Dictation on Steroids. Discovering Otter.ai
Continuing the Narrative. A Game Changer
How Did I Miss This App?
For some reason, I never realized that Otter.ai had an app. I knew about Otter and its transcription service, but like an idiot, I decided to ignore that knowledge and just go my own way.
I’ve been using Otter for less than a week. I’m impressed so far.
My AI assistants suggest outlines, topics, or subtleties I hadn’t considered. The actual writing is all human me. It’s fun seeing how the different Gen AI models sometimes give contradictory advice. I ignore most of it anyway.
Comparing Apple Notes Versus Otter.ai
The first draft of this article, just over four hundred words, was ‘written,’ if you can call it that, using the iOS App from Otter.ai. Using this App is like night and day compared to the endlessly frustrating experience of using Apple Notes with Dictation enabled.
Until now, I’ve been selecting the dictation icon in the Apple Notes app, which is fine. The quality of voice recognition seems to be pretty good. However, the problem is that the dictation stops reacting after a short period, at most every two minutes, for no apparent reason. You’ve got to turn off dictation and reenable dictation again; only then can you carry on with your dictated note.
So, how did it go? Well, judge for yourself. Otter.ai successfully transcribed a large part of this week’s newsletter, and of course, it has been suitably edited. I needed to test if the problems I had dictating directly into Note were also in Otter. Was it a problem with Notes or some strange security feature built into the iPhone OS?
I dictated for several minutes, much longer than I could when using Notes. It was vital I could carry on talking for as long as I wished, within reason. I had my phone in my back pocket, my AirPods on, and I tried to concentrate on the narrative.
While the transcription wasn’t perfect—maybe around 95% accurate—I think that was mostly due to me slurring some of the words (I’d had a beer in my hand). Conclusion: Either the Notes App or the Dictation function built into iOS caused the dictation to grind to a halt.
How Does Otter Handle Background Noise?
For example, say after I get home from work. It’s a lovely evening, so I’ll take the dogs out. They love it, barking with excitement, the highlight of their day. I’m curious to know if I can continue dictating and if Otter will transcribe it. How will it handle the noise of passing trucks and cars, my dogs barking, and other dogs barking at mine?
We’ll see. I meant to do this experiment this evening, but I forgot. I suppose I could take them out again, but then again, I'll find out soon enough. If it works correctly, as I hope, this will be a great addition to my writing.
The day after the last paragraph, I remembered to try out dictation while walking the dogs. Admittedly, the transcription was as good as when I had a quiet moment. Nevertheless, I managed to generate a decent set of notes—partly for this article but also for the book project and a couple of ideas for future articles and potential short stories.
Exporting the transcription was pretty simple, if a bit limited on the iPhone. But that’s okay; logging in from the MacBook is the best way. I need a more extensive interface and mostly write on the laptop anyway. Editing the extraneous text was a bit of a pain, mostly from when I was talking (yelling at?) the dogs.
When I have ideas, I try to note them, but it was more of a trial with Notes. It felt so laborious and not a pleasure. I opened the Notes app, enabling dictation, and hoped it all went well. I often resorted to holding the phone in front of my face. Yes, okay. It does work with the airports as well. But like I said, it stopped after two minutes, so I had to monitor it constantly.
Otter seems to solve all the nausea of making notes. I’m optimistic that with Otter, note-taking should become much more fluid and take less effort to achieve without all of the hassle involved with Notes. If Otter can solve all these problems, then I'm done. Well, not done; the writing process is always ongoing and evolving. But at least then, I'll have another piece of the puzzle sorted.
Pro Plan Pricing And Is It Worth It?
For now, the free plan seems more than good enough for my needs, but if I like it, I may upgrade to Pro, even if I don’t need the extra features. I prefer to pay for genuinely useful software, rewarding the developers’ efforts if you like.
The pricing is a bit confusing, though. It’s weird and confusing; it doesn’t give me much confidence. In the iPhone App, Otter quotes upgraded to the Pro version as €20,49 monthly or €99,99 for the first year (1-year off saving €145,89). The small print says: Annual subscription price returns to €145,89 after 1 year. So far, so good.
The website shows prices in US dollars, but you get the picture. there is no mention of the price going up after the first year, although it says “Limited First Year Offer.” This is a bit naughty, as it doesn’t give the price after the first year. Anyway, I’ll decide if I’ll upgrade after I’ve used it for a few weeks.
If, after the first year, I decide that the costs aren’t worth it, I can always return to the free plan.
The Important Stuff, The Features
Otter.ai wasn’t built with creatives in mind. It’s primarily designed as a meeting assistant. That it is very helpful for a writer is a happy byproduct. You can see what I mean by the Basic Plan feature list; the features marked with an asterisk are important for my process:
AI meeting assistant records, transcribes and summarizes in real time
Otter AI Chat: Chat live with Otter and teammates and get answers to meeting questions
Add teammates to your workspace
Joins Zoom, MS Teams, and Google Meet to automatically write and share notes
300 monthly transcription minutes *
30 minutes per conversation *
Import and transcribe 3 audio or video files lifetime per user
I still haven’t figured out exactly what the last feature means. Can a Basic Plan user transcribe only three files in total, no matter how many years they have used Otter? I have no idea. As you can see, I don’t use that many features. Perhaps that will change in the future.
Is upgrading to the Pro Plan worth it for a creative? Probably not. These are the extra features:
Enhanced team features: shared custom vocabulary; tag speakers, assign action items to teammates
Advanced search, export, and playback
1200 monthly transcription minutes; 90 minutes per conversation
Import and transcribe 10 audio or video files per month
Nothing really to entice a writer here, is there?
Writing Processes Evolution
It has been simple to integrate Otter into the short-form writing process. I can export the transcript directly into the Ulysses Inbox.
Then, all I need to do on the laptop is open Ulysses and move the file to the appropriate folder—easy peasy. Some editing is required, but the first draft, or part of it, is done. I only have to finish and publish it.
Does it save time? Well, slightly, but nothing significant. The advantages are that I can dictate until I’m done without worry, and I can ‘write’ just about anywhere, not just on my MacBook.
It’s too early to say how Otter will help with longer-form content. So far, I’ve been making notes for the current project, but I’ve yet to use Otter to produce any text for the book.
I think a lot of that is a certain lack of confidence. I’m sure I’ll get there, but I haven’t yet.
Final Thoughts
My thanks to Matt Giaro for prodding me to give Otter a try. I’m enjoying it so far, and it’s certainly helping by pushing the boundaries of what is and isn’t writing time.
I see improvements in producing the first draft of the newsletter, making notes, and saving random thoughts and ideas. Integration into the short-form writing process has been painless, but it’s far too early to see any long-term benefits.
I have no hesitation in recommending Otter—at least the Basic (free) Plan.
Give me another few weeks to a month with Otter, and I’ll report again on my writing ambitions’ continued evolution.
Hopefully, you enjoyed this post. If you want to say ‘thank you, ‘ the best way is to get involved in the comments. And my promise to you…If you get in touch, I will answer! So comment away… (a subscription is also nice)