OIT assessed Otter.AI, a generative AI tool for virtual meetings that offers transcription, note-taking, and summarization capabilities. Similar to Read.AI, which was previously prohibited on campus due to security concerns, Otter.AI aims to make meeting management more efficient by generating notes and action items. It even includes an “OtterPilot” feature, which can attend meetings in place of an employee.
In this one-month pilot, 20 employees used Otter.AI, receiving training from both OIT and an Otter.AI representative. A survey at the end of the pilot revealed that Otter.AI’s transcription quality was fair-to-adequate, but there were some drawbacks. Users frequently had to identify speakers manually, and transcription quality diminished when multiple people spoke at once. Additionally, action items were sometimes incorrect, and Otter.AI struggled with accents.
Compared to Microsoft 365 Copilot’s transcription, most users found Otter.AI to be less reliable. The pilot concluded with a decision to allow the professional and business versions of Otter.AI on campus, but only with restrictions. Sensitive or restricted data should not be used with the tool. The free version of Otter.AI was prohibited due to security concerns.