AI Meeting Assistants & Notetakers
Otter.ai
Rest of world Report an errorPanel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars
Category median
Sovereignty: 1 of 6 dimensions proven
0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.
by Otter.ai, Inc. · otter.ai
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Otter.ai at a glance
- Vendor
- Otter.ai, Inc.
- Headquarters
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 5 Nov 2026
- Data hosting
- Outside the EU by default source, captured 5 Nov 2026
- Free plan
- Yes, per the vendor’s own page source, captured 5 Nov 2026
- Panel verdict
- The AI panel rates Otter.ai 2.5/5, the mean of 6 judges. Otter.ai is an AI meeting assistant from Otter.ai, Inc., a Delaware company based in Mountain View, California. how scores are made
- As of
- Vendor pages captured 5 Nov 2026; evaluated by the panel 6 Nov 2026. all sources
Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The panel's verdict
Otter.ai is an AI meeting assistant from Otter.ai, Inc., a Delaware company based in Mountain View, California. Strongest is capture and transcription, a flat 7: a bot joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, desktop and mobile apps record without a bot, and German sits among six transcription languages. Integrations follow at 7-8, summaries at 6-7. Consent and codetermination falls to 2-3, the works council chair lowest at 2 and unable to recommend a works agreement from these pages: the terms make the customer solely responsible for notices and consent, and no public information was found on participant opt-out, default-off sentiment analytics or DPIA support. Data control scores 4-5 and sovereignty 3-4 — storage on Amazon Web Services in the United States, a US-based subprocessor list, no European hosting option found. Scores spread widest on pricing transparency, 5 to 7: published tiers are detailed — Basic free, Pro $8.33 /user/month, Business $19.99 /user/month — but Enterprise is contact-sales with a 100-user minimum for SSO and SCIM, VAT is unstated, and two judges found different figures for Business transcription minutes across the captured pages.
Speaks for it
- Capture spans a meeting bot for Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, botless desktop and mobile recording, and calls via Zoom Phone and RingCentral, with German among six transcription languages.
- Public tier detail is unusually granular — Basic free with 300 monthly minutes, Pro $8.33 /user/month, Business $19.99 /user/month, each with published minute, import and AI-chat limits.
- Integrations and workflow scored 7-8 for a catalogue spanning Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics and Zoho, Slack, SharePoint, Zapier and viaSocket, plus an API with webhooks on Enterprise and an MCP server.
- The subprocessor list names each provider with its country and role, and Anthropic and OpenAI are listed as storing no customer data and training no models on it.
- SSO and SCIM with Okta and Azure AD, audit logging, central admin policy controls and bulk export are documented.
Held against it
- Consent and codetermination scored 2-3 because the terms put notices and consent solely on the customer, with no public information on participant opt-out or default-off sentiment analytics.
- Training the vendor's own AI on de-identified audio and transcripts is the documented default, with an opt-out only by contacting the account manager.
- Retention is stated only as "as long as necessary", with no fixed period and no public information on admin-set retention policies.
- The documented chain is US-based — a Delaware contracting entity, Amazon Web Services storage in the United States, US subprocessors — with no European hosting option found.
- Enterprise is contact-sales with a 100-user minimum for SSO and SCIM, VAT treatment is unstated, and two judges found different figures for Business transcription minutes, 6,000 on one page and unlimited on another.
Best for
- You need meeting capture across Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, with summaries and action items pushed into HubSpot, Salesforce, SharePoint or Jira.
- You can budget a small team on the published per-seat prices rather than needing the contact-sales Enterprise tier.
- You want automation breadth through Zapier, viaSocket and the MCP server available from the Basic plan up.
Avoid if
- You operate under German works-council codetermination — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
- Your procurement requires EU hosting or a European contracting entity — storage runs on Amazon Web Services in the United States and every listed subprocessor is US-based.
- You need confidential client conversations excluded from the vendor's AI training by default rather than via an opt-out through the account manager.
- You must pin down a company-wide annual cost before signing — Enterprise is contact-sales, VAT treatment is unstated and fees are non-refundable.
