If you’re tired of your sales team missing key details or wasting time transcribing calls, you’re not alone. Setting up automated meeting notes isn’t just a “nice to have”—it can actually free up your team to listen better, follow up faster, and finally stop arguing over who said what. This guide shows you, step-by-step, how to set up automated meeting notes in Otter so your sales team can focus on selling instead of scribbling.
Let’s skip the hype and get right to the stuff that actually works.
Why Use Automated Meeting Notes (and Why Otter?)
Manual note-taking is a pain. It's inconsistent, distracts from the conversation, and someone always forgets to hit “record.” Automated meeting notes solve all that—if you set them up right.
Why Otter? A few reasons: - Works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and more. It’s not locked into one platform. - Transcribes live and shares in real-time. No waiting for hours after the meeting. - Searchable transcripts. Find that thing your prospect said two weeks ago, instantly. - Decent accuracy. Not perfect, but good enough to trust for most sales calls. - Easy sharing and collaboration. So your CRM isn’t the only place things get captured.
But don’t get starry-eyed—Otter isn’t magic. You’ll still need to tweak settings, check for errors, and set team expectations. Also, if your team mumbles, talks over each other, or uses a lot of jargon, some things will get lost in translation. Consider this a tool to help, not a replacement for listening.
Step 1: Get Your Otter Setup Right
Before you do anything, make sure you’ve got the right Otter plan. The free version is too limited for a sales team—you’ll probably need Otter Business (or at least Pro). Check Otter’s pricing to be sure, but the Business plan lets you: - Add teammates and manage permissions - Record longer meetings (free is capped at 30 minutes) - Connect to Zoom, Google, or Teams - Centralize notes in shared folders
Pro tip: If you have a small team, start with a paid trial so you can test drive the features without a year-long commitment.
Create Your Team Workspace
- Sign up or upgrade to Otter Business. Invite your sales team using their work emails.
- Set up shared folders. Create folders for deals, clients, or weekly team meetings—whatever makes sense for your workflow.
- Assign roles. Decide who’s an admin (can manage settings) vs. a member (can just access transcripts).
What to ignore: Don’t spend hours organizing folders at first. You’ll figure out what works best as you go.
Step 2: Connect Otter to Your Calendar and Meeting Tools
This is where the automation magic starts. Otter can auto-join meetings and start transcribing—if you connect it to your calendar and video meeting tools.
Sync Your Calendar
- Go to Account Settings → Connected Apps.
- Connect your Google or Microsoft calendar. This lets Otter “see” your upcoming meetings.
Integrate with Meeting Platforms
Otter integrates best with: - Zoom: Direct integration, shows up as an extra participant. - Google Meet: Uses Otter’s Chrome extension to capture audio. - Microsoft Teams: Similar to Google Meet—needs the Chrome extension.
How to connect: - For Zoom: Authorize Otter in Zoom’s marketplace and enable the “Auto-join” feature. - For Meet/Teams: Install the Otter Chrome extension and make sure it has microphone permissions.
Pro tip: Test this with a dummy meeting. Some company Zoom settings block bots from auto-joining—if that’s the case, you’ll need to manually add Otter as a participant.
Step 3: Set Up Auto-Join and Live Transcription
You want Otter to join every sales call automatically—otherwise, someone will forget and you’re back to square one.
Enabling Auto-Join
- In Otter, go to the ‘Meetings’ tab.
- Toggle on ‘Auto-join meetings.’ Otter will look for all video meetings on your calendar and join them as a silent participant to record and transcribe.
Heads up: Some clients may find it weird if a “bot” joins the call. Always check if this is okay, especially for first-time meetings.
Live Transcription and Sharing
- Live view: Otter can share a live transcript link during the call. This is handy for teammates who join late or want to follow along.
- Automatic sharing: Set Otter to auto-share notes with all meeting participants, or just your internal team.
Pro tip: Don’t rely on Otter to catch every word. If you’re demoing in a noisy environment or have heavy accents, double-check key sections after the call.
Step 4: Set Standards for Note-Taking and Sharing
Automated notes are only useful if your team actually uses them. Set some ground rules:
- Who checks the transcript? Assign someone to skim Otter’s notes after each meeting and fix obvious errors or highlight action items.
- How are notes shared? Decide if you’re sending the whole transcript to clients, or just internal recaps.
- What gets logged in CRM? Don’t dump entire transcripts into Salesforce or HubSpot. Instead, pull out the essentials: next steps, objections, key quotes.
What to ignore: Don’t try to automate everything. Some editing and human judgment are still needed—Otter can’t tell what’s a joke or what’s confidential.
Step 5: Train Your Team (and Set Expectations)
Even the best tools fall flat if your team doesn’t know how to use them or trust the output. Spend 30 minutes up front to:
- Walk everyone through joining a call with Otter.
- Show how to search transcripts and highlight follow-ups.
- Explain privacy basics—Otter saves everything unless you delete it.
- Remind everyone: “Otter is an assistant, not a replacement for listening.”
Pro tip: Do a “post-mortem” after a few weeks. Ask what’s working, what isn’t, and adjust your process. It’s easier to fix early than let bad habits form.
Step 6: Integrate Otter with Your Sales Workflow
Otter is most useful when it fits into your team’s existing habits, not when it’s yet another tool to check.
Use Shared Folders and Tags
- Create folders for ongoing deals or clients.
- Tag transcripts with deal stage, product line, or urgency. (But don’t go overboard—simple tags work best.)
Connect to Your CRM (Carefully)
Otter doesn’t have native integrations with every CRM, but you can: - Export highlights/notes and paste into your CRM. - Use Zapier for basic automations (e.g., send new transcript links to a Slack channel).
What to ignore: Don’t try to automate CRM updates with raw transcripts. It’ll just clutter your system with noise.
Step 7: Review, Refine, and Repeat
Otter’s accuracy improves the more your team uses it and the more you teach it (correcting names, acronyms, etc.). Make it a habit to:
- Review transcripts for accuracy, especially on big deals.
- Add custom vocabulary for your company’s jargon or product names.
- Periodically clean up old transcripts and folders—no one needs 400 transcripts from last quarter’s discovery calls.
Pro tip: Celebrate wins—like catching a missed customer request in the transcript. This helps the team see the value and buy in.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Watch Out For
What Works
- Automated, searchable notes free up your team’s attention.
- Live sharing helps with coaching and onboarding new hires.
- Centralized storage means you stop losing track of what was said.
What Doesn’t
- Otter’s transcription isn’t flawless—expect some errors, especially with bad audio.
- Privacy can be a concern; always get consent before recording.
- Too much automation can create clutter—don’t save or share every single meeting.
What to Watch Out For
- Company security settings may block auto-join bots.
- Some clients don’t want their meetings recorded—always ask first.
- Over-reliance on transcripts can make people tune out in real conversations.
Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Don’t overthink it. Start with the basics: set up Otter, connect it to your meetings, and get your team using it on real sales calls. Adjust as you learn what’s useful and what just adds noise. The goal isn’t perfect transcripts—it’s saving time, capturing what matters, and helping your team close more deals.
Otter can help get you most of the way there, but it’s not a silver bullet. Keep it simple, keep tweaking your process, and you’ll get real value—without spending your life managing notes.