

Other video conferencing platforms, such as Microsoft Teams which introduced a live captions feature at the end of last year, already have similar functions, suggesting that platforms are seeking to expand their offerings at a time when user numbers are spiking. In order to use the Otter.ai integration, users will need to connect Otter to Zoom and then can start Otter Live Transcribe while in the Zoom app. The feature will also include collaborative note-taking so participants can access and review meeting notes. Live Video Meeting Notes is included in the Otter for Teams plan with no additional fees, and will mean that meeting hosts can provide text transcriptions for participants.

Otter has collaborated with video conferencing platform Zoom to enable meetings to be transcribed in real time, designed to help those who “increasingly struggle to listen and pay attention while taking notes”. Otter Live Notes for Zoom has proven particular popular during lockdown, enabling meeting participants to open a live transcript directly from Zoom then view, highlight, comment and add photos to create meeting notes collaboratively. For example, Google has made access to advanced Hangouts Meet video conferencing available to all G Suite and G Suite for Education users for free and Microsoft is offering a free six-month trial of its premium Teams chat app. As a result, many companies in this area are offering free features to users.
