Otter AI can now follow conversations across 30+ languages

Otter.ai, the AI-powered note-taking tool, announced Tuesday that it is expanding its multilingual capabilities, including a new transcription feature that follows a conversation when speakers switch languages during the same meeting, according to TechCrunch's report. The company is adding support for 27 languages, its largest language expansion to date. Once the rollout is complete, Otter will support 31 languages in total, making the platform more accessible to international teams.

This piece covers the 13 languages available now, the 14 still coming soon, and the upcoming feature that detects a language change and keeps transcribing without a settings change. It also covers Otter's own speech models, native-speaking volunteers who review transcripts, plus Work Mode and Live Assist after $320 million in funding from General Catalyst. It is for international teams whose meetings cross languages, and for Otter users who prepare for calls from meeting history, action items, and recent Google Drive files.

01Twenty-seven languages, thirty-one total

Otter.ai is adding support for 27 languages in its largest language expansion to date. The AI-powered note-taking tool announced that list with a new multilingual transcription feature. The feature can follow conversations as speakers switch between languages during the same meeting.

Once the rollout is complete, Otter will support 31 languages in total. That finished total is what the announcement says will make the platform more accessible to international teams. The 27 languages are the expansion from Tuesday, and the 31-language total applies only after the rollout is complete.

The announcement puts the added languages and the mid-meeting transcription into one update of Otter's multilingual capabilities. Speakers can switch languages inside a single meeting, and the feature is built to follow the conversation through the switch. International teams are the users the completed 31-language platform is meant to reach.

02Automatic detection without a settings change

The upcoming feature will automatically detect language changes and continue transcribing without requiring users to adjust settings. The detection runs through the meeting, and the transcript continues after each change of language. The feature follows the conversation when speakers switch languages during the same meeting.

For example, a call could move from English to Korean to Portuguese, with Otter following the conversation throughout. Korean and Portuguese are part of the 27-language expansion, and in the example they come after English. The follow-along feature is still upcoming, and 13 of the new languages are already available.

Applied to that example, Otter would detect the move into Korean and then into Portuguese and keep transcribing, without a settings change at either step. That automatic path is the upcoming feature. English, Korean, and Portuguese stay inside one meeting in the example, which is the case this feature is built to follow.

03Language barriers for global teams

The update aims to address a common challenge for global teams, where language differences can make meetings and collaboration more difficult. The 27-language expansion and the transcription that follows a mid-meeting switch are Otter's response to that challenge. The announcement pairs the challenge with a finished platform of 31 languages for international teams.

An Otter spokesperson told TechCrunch, "Otter is breaking down language barriers so any company, no matter where they're based, can build a system of record for the decisions for voice AI communication." The spokesperson gave that comment with the news of the 27-language expansion. The words describe a system of record for decisions from voice AI communication, for any company no matter where it is based.

04Thirteen languages live, fourteen soon

Thirteen of the new languages are available now: Mandarin Chinese, Korean, German, Italian, Cantonese, Portuguese, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Dutch, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Polish. These 13 are the share of the 27-language expansion a team can use now. Cantonese is listed separately from Mandarin Chinese, and Malay is listed separately from Indonesian, and each name counts among the 13.

The remaining 14 languages are coming soon: Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Hebrew, Norwegian, Greek, Macedonian, Persian, Czech, Hungarian, and Romanian. Those 14, together with the 13 available now, are the 27 languages Otter is adding. When both groups are in the product, the platform reaches the stated total of 31 languages.

05Own speech models after the funding

The newly added languages run on Otter's own speech models. The company told TechCrunch it trained them using publicly available datasets and worked with native-speaking volunteers to review transcripts and check accuracy. Otter gave that training account for the models behind the 27 languages it is adding on the way to 31.

The announcement comes as Otter continues to expand beyond transcription and into other workplace AI tools, following its $320 million funding from General Catalyst. Otter recently introduced Work Mode, which uses meeting history and connected apps to help users prepare for upcoming calls. Work Mode pulls information from previous customer conversations, outstanding action items, notes from teammates' similar calls, and recent Google Drive files.

Another recent addition is Live Assist, which provides real-time coaching during meetings. Live Assist analyzes the conversation and offers relevant suggestions based on what has already been talked about and what is happening in the moment. Work Mode prepares a user before the call, and Live Assist coaches during the meeting itself.