Eight Months With Otter.ai

Eight Months With Otter.ai: How an AI Notetaker Transformed My Workflow on a Mac

After eight months of using Otter.ai as my primary meeting assistant, I have reached a point where I cannot imagine managing my working week without it. I adopted the platform because I needed a reliable way to track discussions across multiple projects without juggling note-taking, active listening and participation all at once. As someone who works entirely on a Mac, Otter has fitted almost perfectly into my workflow and has become essential for staying organised and focused.

Before I began using Otter, my meeting notes were a patchwork of half-typed sentences in Notes, Google Docs and email drafts. I often finished calls wondering whether I had missed key points while trying to capture everything in real time. The problem was especially noticeable on fast-moving project meetings where several people were speaking, and actions were agreed within minutes. Otter changed my approach almost immediately. By handling the note-taking for me, it allowed me to stay fully present in conversations without sacrificing accuracy.

On a Mac, the experience feels natural. Most of my meetings take place through Zoom, Teams or Google Meet in the browser, and Otter integrates cleanly in the background. Once enabled, it listens, transcribes and produces a full written record that I can review as soon as the meeting finishes. What I value most is that I can stay focused on the discussion while knowing that nothing is being lost. In meetings where detail matters, that reassurance is invaluable.

The transcripts themselves are easy to work with. I review them on my Mac, scrolling through timestamped sections and checking speaker labels, which usually identify who was talking at any moment. The search function has been a game changer. When I need to revisit a decision, clarify a point or prepare a summary, I can find the relevant section instantly. Otter also produces a brief automatic summary and highlights potential action items. These summaries have become my first point of reference after a meeting, and they help speed up follow-up work significantly.

One of the biggest advantages has been the cross-device flexibility. I often switch between my Mac and my iPhone throughout the day, and Otter keeps everything synced. If I am away from my desk and need to check what was said in a meeting earlier that morning, I can read the transcript on my phone. For someone who travels often or juggles back-to-back calls, this access to a portable, searchable record is extremely useful.

However, no transcription tool is perfect, and my experience aligns closely with what many reviewers online have noted. Accuracy depends heavily on audio quality. In one-to-one meetings or clear conference calls, Otter performs very well. In busier meetings with overlapping voices, heavy accents or background noise, mistakes do appear. On my MacBook the built-in microphone is adequate, but the output improves noticeably when I use AirPods or an external microphone. I now treat the transcript as a detailed reference rather than a flawless record, which is a healthy balance.

Privacy is another area that requires awareness. Recording calls means I must ask participants for permission, especially when working with clients or external partners. Some people are comfortable with the idea, others prefer not to be recorded. Otter handles the mechanics smoothly, but the responsibility rests with me to ensure compliance with expectations and policies. This is not a fault of the tool, but it does influence when and how I use it.

The only real limitation for me as a Mac user is the lack of a comprehensive native macOS app. Otter runs perfectly well in the browser, but I sometimes wish for a dedicated application with deeper Mac integration, offline access and more refined keyboard control. Uploading pre-recorded audio is straightforward, but it still requires a few extra steps compared with a truly native workflow. Even so, these are enhancements rather than essential missing features.

Despite those limitations, Otter has had a meaningful impact on the quality and efficiency of my work. It reduces the mental load of meetings and makes it easier to stay engaged. It creates a consistent, searchable record of decisions and discussions. It cuts meeting administration time and improves follow-through. In a world where information moves quickly and meetings can dominate the week, that support is significant.

After eight months, I would describe Otter not as a luxury but as a practical tool that delivers measurable value. It enhances clarity, improves productivity and reduces the risk of misunderstanding. For anyone using a Mac who spends a large part of their working life in calls, Otter.ai is one of the few tools I can genuinely say has changed the way I work for the better.