The scores
| Criterion | Panel median |
|---|---|
| Recording, transcription & languages | 3.5 of 5 |
| Summaries, action items & meeting knowledge | 3 of 5 |
| Integrations, API & workflow | 3.5 of 5 |
| Consent, participant rights & works council | 1.5 of 5 |
| Retention, AI training & administration | 2 of 5 |
| European sovereignty | 2 of 5 |
| Pricing transparency | 3 of 5 |
Recording, transcription & languages
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How this is scored
How the conversation gets in and how faithfully it is written down: a bot that joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Webex, botless capture from a desktop or mobile app, in-person meetings and phone calls, file upload, live transcription, speaker identification and names, the languages supported with German stated, meetings that switch language, custom vocabulary for names and jargon, timestamps linked to the recording, and editing of the transcript.
0 — Does not record or transcribe meetings; a note template or agenda tool without capture.
3 — A bot that joins one or two conferencing tools and produces a transcript; languages, speaker names, in-person capture and accuracy are basic or not described.
5 — A bot for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, a desktop or mobile app for in-person meetings, file upload, speaker identification, German among the supported languages, timestamps linked to the recording, and an editable transcript.
8 — Botless capture documented next to the bot, Webex and phone or dialer calls, live transcription, mixed-language meetings handled, custom vocabulary, speaker names learned across meetings, and the transcription engine or its accuracy per language stated.
10 — Capture a regulated team relies on: every channel above with accuracy published per language and method, dialects and specialist vocabulary documented, on-device or customer-hosted transcription as an option, and how errors are corrected and fed back stated.
The Management Consultant
A notetaker bot for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet sits next to documented botless capture — a desktop app for Mac and Windows, iOS and Android apps and a Chrome extension — plus phone transcription through Zoom Phone and RingCentral, German among six languages, custom vocabulary for names and jargon, and an editable transcript with time codes. We found no public information on Webex or on meetings that switch language, and the terms of service state there is no warranty about the completeness or accuracy of the transcription. 2 3 5 6
The Sales Team Lead
The bot covers Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, and the desktop and mobile apps record in-person meetings with no bot in the room; German is among six supported languages and the transcript is editable with speakers and time codes. Phone and dialer capture is there through Zoom Phone and RingCentral, but we found no public information on Webex, mixed-language meetings, or accuracy per language — the terms instead disclaim any warranty on transcription completeness or accuracy. A strong daily driver for my eight reps, just not the last word on accuracy. 2 3 5 6
The Works Council Chair
The notetaker joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, next to the bot there is documented botless capture (desktop app recording with no bot in the meeting, Chrome extension), plus phone and dialer calls, file import, real-time live transcription, German among six languages, speaker names, editable text with time codes and custom vocabulary. We found no public information on Webex, mixed-language meetings or accuracy per language, and the terms expressly make no warranty about completeness or accuracy of the transcription. 2 3 5 6
The Data Protection Officer
A meeting bot joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet with real-time transcription, and botless capture is documented through a desktop app, iOS and Android apps and a Chrome extension; German sits among six transcription languages, custom vocabulary and editable speaker-labelled time codes are published per plan, and dialer calls through Zoom Phone, RingCentral and Salesloft are covered. We found no public information on per-language accuracy, Webex or mixed-language meetings, and the terms expressly make no warranty about the completeness or accuracy of the transcription. 2 3 5 6
The IT Lead
A bot joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, and botless capture is documented beside it: a Windows and Mac desktop app that records with headphones and no bot in the meeting, iOS and Android apps for in-person meetings, a Chrome extension for Meet, and Zoom Phone, RingCentral, Salesloft and Outreach for calls. German is among six transcription languages, with speaker names, editable time codes, live transcription and a five-term custom vocabulary all public. I found no public information on Webex, on meetings that switch language, or on accuracy per language — the terms state no warranty about the completeness or accuracy of the transcription. 2 3 5 6
The Skeptic
A bot joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet while a desktop app and a Chrome extension record without a bot, in-person capture runs on iOS and Android, calls arrive via Zoom Phone, RingCentral and Salesloft, and German sits among six languages with custom vocabulary, editable time-coded transcripts and live captions. We found no public information on Webex, mixed-language meetings or accuracy per language — and the terms expressly make no warranty about the completeness or accuracy of the transcription, which is exactly the clause a regulated team should read before trusting a word. 2 3 5 6
Summaries, action items & meeting knowledge
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How this is scored
What the tool makes of the transcript: summaries and minutes by meeting type with editable templates, decisions and action items with owners and due dates, summaries in the meeting's language or a chosen one, follow-up emails, clips and highlights, search across all meetings, questions answered over the archive with citations back to the transcript passage, shared team folders or channels, and the minutes exported to Word, PDF or a wiki.
