Otter.ai CEO Sam Liang isn’t happy with the corporate being considered, and used, as only a assembly notetaker. Liang desires Otter.ai to develop into a go-to supply for enterprises and a brand new batch of merchandise launched Tuesday is step one in that evolution.

The Silicon Valley-based AI assembly assistant startup launched Tuesday a brand new suite of instruments for enterprises designed to higher incorporate knowledge from conferences into different workflows by funneling that data to a central information base. The goal is to develop Otter’s enterprise by serving to corporations get extra out of the conferences they report.

Otter’s new product suite consists of an API that enables customers to construct customized integrations with platforms like Jira and HubSpot, an MCP server — which connects customers’ Otter knowledge to exterior AI fashions — and a brand new AI agent that may search an organization’s conferences notes or displays.  

Liang instructed TechCrunch it’s the subsequent section of Otter’s life.  

“We’re evolving from a gathering notetaker to a company assembly information base,” Liang stated. “It is a system report for conversations. It could actually assist companies scale their progress and drive measurable enterprise worth.” 

When Otter was based in 2016, there have been only a handful of assembly transcription corporations — a far leap from as we speak. The AI increase that kicked off in 2022 fueled a surge in startups like Granola or Circleback. Even older gamers like Fireflies have seen a surge in curiosity.  

Liang argues this transition places Otter right into a separate division than its former friends.  

Conferences are the place the bulk of firm information is saved, in Liang’s opinion, whether or not that’s notes from a buyer gross sales name or discussions round a advertising and marketing technique. However and not using a centralized place for these assembly notes, that data can solely assist an organization a lot.  

“Quite a lot of occasions, inefficiency occurs due to data silos,” Liang stated. “One staff doesn’t know what the opposite staff is doing, and it thinks that that was deliberate like a month in the past. Oftentimes the plan modifications, however not everyone is knowledgeable. So, the concept is to create a permission system in order that you recognize many of the [nonconfidential] data is shared as broadly as attainable.” 

Not each assembly with Otter might be instantly added to this company-wide information base and customers can select to limit assembly word entry for recordings that take care of delicate data.  

Worker and knowledge privateness stays a priority regardless of entry controls. Even when a gathering is round a impartial subject, Otter transcriptions decide the small speak and chatter that occurs earlier than and after conferences, which may comprise gossip or data meant for under sure members to listen to.  

Otter can also be the topic of an August class-action lawsuit that claims the corporate was recording personal conversations with out consumer consent and utilizing that data to coach its transcription providers. 

Liang stated that whereas he can’t touch upon the lawsuit particularly, this isn’t a difficulty particular to Otter, and that when wanting on the larger image, extra entry to data is higher than not.  

“In the event that they accuse us, then they may accuse everybody else, all of the instruments you heard about doing assembly notes,” Liang stated. “My view is that we’re on the fitting facet of historical past. We’re constructing this new AI revolution. If you need AI to assist, you want to put AI within the conferences.”