Otter is expanding its transcription service for teams that hold meetings in more than one language. The update adds support for 27 languages and introduces a feature that can follow a conversation as participants switch languages during the same meeting.
Once the rollout is complete, the platform will support 31 languages in total. The expansion could make it easier for international teams to keep a written record of discussions without interrupting the meeting to adjust transcription settings.
Transcription designed to follow language changes
The upcoming feature is intended to detect language changes automatically and continue transcribing. Otter’s example is a call that moves from English to Korean to Portuguese, with the service following the conversation across those changes.
That approach addresses a practical problem for multilingual meetings: a transcript can become less useful if the tool stops following the discussion when speakers change languages. Automatic detection means users would not need to change settings each time the conversation shifts, according to the announcement.
The feature is aimed at global teams, where language differences can make collaboration and meetings more difficult. A transcript that keeps pace with a changing conversation may help teams refer back to what was discussed, though the source does not describe how the feature handles accuracy across speakers or languages.
Which languages are included in the rollout
Thirteen of the newly supported languages are available now: Mandarin Chinese, Korean, German, Italian, Cantonese, Portuguese, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Dutch, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Polish.
Fourteen more are planned for later: Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Hebrew, Norwegian, Greek, Macedonian, Persian, Czech, Hungarian, and Romanian. The source does not give a schedule for when those languages will become available.
Otter says the new languages use its own speech models. The company told TechCrunch that it trained the models with publicly available datasets and worked with native-speaking volunteers to review transcripts and check accuracy.
Otter is adding more workplace AI features
The language expansion comes as Otter moves beyond transcription into other workplace AI tools. The company has also introduced features intended to help users prepare for meetings and get support while conversations are happening.
Work Mode uses meeting history and connected apps to help users prepare for upcoming calls. It can draw on previous customer conversations, outstanding action items, notes from teammates’ similar calls, and recent Google Drive files. These sources give users a way to gather relevant meeting context in one place.
Live Assist takes a different approach by offering real-time coaching during meetings. It analyzes the conversation and provides suggestions based on what has already been discussed and what is happening at that moment.
What the expansion changes for teams
Adding more languages and handling switches within a meeting addresses two related needs: teams may want transcription in languages that were not previously supported, and conversations may move among languages without warning. The announced changes are aimed at both situations.
The update also fits into Otter’s broader push to support more workplace tasks around meetings. Alongside making a record of a conversation, its newer tools are designed to help users prepare beforehand and receive suggestions during a call.
The company’s language rollout is still in progress: 13 new languages are available now, while the other 14 are coming soon. Otter said the total will reach 31 languages when the expansion is complete.