0 — No summaries of any kind; only the raw transcript or recording.
3 — One generic summary per meeting; templates, action items, search across meetings and citations are basic or not described.
5 — Summaries with templates per meeting type, action items and decisions extracted, the summary language selectable with German available, search across meetings, questions answered over one or several meetings, and sharing or export of the minutes.
8 — Custom templates per team, action items with owners pushed to task tools, answers that cite and link the transcript passage they rest on, topic or keyword tracking across meetings, team libraries with permissions, and the AI models used for summaries named.
10 — Meeting knowledge a company can audit: every generated statement traceable to its source passage, hallucination handling and human review documented, summary quality by language stated, and the archive queryable through an API or MCP server with the same permissions as in the app.
The Management Consultant
Meeting templates come standard and advanced with custom templates metered per plan, action items with deadlines flow into Asana, JIRA and ClickUp, keywords and word clouds track topics across meetings, and AI Chat answers questions over the archive within monthly query limits, with export to Word and PDF and sync to Google Docs and Notion. We found no public information on answers that cite the transcript passage they rest on, on action-item owners, or on choosing the summary language; German is documented as a transcription language rather than a summary option. 2 3 4 5
The Sales Team Lead
Automated summaries, standard and advanced templates plus custom ones with per-plan limits, and follow-up automation that drafts the follow-up email and next steps — exactly what I want produced after every call. Action items go into Jira and Asana with deadlines, search runs across meetings with natural-language queries, there is an AI chat over the archive, an MCP server, and export to Word, PDF and more. We found no public information on answers citing the exact transcript passage they rest on. 2 3 4 5
The Works Council Chair
Summaries with standard, advanced and custom templates, action items with deadlines pushed to Jira, Asana and ClickUp, keyword and word-cloud summaries, natural-language search across meetings, an AI chat over the archive, folders and export to PDF and Word are all documented. We found no public information on answers citing and linking the underlying transcript passage, on selecting the summary language, or on review of faulty statements in summaries. 2 3 4 5
The Data Protection Officer
Meeting templates by type with plan-based limits, action items with deadlines pushed to Jira or Asana, natural-language search across the archive, AI Chat answering questions over meetings, and export to PDF, Word and SRT are all documented. We found no public information on selecting the summary language with German, on answers that cite the transcript passage they rest on, or on the models used to write the summaries. 3 4 5
The IT Lead
Automated summaries, standard and custom AI meeting templates with per-plan limits, action items pushed into Jira, Asana and ClickUp, search across all notes, AI Chat answering questions over past meetings, folders and conversation channels, highlights, follow-up drafting and export to Word, PDF and other formats are all documented. I found no public information on choosing the summary language such as German, on extracted decisions, or on answers that cite and link the transcript passage they rest on; the AI providers appear on the subprocessor list but are not tied to summarisation specifically. 2 3 4 5 8
The Skeptic
Templates per plan, action items pushed into JIRA, Asana and ClickUp with deadlines, follow-up emails drafted in Work Mode, keyword and sentiment tracking across meetings, and an AI chat over the whole archive, with Anthropic and OpenAI named on the subprocessor list for AI functionality. But I always ask which passage a summary sentence came from: we found no public information on answers that cite and link the transcript passage they rest on, on the summary language being selectable, or on how hallucinations are handled. 3 4 5 8
Integrations, API & workflow
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How this is scored
How the notes reach the place where work happens: calendar connection with rules for which meetings are recorded, CRM fields filled from the call (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics), project and task tools, Slack and Microsoft Teams channels, Notion, Confluence and SharePoint, Zapier, Make or n8n, a documented REST API and webhooks, an MCP server for AI assistants, and browser extensions and native apps.
0 — No integrations and no export; the notes stay in the app.
3 — A calendar connection and an email or Slack summary; CRM, API and task tools are basic or not described.
5 — Google and Microsoft calendars, a native CRM integration (HubSpot or Salesforce), Slack or Teams, a task or wiki tool, Zapier or Make, and a documented API or webhooks.
