Day 1 – Monday Morning Meeting
The week started with our usual Monday team sync. Normally, I’d have one ear on the discussion and the other on typing notes in a Google Doc. This time, I just opened Otter.ai on my laptop, hit “Record,” and forgot about it. By the end of the call, I had a clean transcript with speaker labels. No scrambling, no “Wait, what did they say again?”
Day 2 – Client Interview
I tried Otter on my phone while interviewing a client for a case study. The app picked up both our voices clearly, even though we were in a noisy café. What impressed me was how fast it processed the recording—less than two minutes after we wrapped, I had the full transcript. I highlighted the best quotes in-app, which saved me from digging through the entire conversation later.
Day 3 – Brainstorming Session
We had a chaotic, idea-heavy brainstorming session in the office. People talked over each other, switched topics, and tossed out half-finished thoughts. Otter’s transcript wasn’t perfect here—it struggled with overlapping voices—but it still caught enough that I could piece together the key points. The search function was a lifesaver when I needed to find that one idea about “expanding into Asia” without replaying the whole meeting.
Day 4 – Quick Voice Memos
Instead of jotting ideas in my phone’s Notes app, I started using Otter to record short voice memos. I’d say a few lines about a new content strategy, and Otter would instantly transcribe them. It even suggested related keywords I could use later when building my editorial calendar.
Day 5 – Team Workshop
During our training workshop, I shared the live transcript link with everyone. As the trainer spoke, team members could see the text appear in real time on their laptops. Some even added comments directly to the transcript. This collaborative aspect wasn’t something I expected to use, but it turned out to be incredibly helpful for engagement.
Day 6 – Catching Up on Missed Calls
I missed a partner meeting while traveling. Normally, I’d rely on someone’s rough notes, but this time they recorded the call in Otter and shared it with me. I skimmed the transcript in ten minutes and felt fully caught up, no playback needed.
Day 7 – Wrapping Up
After a week, Otter.ai has become more than just a transcription tool for me—it’s a way to stay present in conversations without worrying about missing details. It’s not flawless with heavy cross-talk, and you’ll still need to proofread important quotes, but for speed, accessibility, and searchability, it’s become a daily habit.
If you work in a role where meetings, interviews, or collaborative discussions are a regular thing, this kind of AI note-taking feels less like a luxury and more like something you’ll wonder how you ever worked without.
