Quick answer: To export your Otter.ai transcripts, open each conversation on the web, click the three dots, choose Export, and pick a text format from the menu. If Otter offers the audio too, download the MP3 as well. Then import the files into Lyonesse, which reads TXT, DOCX, PDF and MP3 but not Otter's SRT subtitle files.
If you are leaving Otter because you want an Otter.ai alternative that works offline, do the export first. So get the files out before you close anything.
What Otter lets you export
Otter's help center covers exporting from the web app. Which formats you see depends on your plan, and plans change, so if your screen differs, trust your screen.
- Text: open a conversation, use the Export menu, and choose a text format. The menu decides which ones you get (Export conversations).
- Audio: you can download a conversation's audio from Otter (Export conversation audio).
- Bulk export: Otter also has a bulk option for conversations, audio and Takeaways. Check the help article for which plans include it (Bulk export conversations, audio, or Takeaways).
Shared conversations may have export limits set by whoever owns them, so ask the owner if the menu does not offer export.
Which format to pick
You have two reasonable choices, and you can do both for the conversations that matter.
The text file. Fast, and it keeps whatever Otter already wrote. Pick TXT if that is all your plan offers, or DOCX or PDF if it is on offer. If the export menu has options for speaker names and timestamps, switch them on before you export. Skip SRT. It is built for video captions, and Lyonesse does not import it.
The audio file. Bigger and slower, but Lyonesse then makes its own transcript from the recording, with speaker labels, and you can ask questions about it. If Otter's transcript got names or jargon wrong, this is the route that fixes it.
A practical split: audio for the meetings you will want to question later, text for everything else.
Move the files into Lyonesse
- Put the exported files somewhere your iPhone, iPad or Mac can reach, such as iCloud Drive or the Files app. Unzip bulk exports first.
- In Lyonesse, use the import option and choose audio for MP3 files, or document for TXT, DOCX and PDF. You can select several files at once.
- Audio files are transcribed on the device, in the languages Lyonesse supports on the device. Documents are added to your library next to your recordings.
Lyonesse takes MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF, AAC, FLAC, OGG and Opus audio, so Otter's MP3 is covered. For documents it takes PDF, plain text, DOCX, DOC, RTF, Markdown, CSV and a few others. SRT and VTT are not on the list.
Import your audio, read the text, and keep it on your device: get Lyonesse on the App Store. For the basics of recording and importing, see our guide to transcribing audio on iPhone.
What you gain and what you give up
You gain: transcripts made on your device, search across what you have imported, and questions answered from the text. Your audio stays on the device, and audio files never sync. Summaries and transcripts do sync through iCloud by default, and you can switch that off in settings. Transcription runs on the device, but a language with no on-device speech model only goes to Apple's servers if you switch that on for that language yourself. It is off by default. See our privacy policy for the detail, and transcribing offline without an account if that is your main reason for moving.
You give up: sharing a transcript by browser link, team workspaces, the meeting bot that joins calls for you, and Otter's integrations. If your team lives in those, Lyonesse will feel like a step back. Compare options in our private transcription apps checklist first.
Deleting your Otter data afterwards
Only do this once you have opened your exported files and checked them. Otter's own instructions for deleting an account are on its page Delete your Otter account.
Frequently asked questions
Can I export all my Otter.ai transcripts at once?
Third-party guides report that bulk export is a paid-plan feature. Which plan includes it differs between sources, so check your export menu. If it is not there, export one conversation at a time.
Can I export Otter.ai transcripts for free?
Third-party guides report that free accounts can export conversations as TXT, and that DOCX, PDF and SRT need a paid plan. Check your own export menu, since plans change.
Can I download the original audio from Otter.ai?
Yes. Open the conversation, click the three dots, turn on Audio and click Export. The file is an MP3.
Which Otter.ai export files can Lyonesse open?
Lyonesse imports TXT, DOCX and PDF as documents, and MP3 as audio. It does not import SRT subtitle files.