8 — CRM field mapping per meeting type, several CRMs including Microsoft Dynamics or Pipedrive, a full REST API with webhooks and reference documentation, an MCP server, SharePoint or Confluence export, and recording rules per calendar or meeting type.
10 — An integration layer a company builds on: every object reachable by API with rate limits and versioning stated, granular OAuth scopes, data residency kept across integrations, and the integrations administered centrally with logs.
The Management Consultant
Calendar sync with automatic joining, five CRMs including Microsoft Dynamics and Zoho, Slack, Notion and SharePoint export, task tools, Zapier and viaSocket for 2,300-plus apps, plus an MCP server and an API with webhooks on the Enterprise plan. We found no public information on CRM field mapping per meeting type or on API rate limits and versioning. 3 4 5
The Sales Team Lead
HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and Zoho are all covered with transcripts and sales insights pushed to the CRM, calendars connect with auto-join, and Slack, Teams, Notion, SharePoint, Zapier and an API with webhooks are documented, with the MCP server named on the pricing page. We found no public information on per-meeting-type CRM field mapping or recording rules per calendar, or on the API's reference documentation. The HubSpot flow is the headline for my team; the rest is breadth I would only partly use. 2 3 5
The Works Council Chair
Google and Outlook calendars with auto-join, HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho and Monday.com, Slack, Teams, Notion, SharePoint, OneDrive, Jira, Asana, Zapier and viaSocket, plus an MCP server and the Otter API and webhooks at Enterprise are documented. We found no public information on field-level CRM mapping per meeting type or on API documentation, scopes and limits. 3 4 5
The Data Protection Officer
Calendar connections with automatic joining, four CRMs including Microsoft Dynamics with automatic logging of insights, task tools, Slack, Notion, SharePoint and cloud-storage exports, Zapier and viaSocket, an API with webhooks on the Enterprise plan, and an MCP server make one of the widest documented catalogs I have reviewed. We found no public information on CRM field mapping per meeting type or recording rules per calendar beyond joining all meetings, and the API sits behind the unpriced Enterprise tier. 3 5
The IT Lead
For a Microsoft shop like mine the essentials are documented: Outlook and Google calendars with auto-join scheduling, native Teams transcription, and export to SharePoint and OneDrive, alongside Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and Zoho, Jira and Asana, Zapier and viaSocket, an Otter API with webhooks on Enterprise, and an MCP server including a Claude connection. What I did not find is CRM field mapping per meeting type, reference documentation for the API, or recording rules per calendar or meeting type beyond automatic joining of all meetings. 2 3 4 5
The Skeptic
Calendars auto-join meetings, Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho and Monday.com take the CRM output, Slack, Notion, SharePoint and OneDrive receive the notes, Zapier and viaSocket automate further, an API with webhooks ships on Enterprise, and an MCP server for AI assistants is listed from the Basic plan up. We found no public information on API rate limits, versioning, OAuth scope granularity or whether residency survives the export, so treat this as a rich catalogue rather than a documented platform contract. 3 4 5
Consent, participant rights & works council
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How this is scored
Whether every person in the meeting knows and can decide, and whether the tool can be introduced under German co-determination: a recording notice to all participants including external guests, consent or opt-out before the recording starts, a visible bot or a stated notice for botless capture, rules for when the assistant joins automatically, stopping and deleting a recording on request, per-person analytics (talk time, sentiment, engagement scores) off by default or switchable per organisation, material or a template for a works agreement (Betriebsvereinbarung, § 87 (1) no. 6 BetrVG), and support for a data protection impact assessment.
0 — Built to record people without their knowledge, or sells covert recording or individual performance scoring as a feature.
3 — A general privacy statement and a bot that appears in the participant list; notices to guests, opt-out, per-person analytics and works councils are basic or not described.
5 — A recording notice to participants by chat message, email or the bot's name, a way for a participant to stop the recording or opt out, admin rules for when the assistant joins, recordings deletable on request, and per-person analytics described with how to switch them off.
8 — Consent collected before recording starts for external participants, per-person analytics off by default or switchable per organisation, botless capture with its notice method documented, a works-council information pack or works-agreement template published, DPIA support, and the EU AI Act classification stated.
10 — Co-determination built into the product: every analytic and its granularity documented for the works council, consent and opt-out logged per participant, configuration changes logged, minimum group sizes for any team statistics, and references of works-council-approved rollouts published.
