Otter vs. Zoom AI Companion: Which AI Meeting Tool Is Better

Nobody wants to leave a call thinking, “Wait, what did we talk about?” That’s why meeting assistants and summarization tools like Otter and Zoom AI Companion are taking over the virtual meeting space. Both offer AI-powered notes and transcriptions to boost meeting productivity and efficiency — but they go about it in very different ways. 

Let’s compare Otter versus AI Zoom Companion side by side so you can see which option is best for your team. (Spoiler alert: One of them does a lot more heavy lifting.)

Key differences between Otter.ai and Zoom AI Companion

Real-time transcription

Both Otter and Zoom AI Companion offer real-time transcription, but the experience isn’t quite the same. Otter auto-joins your meeting and gives you a live, interactive transcript that updates as people speak. Follow along effortlessly, and when the meeting is over, Otter automatically provides the full transcript for review.

Zoom AI Companion works a little differently. It provides live captions but only gives you a full transcript if you ask it to generate a meeting summary. Accessing the transcript after the meeting takes a few extra steps: First, the meeting host has to permit Zoom to keep the temporary transcript. Then, they have to sign into the Zoom web portal and find the transcript they want. And to share it with others, they have to download and send it manually.

In contrast, anyone using Otter can generate transcripts for any meeting they attend — not just the ones they host. Otter also makes it easy to set up automatic sharing so transcripts and notes are instantly sent to teammates after the meeting ends.

Plus, Otter supports in-person meetings, unlike Zoom AI Companion. With Zoom, you can’t record or transcribe anything unless you’re actually on a Zoom call.

Speaker identification

Otter uses advanced AI to tag who’s speaking as the conversation unfolds. This creates clean, organized transcripts that show exactly who said what. And over time, Otter learns to recognize distinct speakers more accurately, making future transcripts even easier to follow.

Zoom AI Companion only offers speaker identification after the fact. If you use Smart Recording to record your meeting and then view the transcript, speaker IDs will show on the transcript. You can also use Smart Name Tags to get speaker identification in Zoom Rooms, a hardware-based conference room solution that costs $42 per month.

This means that, for most virtual meetings, Otter is the more accessible option if you need live, accurate speaker tagging — no extra setup or equipment required.

Shared slide capture

Otter automatically captures shared slides during meetings, pairing them with the transcript. This way, everyone can see exactly which visuals were discussed and when. Reviewing meetings is faster and easier, especially if you’re dealing with complex presentations or data.

Zoom AI Companion doesn’t offer slide capture. If you want to reference slides later, you’re stuck digging through decks or rewatching meeting recordings.

Meeting summaries and action items

Otter automatically generates concise summaries, action items, and outlines. You can customize summaries using Meeting Types, which tailors notes by meeting format. Choose from a wide range of meeting types, like team meetings, one-on-one check-ins, and sales calls, or create your own. For greater flexibility, Otter allows any user to build reusable templates that match their workflow.

In contrast, Zoom AI Companion only allows admins to create custom templates through AI Studio. This means you can only access and edit summaries based on predefined formats. If your workspace admins haven’t set up custom templates, you’re stuck with Zoom’s default summary structures, and you can’t tweak or personalize them.

AI Chat

Both Otter and Zoom AI Companion offer AI chat features. You can use these to ask questions about meetings while they’re happening. But you can also use Otter AI Chat to interact with meeting notes long after the call ends. Need to draft a follow-up email? Ask Otter. Forgot which decision your team settled on? Otter remembers.

Otter AI Chat also pulls insights from multiple meetings — not just one. For example, you can ask Otter about every time you and a teammate discussed a specific project. It surfaces the relevant meetings and even provides timestamps for easier reference.

Zoom AI Companion’s chat is only available during live Zoom calls. Once the meeting ends, so does the chat, and you can’t use it to search through ideas from previous meetings.

Meeting platform integration

Zoom AI Companion is Zoom-specific. If you’re not in a Zoom call, it can’t help. If you’re collaborating with clients or teammates across different platforms, you need to manually piece together notes from different sources.

Otter doesn’t care where you meet. It works seamlessly with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and even in-person conversations. This flexibility means you can keep all your meeting notes in one centralized place, no matter which platform (or platforms) you use. For hybrid teams and users who bounce between platforms, that’s a huge time saver.

AI-powered sales features

Otter goes beyond general meeting notes with AI tools designed specifically for sales teams. Otter’s Sales Agent captures key insights, generates follow-ups, and pushes notes directly to CRM tools like HubSpot and Salesforce. It also provides live coaching to help you move deals forward. Similarly, Otter’s SDR Agent streamlines sales by conducting live sales calls and product demos — without human intervention.

Zoom AI Companion also offers some sales support, like helping reps summarize calls. But it doesn’t integrate directly with CRMs, and it can’t autonomously demo products. That means Otter provides a stronger, more proactive solution for sales teams looking for smoother workflows and fewer admin tasks.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, Otter is the more flexible option. It offers a free plan with core meeting features like live notetaking and Otter AI Chat — and you can use it across multiple meeting platforms, not just Zoom. For more advanced AI and collaboration features, upgrade to one of Otter’s affordable paid tiers. The Pro plan only costs $8.33 per user per month, while the Business plan is $20 per user per month.

You can’t get Zoom AI Companion for free. It’s only available to users on paid Zoom plans, which start at $13.33 per month — and that’s just for the base Zoom subscription. To unlock advanced AI features like customizable templates, you need to add on a Custom AI Companion for $12 more per month.

Plus, since AI companion is tied exclusively to Zoom, you’re paying for a solution that won’t help with meetings on other platforms. For teams looking for both flexibility and value, Otter offers more freedom at a lower cost.

Integrations

Otter is built for teams that use a mix of tools. It integrates with all the major meeting platforms, as well as your calendars, CRMs, and collaboration tools like Slack. This streamlines your workflow across your entire tech stack. By comparison, Zoom AI Companion is only ideal if your team is fully committed to Zoom.

Ease of Use

Both Otter and Zoom AI Companion are user-friendly within their own contexts. But Otter stands out in a few key ways.

First, as we’ve discussed, Otter offers cross-platform consistency. Zoom AI Companion doesn’t support meetings on other platforms, which can add friction for teams juggling multiple tools.

Otter also offers more flexibility in how you interact with it. You can activate it with simple voice commands, making it easy to capture insights on the fly — whether you’re in a meeting or brainstorming solo. Otter’s mobile app also gives you full access to meeting notes and AI Chat so you’re not tied to your laptop. That level of convenience and accessibility makes Otter feel like a true, all-in-one meeting companion.

See why teams choose Otter for AI-powered productivity

The AI meeting tool you choose can transform your team’s performance. The good news? Otter makes that choice simple. 

With smart AI features and seamless support across platforms, Otter fits right into your workflow without missing a beat. If you’re ready to cut down on notetaking stress and boost your team’s productivity, try Otter today and see how effortless your meetings can become.