Otter.ai, an artificial intelligence-driven voice transcription platform already compatible with Zoom for recording virtual meetings and webinars, is now extending its capabilities to over 100 million Google Meet users. This integration will be delivered through a Chrome web browser extension, providing real-time, interactive transcripts and video captions.

Upon installation, a “Live Notes” panel will appear during Google Meet calls directly within the Chrome browser. This panel is positioned alongside the Google Meet interface and can be repositioned and scrolled through while the meeting is in progress.

Within this panel, participants can observe a live transcript of the ongoing meeting. They also have the option to adjust the font size and subsequently save and distribute the audio transcripts following the meeting’s conclusion.

The company highlights that this functionality assists organizations in minimizing misunderstandings, especially for individuals whose first language is not English and who may find it challenging to follow spoken conversations. It also provides a more inclusive method for interacting with live meeting content.

Furthermore, the ability to share transcripts afterward ensures that those unable to attend the meeting can still stay informed – a growing necessity in the current remote work environment, where personal and family obligations can frequently interrupt daily tasks.

These transcripts can be further refined after the meeting by incorporating images and highlights, and they support keyword-based searches, similar to other Otter.ai transcriptions.

Additionally, users can utilize the company’s Live Captions feature, which allows for the inclusion of a personalized vocabulary. Otter.ai notes that while other live captioning solutions exist for Google Meet, its system uniquely generates a collaborative transcript upon meeting completion. Other systems typically offer only live captions during the meeting itself.

To access this new feature, Google Chrome users must install the Otter.ai Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store and then log in to their existing Otter.ai account. This functionality is available to all Otter.ai subscribers, including those with Basic, Pro, and Business plans.

Otter.ai previously utilized its Zoom integration to encourage upgrades from free to paid subscriptions and anticipates a similar outcome with the new Google Meet support. Its paid plans offer increased monthly recording minutes and a variety of additional features, such as audio and video file importing for transcription, diverse export formats, enhanced search capabilities, Dropbox integration, and improved security protocols.

The company has experienced significant growth as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting increase in online meetings. Last April, Otter.ai reported having transcribed over 25 million meetings, with its revenue run rate doubling compared to the end of 2019. In 2020, the company’s revenue increased eightfold compared to the previous year, and it has now transcribed more than 100 million meetings in total.