The Management Consultant
The terms of service put the burden on the customer, who is "solely responsible for providing any notices to, and obtaining consent from, individuals in connection with any recordings", and OtterPilot may take automatic screenshots in virtual meetings. Sentiment and engagement monitoring is sold as conversation intelligence, and we found no public information on participant-facing recording notices, guest opt-out, default-off analytics, works-council materials or DPIA support. 4 6 7
The Sales Team Lead
The terms put the notice and consent duty squarely on the customer — you are solely responsible for providing notices and obtaining consent from individuals in connection with recordings — and we found no public information on participant opt-out, a guest-facing notice, or the botless-capture notice method. Sentiment, engagement and coaching analytics are marketed for sales teams, and we found no public information on whether they sit off by default or can be switched off; that coaching angle is exactly what I do not want aimed at my people. We found no public information on works-council material, a works-agreement template, DPIA support or an EU AI Act classification. 4 5 6
The Works Council Chair
The terms put the customer "solely responsible for providing any notices to, and obtaining consent from" recorded individuals, we found no public information on participant notices, opt-out or stopping a recording at a participant's request, and nothing for a works agreement, DPIA or AI Act classification. The product markets sentiment and engagement monitoring across customer-facing teams and live call coaching, and we found no public information on switching these per-person analytics off or off by default; botless no-bot capture and automatic screenshots in virtual meetings make unannounced recording technically trivial. On this basis I could not recommend signing a works agreement. 3 4 6 7
The Data Protection Officer
The terms make the customer solely responsible for providing any notices to and obtaining consent from recorded individuals, and I found no public information on a participant notice, an opt-out or consent capture before recording starts; sentiment, engagement and coaching analytics are sold as features with no default-off or organisation-level switch described. No works-council material, DPIA support or EU AI Act classification appears on the captured pages, which is the point where my impact assessment would have to begin from scratch. 4 6 7
The IT Lead
The terms make me, the customer, "solely responsible for providing any notices to, and obtaining consent from, individuals in connection with any recordings", and I found no public information on participant notices or on a way for a participant to stop or opt out of a recording. Sentiment and engagement monitoring is sold as conversation intelligence with no stated default-off or organisation-wide switch, I found no public information on works-agreement material, DPIA support or an EU AI Act classification, and the privacy policy notes the assistant may take automatic screenshots in virtual meetings. For a works council negotiation here in Germany, the captured pages give me almost nothing to work with. 4 6 7
The Skeptic
The terms put the whole burden on the buyer: the customer is "solely responsible for providing any notices to, and obtaining consent from, individuals in connection with any recordings". Sentiment and engagement monitoring across customer-facing teams is sold as a feature with no public statement that it is off by default or switchable per organisation, and we found no public information on a participant opt-out, a recording notice to external guests, works-council material or DPIA support — nobody external to the room is protected by the product itself as documented. 4 6 7
Retention, AI training & administration
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How this is scored
What the employer can govern: retention periods and automatic deletion of recordings, transcripts and summaries, whether audio and video can be discarded after transcription, sharing defaults and link permissions, customer content excluded from model training by contract, the AI and transcription providers named with their region and their own retention, encryption, single sign-on (SAML), SCIM, roles and workspaces, admin policies on auto-recording and sharing, audit logs, export of the whole archive, and security certifications such as ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
0 — No administration and no deletion; every user decides alone and recordings are kept indefinitely.
3 — Users can delete their own recordings and a security page exists; retention policies, model training, SSO and audit logs are basic or not described.
5 — Retention settings per workspace, customer content excluded from model training, team workspaces with roles, single sign-on, admin control over sharing and auto-recording, encryption at rest and in transit, and ISO 27001 or SOC 2 stated.
8 — Automatic deletion by policy with audio discardable after transcription, the AI and transcription subprocessors named with region and zero retention, SAML with SCIM, granular roles, audit logs, legal hold or export of the full archive, and certifications with their scope published.
10 — Governance an auditor accepts: every retention, sharing and recording policy enforceable centrally and logged, models run on the vendor's own or the customer's infrastructure as an option, audit logs exportable to a SIEM, and the deletion of every copy, including at subprocessors, documented.
