Company says its new assistant could cure ‘Zoom fatigue’

Otter.ai, the AI-based transcription platform, has launched a service where a bot can join a Zoom meeting to take notes on a user’s behalf if they are unable to attend.

Otter Assistant automatically joins a meeting, records it and takes notes, with participants able to review the dictation at a convenient time.

For $20 per user per month, professionals would gain access to the service which is advertised as being able to contend with custom vocabulary, including names, acronyms, and specific jargon.

“As virtual meetings persist, we need a way to make them more productive and collaborative and to alleviate Zoom gloom,” Sam Liang, co-founder of Otter.ai, said.

“Now, through the power of artificial intelligence, you can send your Otter Assistant to meetings on your behalf so you can focus on what’s most relevant without worrying about missing anything. There has never been an easier way to share meeting content.”

Send in the Otter

Otter.ai claims the new service “increases meeting productivity, work-life balance and combats Zoom fatigue.”

Around 40 percent of remote workers in the US and UK who responded to a joint survey from Otter.ai and YouGov said they’ve experienced Zoom fatigue since the onset of the pandemic.

Post-meeting, Otter.ai’s web app and mobile apps on iOS and Android enable users to highlight relevant text, share, add images, search by keyword, and review transcripts.

The company released an instructional video showing how to use its Assistant product, as well as a second video showing how to add comments and share meeting notes.

“Now, whether users are running late, have to step away for a moment and can’t attend, need to participate for a portion of a meeting, or just want to focus on the discussion vs notetaking, Otter Assistant is on the job to record, transcribe and share notes, making meetings more productive,” the company’s announcement stated.

Otter.ai — a favorite among journalists and content creators, raised $50 million as part of its Series B funding round back in March.

The company did launch a service specifically tailored for events midway through last year, with its language processing tech able to capture conversations on the stage and turn them into accurate, interactive transcripts in real time.