I'll admit I was skeptical about yet another 'AI meeting assistant' until Otter.ai saved me from a potentially disastrous client miscommunication. The ability to search six weeks of conversations to find the exact moment when project scope was discussed—complete with timestamps and context—transformed this from a nice productivity toy into something I now consider as essential as email.
Otter.ai earns its spot as the transcription standard for good reason—it reliably does the core job better than most alternatives. If you're in more than 10 hours of meetings weekly and those conversations contain information you need to reference later, the Pro plan pays for itself immediately. Skip it only if you've got ironclad data security requirements or your meetings involve too many speakers talking over each other.