The Management Consultant
The privacy policy documents training of the vendor's own AI on de-identified audio recordings and transcriptions, with an opt-out only by contacting the account manager — not the written default exclusion I would need for client conversations — and retention is stated only as "as long as necessary", with a trash folder before permanent deletion. Admin controls, audit logging, SSO and SCIM are documented at a 100-user minimum, and we found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification or on configurable retention periods per workspace. 4 5 6 7
The Sales Team Lead
Admins get central policy, workspace and sharing controls, SSO and SCIM from a 100-user licence, audit logging and bulk export, and deleted content moves through a trash folder into permanent deletion. But the privacy policy states the service trains its own AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts, with an organizational opt-out only via the account manager, and we found no public information on configurable retention periods, discarding audio after transcription, or ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification. 4 5 6 7
The Works Council Chair
Administrators get central access and sharing policies, SSO and SCIM from a 100-user licence, activity logs and audit trails, and users can permanently delete recordings through a trash folder. But the privacy policy keeps personal information only "as long as necessary" with no fixed period, we found no public information on admin-set retention policies or discarding audio after transcription, training Otter's own AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts is the default with an opt-out only by contacting the account manager, and we found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2 while HIPAA is a paid add-on. 4 5 6 7
The Data Protection Officer
The subprocessor list names every provider with its country and states no storage and no customer-data training for Anthropic and OpenAI, audit logging and SSO with SCIM at a 100-user minimum are documented, and trash-folder deletion leaving no record retained is contractual — but the terms affirm machine learning on user content and training on de-identified audio and transcriptions, with the training opt-out available only by contacting the account manager. No fixed retention period is stated, we found no public information on admin retention policies or discarding audio after transcription, and no ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification appears; HIPAA is an add-on. 4 5 6 7 8
The IT Lead
The administrative stack I want is documented — single sign-on and SCIM with Okta and Azure AD on Enterprise, audit logging, domain capture, central configuration of access, sharing and security policies, two-factor authentication, trash-folder deletion mechanics and bulk export. But I found no public information on centrally set retention periods, with the privacy policy storing personal information "as long as necessary" and no fixed period; model training on de-identified audio and transcripts runs by default with an opt-out via the account manager; and the certifications I can see are a HIPAA add-on and Data Privacy Framework participation, with no ISO 27001 or SOC 2 anywhere on the pages I read. 4 5 6 7
The Skeptic
There are good bones — central admin controls, audit logging, SSO and SCIM on Enterprise, bulk export, and a trash folder whose permanent deletion leaves no record — but the documented default is that Otter trains its proprietary AI on audio recordings and transcriptions, escaped only by an opt-out you must request from your account manager, and aggregated data use continues regardless. We found no public information on configurable retention periods, discarding audio after transcription, legal hold, or ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications; the only stated security marks are TLS and AES-256. 4 5 6 7
European sovereignty
panel opinion
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How this is scored
Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where recordings, transcripts, summaries, voice profiles and account data are stored and processed, which language model and transcription providers read them and where, and who the other subprocessors are (hosting, email, support, analytics and payment tools). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline. A conferencing platform outside Europe that the customer already uses is part of the meeting, not counted against the notetaker; where the notetaker stores and processes the conversation is.
0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, hosting unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.
3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but hosting location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.
5 — EU hosting available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (language models, transcription, email, support, payment) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard.
8 — EU hosting on named infrastructure, EU contracting entity, subprocessors including the AI providers listed with their locations, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) stated.
10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, hosting and every subprocessor, with transcription and language models run in Europe by European operators, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.
