Does Otter.ai notify participants that it is recording?

It depends on how Otter is recording. When the Otter Notetaker bot joins a Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams call, other people see it in the participant list, and by default it posts a chat message. When you record with the desktop app, the phone app or the web app, nothing tells anyone. Otter's rule is that you must always ask for consent and say when you are recording others ¹. The wider product and its risks are in our guide to Otter.ai.

The bot is visible, but its other notices are optional

Otter says Notetaker cannot join a meeting anonymously or without appearing to other participants ². That is the one signal the bot always gives. It is a name in a list, which a person who is talking and not looking at the panel can miss.

Otter calls the chat message the primary mechanism by which Notetaker notifies everyone during a session ³. Yet it says users can turn these chat messages off at any time ⁴. The pre-recording email goes out 5 to 10 minutes before the start ⁵. A person who dials in by phone sees no chat. The bot's name may be read out by the platform, but you cannot count on it.

The desktop and phone apps give no notice

Otter's desktop app for Mac and Windows records supported meetings without Notetaker joining as a participant, and Otter says you are responsible for notifying participants and obtaining any required consent ⁶. Nobody sees a bot and nobody gets a chat message. The same is true for a meeting in a room: Otter says you can record in person from a computer browser or its iOS and Android app, using the device's built-in microphone by default ⁷. Nothing in the room announces it.

Can it record phone calls?

Not directly. Otter says Apple and Google restrict third-party apps from recording phone calls, so a call has to be recorded separately and imported into Otter ⁸. Calls held on Zoom, Meet or Teams are different, because the bot or desktop app can capture those. For ordinary calls, the notice rules come from your phone's recorder and the law, not from Otter.

Does Otter record audio?

Yes. Otter records the audio and then transcribes it. The audio is kept in your account until you delete it, and Otter's privacy policy lists training on de-identified recordings among its uses of data. The question is Otter.ai safe and private? covers where it goes.

The law, not the app, decides what notice is enough

A bot in a participant list is not the same as consent. In the United States the federal Wiretap Act allows recording when one party to the conversation consents ⁹, the rule known as one-party consent. California is stricter: Penal Code 632 punishes recording a confidential communication without the consent of all parties ¹⁰, which is all-party consent. A meeting with one participant in California can bring the stricter rule into play. This is the heart of the federal class action that alleges Otter by default does not ask attendees for permission to record ¹¹. That is an allegation, and the case is not decided. See which states require all-party consent and is it legal to use an AI notetaker without consent?. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to do

1. Say it out loud at the start: "I am recording this with Otter." A spoken notice works in every mode.
2. Keep the chat message on, so late joiners and people who read chat see a link.
3. Use the desktop app only with a plan to tell people, since it is silent.
4. Get written consent for interviews, clients and any call that may include people in all-party states or outside the US.
5. Stop an unwanted bot with the steps in how to stop Otter.ai joining your meetings, and read meeting transcription without a bot if you want to compare quiet recorders.