In short. Otter.ai is one of the most popular AI notetakers, but for a European team it has three practical limits: it joins online calls with a bot, it stores data on infrastructure in the United States, and it trains its AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts. It also transcribes only six languages. If you are looking for an alternative, four questions matter: how the tool enters the meeting, where audio and text are stored, who uses them for training, and which languages you speak. Disclosure: this article is written by the founder of Diurna, which is one of the alternatives. Facts about Otter come from its official pages, checked on 6 October 2026 and listed at the end.
What Otter does well
Credit first, because a fair comparison starts there. Otter has been around for years and covers a lot of ground: web, desktop, iOS and Android apps, a Chrome extension, calendar integration with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, automatic summaries, an AI chat across your meetings and a free plan with 300 minutes a month. For a team that works in English across many platforms it is a mature tool.
The limits show up when three things change: how the tool joins the call, where the data must live, and the language you speak.
1. The bot in the call
Otter records online meetings by adding an automated participant, Otter Notetaker, to Zoom, Meet or Teams. With your calendar connected it can join scheduled events on its own; the settings let you restrict it to the meetings you pick.
A visible bot has one advantage: everyone can see the meeting is being recorded. It also has practical costs:
- External guests. Clients and suppliers see a participant they did not invite. Some companies block third-party bots from their calls.
- In-person meetings. A bot cannot walk into a meeting room: you still need an app on a device.
- Control. With auto-join, the bot can end up in meetings nobody thought about.
The alternative is recording system audio and the microphone from your own computer, without adding participants. It works with any video-call app and in the room too, but it puts the duty to inform people on whoever records: no bot does not mean recording in secret. More in recording a meeting on Mac and Windows.
2. Where the data goes
Otter's privacy policy (effective 16 June 2026) lists Amazon Web Services in the United States among its compute and storage providers and offers no EU data-residency option. For transfers from the EU, Otter relies on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses.
That is a lawful setup under the GDPR, but it is not neutral. A transfer to the US must appear in your privacy notice and your records of processing and, for meetings with sensitive data, may call for an impact assessment. The Data Privacy Framework is the third such agreement after Safe Harbor and Privacy Shield, both struck down by the EU Court of Justice, and many legal teams prefer not to depend on it.
If keeping data in Europe is a requirement, ask any provider:
- Which country stores the audio, transcripts and summaries, and on which cloud?
- Do the AI models that write summaries run in the EU? Does the model provider retain the text?
- Is the audio kept? For how long, and can it be deleted automatically?
- Is there a DPA listing the sub-processors?
3. Model training
The same policy says Otter trains its proprietary AI on de-identified audio recordings and transcripts. De-identification lowers the risk, but meeting text often contains client names, figures and project details that make the context recognisable even without people's names.
For board, HR and legal meetings, or calls with clients under NDA, it is reasonable to ask for a written commitment: no training on your content, de-identified or not.
4. Languages
According to Otter's pricing page, transcription is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Italian, Dutch, Portuguese and Polish are not on the list. For a European company whose meetings switch between English and a local language, check this before anything else.
How to compare an alternative
A table to get your bearings. The Otter column reflects its official pages as of 6 October 2026; the Diurna column describes our product, currently in beta.
| Criterion | Otter.ai | Diurna |
|---|---|---|
| How calls are recorded | Otter Notetaker bot joins the meeting | From your computer: system audio and microphone, no bot |
| In-person meetings | With the app on a device | Yes, with the computer's microphone |
| Where data lives | AWS in the United States | On your computer; if you choose the cloud, servers in Spain and database in Germany |
| Training on your content | Yes, on de-identified audio and transcripts | No |
| Transcription languages | EN, ES, FR, DE, JA, ZH | English and Italian |
| Platforms | Web, desktop, iOS, Android | Apple Silicon Mac and Windows 10/11 (beta); reading in the browser; iPhone coming soon |
| Price | Free 300 min/month; Pro from $8.33/month billed annually | Solo free; Pro €14/month, planned launch price |
Diurna is not the right choice for everyone. If you work on Windows, mostly from your phone or in languages we do not transcribe, Otter covers cases we do not. If data must stay in Europe and you would rather not have a bot in the call, try alternatives that commit to it in the contract. The full comparison with bot notetakers is on Diurna vs. bot notetakers.
Before you switch
Whatever you pick, run a field test before deciding:
- Same meeting, two tools. Record a real 30-minute meeting with both and count mistakes on names, numbers and technical terms.
- Read the DPA, not the landing page. Privacy promises only count if they are in the contract.
- Check the export. Transcripts and minutes should come out in an open format, in case you switch again.
- Inform participants. With or without a bot: see recording a meeting and the GDPR.
Frequently asked questions
Is Otter.ai GDPR compliant?
Otter states that it complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and uses standard contractual clauses for transfers from the EU. Compliance also depends on how your organisation uses it: privacy notice, legal basis and the transfer assessment remain your responsibility.
Where does Otter.ai store data?
Its privacy policy names Amazon Web Services in the United States as a compute and storage provider and mentions no EU data-residency option.
Can I use Otter without the bot joining the call?
You can turn off auto-join and choose which meetings the Notetaker attends. For online meetings, though, Otter's automatic recording goes through the bot; the alternative is recording another way and importing the file.
What does "no bot" mean for consent?
Nobody sees an automated participant join, so whoever records must inform people verbally or in writing. On the first recording of each series, Diurna reminds you to do it and drafts the message to paste in the chat.
Sources
- Otter.ai, Privacy Policy, effective 16 June 2026, checked 6 October 2026.
- Otter.ai, Pricing, checked 6 October 2026.
- Otter.ai, home page, apps and features, checked 6 October 2026.
- EU Court of Justice, case C-311/18 (Schrems II), 16 July 2020.