The Management Consultant
Every documented link in the chain is American: a Delaware company in Mountain View, Amazon Web Services in the United States for compute and storage, and a published subprocessor list — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Cloud, Stripe, Zendesk and others — located in the United States, with support partly in the Philippines and Honduras. A GDPR data processing attachment and Standard Contractual Clauses under the Data Privacy Framework are published, which earns transparency, but we found no public information on EU hosting or an EU contracting entity. 6 7 8
The Sales Team Lead
The chain runs through the United States: the contracting entity is Otter.ai, Inc. of Mountain View, California, hosting sits with Amazon Web Services in the US, and every subprocessor on the published list — including Anthropic and OpenAI for AI functions, both listed with no storage and no training of customer data — is US-based. A GDPR data processing agreement and Standard Contractual Clauses are published and the vendor is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, but we found no public information on any EU hosting option. For my German prospects that is a conversation to have before the rollout, not after. 6 7 8
The Works Council Chair
Otter.ai, Inc. is a Delaware company; recordings and transcripts are stored on Amazon Web Services in the United States, and the published subprocessor list — including the AI providers OpenAI and Anthropic, Google Cloud and Crusoe, support in the Philippines and Honduras — is entirely US or non-EU based. A GDPR data processing attachment and Standard Contractual Clauses exist, but we found no public information on EU hosting or a European contracting entity. Every one of our meetings would flow to America. 6 7 8
The Data Protection Officer
The contracting entity is Otter.ai, Inc. of Delaware; storage runs on Amazon Web Services in the United States and every listed subprocessor — including the language-model providers Anthropic and OpenAI and the cloud providers Crusoe and Google Cloud Platform — is US-based, with Standard Contractual Clauses and Data Privacy Framework certification as the stated safeguards and a GDPR data processing attachment in the terms. We found no public information on EU hosting or a European contracting entity, so the entire chain that reads our meeting content is non-European. 6 7 8
The IT Lead
The contracting entity is Otter.ai, Inc. of Mountain View, California, storage runs on Amazon Web Services in the United States, and every subprocessor on the public list — AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Crusoe, Anthropic, OpenAI, Stripe, Zendesk, Intercom, WorkOS and others — is US-based, with support partly in the Philippines and Honduras. Credit where due: the list names countries and roles, a GDPR data processing attachment sits in the terms, and transfers rely on Standard Contractual Clauses plus Data Privacy Framework certification. I found no public information on any European hosting option, which for my procurement rules is the end of the discussion. 6 7 8
The Skeptic
Everything I can trace runs through the United States: a Delaware-registered company in Mountain View, storage on Amazon Web Services "based in the United States", and a subprocessor list in which every provider — AWS, Google Cloud, Anthropic, OpenAI, Stripe, Zendesk, WorkOS — sits in the US, with Standard Contractual Clauses and the Data Privacy Framework as the stated safeguards. A GDPR data-processing agreement exists in the terms and the chain is at least named honestly, but we found no public information on any EU hosting option for the conversations themselves. 6 7 8
Pricing transparency
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How this is scored
Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: price per seat and tier, what counts as a seat (every invited user, only recording users), transcription minutes or credits included, storage limits, which features (CRM integrations, API access, SSO, custom retention, EU hosting, AI credits) cost extra, the free tier and its limits, monthly versus annual billing, minimum seats and VAT.
0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.
3 — A starting price or a free tier exists, but how cost scales with seats, minutes or features is unclear.
5 — Tiers are public with their seat price and main inclusions, but at least one commonly needed piece (SSO, CRM integration, API, custom retention, EU hosting, minute or credit limits) is unpriced or "on request".
8 — Every tier priced publicly with its scaling rule (seats, minutes, credits, storage), add-ons priced, what counts as a seat stated, overage handling stated, minimum term and VAT treatment stated.
10 — Complete price computability: annual cost derivable for a given team size and meeting volume, with every add-on, overage and support fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.
