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Transcribing interviews is the thing I dislike most about being a journalist.
My hat goes off to stenographers because sitting there and typing out an interview is anything but fun.
Thankfully, we now have AI tools to help make transcribing much easier.
For a recent interview I conducted I turned toOtter.ai, which is built specifically for transcribing.
Ironically enough, Google AI Studio recommended I use Otter.ai.
If Google suggested I use a competitor, then who was I to argue?
So, what is it like using Otter.ai to transcribe interviews and how well does it perform the task?
Read on to find out.
What is Otter.ai?
Currently, Otter only translates English, Spanish, and French.
Otter.aioffers free and paid versions.
The Pro and Business options cost $17 or $30 a month, respectively.
Yearly plans can save you up to 51%.
There is also an Enterprise tier for organizations.
If youre like me and only need it for the occasional interview transcription, the free version is fine.
This required me to go to the home page and import the file.
If youre used to uploading images or other files, all of this is rather straightforward.
The upload took about six minutes.
When it finished, Otter.ai produced a rough transcription of the interview.
Otter.ai even produced a summary of the interview, which is very helpful for detailing the most important points.
One interesting aspect of the interview I conducted was that it was with Japanese speakers.
As I mentioned above, the free version of Otter.ai only allows for 30 minutes per conversation.
Thankfully, my interview was just shy of 30 minutes, so Otter.ai transcribed the entire conversation.
I still have to edit the interview as I would one I had meticulously written myself.
Outlook
Im a tech writer, so you might think I regularly use AI for work.
Its admittedly a point of pride that I produce work without AI assistance.
And Im glad I did.
Will I continue using Otter.ai to help me transcribe interviews and will I recommend it to others?
Otter.ai will make my life much easier, which is exactly what AI has been promising.
I promise you wont regret it.
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