Add Otter.ai to a Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams meeting, by hand or automatically

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The quick way to add Otter to a meeting is to copy the meeting link, open Otter's home page, and paste it into the field labeled Paste meeting URL to add Otter. Otter Notetaker joins in a few minutes as a participant. To have it join by itself, connect your Google or Microsoft calendar and choose which meetings it should join. For Zoom and Teams, the host or an administrator may have to change a setting first.

I built YapToText, a dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about Otter with that in mind. Every fact about Otter here comes from its own help center, read on October 11, 2026.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Add it to one meeting
  2. Have it join automatically
  3. Zoom: what the host sets
  4. Microsoft Teams: what an admin sets
  5. Without a bot in the meeting
  6. After the meeting
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Add it to one meeting

  1. Copy the meeting link from Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. For Zoom, the link has to include the password.
  2. On Otter's home page, click into Paste meeting URL to add Otter.
  3. Paste the link and press Return, or click Record.
  4. Wait. It can take a few minutes for Notetaker to appear in the participant list.

The host may have to admit Notetaker from the waiting room, and may have to allow it to record. If the meeting is on your Otter calendar, a Notetaker button appears on the event once the meeting has started.

Have it join automatically

  1. Click Apps in the left menu.
  2. Under Connect calendars and contacts, click Add beside Google or Microsoft, and allow access.
  3. Open the Notetaker settings, under Account Settings, Meetings.
  4. Set Default-join to the meetings you want.

From Otter's article on automatically adding Notetaker, read October 11, 2026. The external and internal options apply to a Workspace with a business domain.

Auto-join optionNotetaker joins
Meetings with a video linkEvery calendar event with a Zoom, Google Meet or Teams link
Meetings where I am the hostOnly events you organized
External meetingsEvents with at least one guest outside your Workspace domain
Internal meetingsEvents where every guest is inside your domain
Meetings I manually selectOnly events you switched on yourself

The last option is the cautious one. Stopping Otter joining meetings covers turning auto-join off.

Zoom: what the host sets

These steps are for the person hosting the Zoom meeting.

  1. Sign in to your Zoom account on the web and open Settings, then the Recording tab.
  2. Switch on Record to computer files.
  3. Check External meeting participants, and Auto approve their permission request.
  4. Save, then connect your Zoom account to Otter.

Otter says Record to computer files has to be on for Notetaker to join and record. If you are not the host, the host has to do this.

Microsoft Teams: what an admin sets

For Teams, the change is made in the Microsoft Teams admin center by an administrator:

  • Meeting settings. Under Participants, turn on Anonymous users can join a meeting.
  • Meeting policies. Under Meeting join and lobby, turn on Anonymous users can join a meeting unverified.
  • Optional. Let people in your organization and guests bypass the lobby, to reduce manual admission.

A Limited call features banner may appear when Notetaker joins. Otter says it is a Teams display issue and can be ignored.

Without a bot in the meeting

If you would rather not have a named participant join, Otter's desktop app records the meeting audio from your computer, with no Notetaker in the call. The Otter Mac app page explains that. Otter's own advice applies either way: ask the other participants before you record.

After the meeting

Otter is for capturing a conversation between people. For your own words, a dictation app is the other tool: YapToText, the free Mac app I built, types what you say into any app, with the speech recognized on the Mac, and it can turn a recording you already have into plain text. It does not join or record meetings. Transcribing a meeting on a Mac sets out the ways to do it, with and without a bot.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

The short version

  • One meeting. Paste the meeting link on Otter's home page.
  • Every meeting. Connect a calendar and set Default-join.
  • Zoom. The host turns on Record to computer files and connects Zoom.
  • Teams. An admin allows anonymous users to join.
  • No bot. Use the desktop app's recording.

If Otter changes how Notetaker joins, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

How do I add Otter to a Zoom meeting?

Copy the Zoom link, including its password, paste it into Paste meeting URL to add Otter on Otter's home page, and press Return. The host may need to admit Notetaker.

How do I add Otter to a Teams meeting?

Paste the Teams meeting link on Otter's home page. An administrator may first need to allow anonymous users to join meetings in the Teams admin center.

How do I add Otter to Google Meet?

Paste the Google Meet link into the field on Otter's home page, or connect your Google calendar so Notetaker joins by itself.

Why is Otter not joining my Zoom meeting?

The host has to turn on Record to computer files in Zoom's recording settings and allow external participants to record. The link must also include the password.

Does Otter have to join the meeting?

No. The Otter desktop app can record a meeting's audio from your computer without Notetaker joining.