Increased recording limitations. I have Lectures that are two hours long, in order to record those, as a student I would need a business plan. Improve accuracy issues with diverse accents, or/and Implement a feature where people can request a human transcriber to edit recordings. Recommendation: Users requiring high accuracy across diverse speech patterns, a service with human transcription might be more suitable than otter.

I downloaded this app on my phone and logged in using Google, after that, I no longer checked that. Two weeks later, I had an interview with a top finance company based in London, this app sneaked into our meeting room without permission, recorded our meeting without authorisation, and spread the recording of the interview with the analysis of everyone’s behaviour to everyone using my name (i.e. xx via Otter) including all interviewers and HRs!!! That’s totally unacceptable. That led me to lose the opportunity to get into my dream company. Avoid this unethical app at all costs!

Watch out for hidden, undisclosed charges that appear without warning! Otter's default settings will send invites to other people that join your calls, pestering them on a daily basis to join a 'workspace' with you. The emails encouraging people to join don't tell them there will be charges, and the account sharing the recordings (which apparently acts as an invite to join a workspace) doesn't get any kind of warning that they run the risk of incurring new costs if anyone 'accepts'. Workspace joiners are given 'free trials' but despite the dozens of harassing emails you'll get telling you to join a workspace, Otter apparently can't spare a single email to warn you in advance that your trial is ending and your account is about to charge your colleague for a whole new subscription. It also doesn't tell the person who sent the invites that this is happening. There are laws about hidden fees and lack of fee transparency, but Otter don't seem to be worried about that. The transcriptions aren't particularly great but they are better than nothing - however, they're only worth it if you pay the price you're expecting to pay. At the extortionate additional cost you're likely to incur due to their deliberate obfuscation of the payment details, you are much better off avoiding this tool.

Terrible service. There is no customer service. They don't reply to any emails if you have a question (I have sent two). I will not be using again.

Signed up and paid for the annual bill a few months back for my personal use and suddenly I am charged for 7 users accounts! How can I not be notified? Contacted them and no one replied. This is ridiculous. Why am I paying for other users on my account?