The Management Consultant
The free tier with 300 monthly transcription minutes, Pro at $8.33 /user/month and Business at $19.99 /user/month are public, and the plan limits — transcription minutes, import quotas, conversation length, AI-chat queries, workspace size — are unusually detailed. SSO, SCIM and the API sit in a contact-sales Enterprise plan with a 100-user minimum, the HIPAA and live-RTMP add-ons carry no stated price, and VAT treatment and minimum term are not stated. 4 5 6
The Sales Team Lead
Per-seat prices are public — Basic free, Pro at $8.33 /user/month save 51%, Business at $19.99 /user/month save 33%, with monthly and annual billing — and the plan tables are unusually granular about minutes, import limits, concurrent meetings and AI chat queries. Enterprise is contact-sales only, the HIPAA add-on and live transcription via RTMP carry unpriced additional fees, VAT treatment is not stated, and the captured pages give different figures for the Business plan's monthly transcription minutes — 6,000 on one page, unlimited on another. I could roughly budget a nine-person team but not nail the annual invoice to the euro. 4 5 6
The Works Council Chair
Free, Pro ($8.33 per user per month) and Business ($19.99 per user per month) tiers are published down to transcription minutes, import limits, AI-chat queries and export formats, with annual versus monthly discounts and terms that fees are in U.S. Dollars, non-refundable, with prorated seat additions. Enterprise, which carries SSO, SCIM and the API, is priced only through sales contact with a 100-user licence minimum for SSO and SCIM, HIPAA and live RTMP transcription say only that "additional fees apply", and we found no public information on VAT treatment. I can cost the pilot; I cannot cost the company-wide rollout. 4 5 6
The Data Protection Officer
The free tier, Pro at $8.33 per user per month and Business at $19.99 per user per month are published with unusually granular per-plan limits for minutes, imports, templates, AI-chat queries, concurrent meetings and workspace size, while Enterprise is unpriced at contact sales or a demo. We found no public information on VAT treatment or a minimum term; annual billing saves up to 51 percent, fees are non-refundable, and SSO with SCIM sits behind a 100-user licence minimum. 4 5 6
The IT Lead
The public tiers are unusually detailed: Basic is free with 300 monthly minutes, Pro is $8.33 /user/month and Business $19.99 /user/month, each with published minute, import, AI-chat and conversation-length limits plus annual savings of up to 51%. But at my four hundred seats the pieces I need — SSO, SCIM and the API, which sit in Enterprise with a 100-user minimum — are "schedule a demo" pricing, and I found no public information on VAT treatment, minimum term or overage charges beyond "no rollover" on minutes. I cannot compute my real annual cost from these pages. 4 5 6
The Skeptic
Per-tier detail is unusually good — minutes, import limits, chat queries, concurrent meetings and export formats per plan, with Pro at $8.33 /user/month and Business at $19.99 /user/month — but Enterprise is a sales call, the HIPAA add-on and RTMP live transcription carry unstated additional fees, SSO and SCIM require a minimum 100-user license, and the captured pages give different figures for Business transcription minutes, 6,000 on one page and unlimited on another. VAT treatment is unstated and fees are described as non-refundable, so a buyer cannot compute the true annual cost from the public pages alone. 4 5 6
European sovereignty — proven facts
1 of 6 dimensions provenBuilt only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.
| Legal entity | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting location | Outside the EU ⚠ unverified | 0/4 pts | 8 Report an error |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Open source | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
Questions about Otter.ai
Is Otter.ai European?
No. whats-best.ai classifies Otter.ai as Rest of world.
Where does Otter.ai store data?
Otter.ai stores customer data outside the EU by default, per the vendor’s page captured 5 Nov 2026.
Does Otter.ai have a free plan?
Yes. Otter.ai has a free plan, per the vendor’s page captured 5 Nov 2026.
What are the best alternatives to Otter.ai?
As of 6 Nov 2026, the panel rates MeetGeek (3.5/5), Noota (3.5/5) and Jamie (3.5/5) highest among the other 14 AI Meeting Assistants & Notetakers products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is MeetGeek (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Otter.ai alternatives.
Where this could be wrong
- Evidence ages. The oldest capture behind this page is from 5 Nov 2026. Vendors change pricing and policies without notice; every fact reflects its source as of the capture date shown in the registry.
- Weak sourcing — Hosting location. The privacy policy says storage providers "including Amazon Web Services" based in the United States, implying possible other storage locations, though every subprocessor listed is US-based.
- Weak sourcing — Legal entity. Not confirmed on the vendor’s own pages as captured.
- AI can misread a source. Extraction and judgement are automated; a citation guarantees traceability, not infallibility. If something here is wrong, say so — no account needed, every report is decided within 5 business days, and accepted corrections are published.
What we left out
A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.
- 6 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 3 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 compliance fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 product fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 sovereignty dimension could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and is shown as unknown. Know more? Tell us
Sources (8)
The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.
- 1 Vendor homepage otter.ai Checked 5 Nov 2026 Details →
- 2 Features page otter.ai Checked 5 Nov 2026 Details →
- 3 Integrations page otter.ai Checked 5 Nov 2026 Details →
- 4 Features page (enterprise) otter.ai Checked 5 Nov 2026 Details →
- 5 Pricing page otter.ai Checked 5 Nov 2026 Details →
- 6 Terms of service otter.ai Checked 5 Nov 2026 Details →
- 7 Privacy policy otter.ai Checked 5 Nov 2026 Details →
- 8 Subprocessor list otter.ai Checked 5 Nov 2026 Details →