Otter.ai: How to Turn Off the Notetaker and Auto-Join

How-to — 2026-11-11 — by Mahmoud Zalt

Switch auto-join to meetings you select, stop it for one call, remove it mid-meeting, and fix the events that keep joining after you turned it off.

There are two versions of this question and they need different answers. One is you want the bot out of your life. The other is you want it for most calls and absolutely not for the one you are walking into in four minutes.

This walks through both, plus the reason a lot of people turn auto-join off and then watch the bot show up anyway. That last one has a documented explanation, and it is not a bug.

Where is the auto-join setting?

In two places, and both land on the same control. Otter documents the account route as Integrations, then the Meetings tab, then Default auto-join settings, where you select Meetings I manually select. Once that is set, Otter no longer joins your synced calendar events automatically.

The faster route is from the homepage. On the Meetings tab, click AI Notetaker settings and pick the same Meetings I manually select option. Same setting, fewer clicks, useful when you are between calls and want it done now.

Notice what this option is not. It is not a delete, and it is not a downgrade. Your account, your past conversations and your integrations all stay exactly where they are. You are only changing whether the bot decides for itself which meetings to attend.

Why does it keep joining after you turned it off?

Because of individual events you toggled by hand at some point. Otter states that previous events which were manually toggled on or off keep that setting, and that changing the default only affects meetings you never touched individually. So an old manual yes outranks your new global no.

This bites hardest on recurring meetings, because one enthusiastic toggle months ago quietly attends every occurrence since. Otter's own advice is to review your calendar events after changing the default setting, and their homepage calendar shows which individual events you previously switched on.

The other explanation is that the notetaker is not yours. Join behaviour is set per account, so a colleague or client whose own Otter is set to join everything will bring their bot into your call no matter what you do. Nothing in your settings reaches another account.

Turn it off properly, in order

Change the default — Integrations, Meetings tab, Default auto-join settings, then Meetings I manually select. Or from the homepage Meetings tab, click AI Notetaker settings and pick the same option. This is the one change most people need.
Sweep your upcoming calendar — Otter documents that events you previously toggled by hand keep their old setting. Open the homepage calendar, look at which upcoming events still show Notetaker switched on, and switch them off one by one.
Pay special attention to recurring series — A weekly one to one or a standing client call is where a stale per-event toggle does the most damage, because it repeats. Check every recurring meeting on your calendar rather than only the next few days.
Give changes time to reach Otter — Otter recommends updating calendar events at least thirty minutes before the meeting starts so the change has time to sync. Inside that window, do not trust a settings change to take effect before the call.
Disconnect the calendar if you want a clean guarantee — Otter's own answer to preventing future joins, alongside the auto-join setting, is disconnecting your calendar to remove all future events. Blunt, but it removes the mechanism rather than the permission.
Learn the mid-call escape hatch — Type stop otter in the Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams chat. Otter documents that this immediately removes every Notetaker in the meeting, and that no Otter account is required to do it.

How do you keep Otter but skip one meeting?

Toggle that single event. Otter documents per-event control from the Meetings or Calendar tab, so you can leave the default alone and switch the notetaker off for the one conversation that should not be on record. That per-event choice is the one that sticks.

The thirty minute sync guidance applies here too. If you are already inside that window, do not rely on the toggle. Let the bot join and remove it, which takes one line in the meeting chat and works regardless of what your account thinks.

How do you get it out of a call in progress?

Type stop otter in the meeting chat. Otter documents that any meeting participant can do this, including people without an Otter account, and that every Notetaker in the meeting is removed immediately. It is the simplest control in the product and almost nobody knows it exists.

There are quieter options if you own the account. Otter documents a Stop Notetaker control on the conversation page and from the homepage calendar, confirmed with Yes, turn it off. Participants who can reach the conversation through the Notetaker link in chat get the same button, when the account has that chat setting enabled.

Anyone in the meeting: type stop otter in the chat. Removes every Notetaker at once, so use another method if there are several and you only want one gone.
Zoom: Otter documents that the host or co-host can remove Notetaker as a participant during the meeting.
Google Meet: depending on meeting permissions, hosts and other participants can remove it from the call.
Microsoft Teams: depending on meeting permissions, the organiser and presenters can remove it from the meeting.

Can you block it from confidential meetings automatically?

On Enterprise, yes, by meeting title. Otter documents blocked keywords that stop Notetaker joining any meeting whose title contains matching text, applied across the whole workspace regardless of what individual members have set. Their example is a keyword like DNR turning Weekly Sync - DNR into a no-record meeting.

Two caveats they state plainly. The feature is not yet available in the Otter interface, so a workspace admin has to contact Otter support or their account manager to configure it. And keyword filters only cover members of your own workspace, so a participant from another Otter workspace can still bring their notetaker.

Keywords are not case-sensitive, so DNR also catches dnr and Dnr. Otter lists Private, Confidential, No Otter, Internal Only, Off Record and DNR as examples, and multiple keywords can be configured at once.

Where does consent fit into this?

Recording rules differ by country and by state, and the obligation belongs to whoever is doing the recording rather than to the software. Some places require every participant to agree, others require only one. If your calls cross borders, assume the stricter rule.

Practically, that means turning the bot off is only half of it. If you are the one recording, say so at the top of the call. If someone else is, you are entitled to ask, and most people simply agree. Otter also documents a setting that emails the host in advance that Notetaker will be joining, which does some of that announcing for you.

What happens to the work the notes were meant to trigger?

It comes back to you. Most people did not want a recording, they wanted the follow-up email sent, the commitment tracked and the next call booked. A transcript was the closest thing on offer, and turning it off leaves that work exactly where it started.

That is the part we went after at Sistava. Rather than a bot that sits in the call and captures it, you hire an AI Employee, tell it in plain English what should happen after your meetings, and it works your calendar and your inbox for you.

What turning it off will not do

It will not remove a transcript that already exists. Changing a setting only affects future meetings, so anything captured before the change stays in whichever account recorded it, and only that account holder can delete it.

It will not stop someone else's notetaker. That bot belongs to their account and follows their rules. Your only levers are removing it as a participant if you have the permission, typing stop otter if it is an Otter bot, or asking the person who brought it.

And it will not stop a determined recording. Somebody can run a recorder on their phone or take notes by hand. Settings are a good way to make recording deliberate rather than automatic, which is a real improvement, but they are not a guarantee that nothing is being captured.

FAQ

How do I stop Otter joining all my meetings?

Set the default auto-join option to Meetings I manually select. Otter documents two paths to it: Integrations then the Meetings tab then Default auto-join settings, or the homepage Meetings tab then AI Notetaker settings. Your account, past conversations and integrations are unaffected, and you can still add the notetaker to individual meetings when you want it.

I turned auto-join off but Otter still joins. Why?

Otter states that events you previously toggled on or off by hand keep that setting, and that changing the default only affects meetings where you never made an individual choice. Review your upcoming calendar events, especially recurring ones, and switch the notetaker off on each event that still has it enabled. If the bot belongs to someone else's account, your settings do not reach it at all.

How do I remove Otter from a meeting that has already started?

Type stop otter in the Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams meeting chat. Otter documents that any participant can do this, including people with no Otter account, and that it removes every Notetaker in the meeting immediately. If there are several notetakers and you only want one gone, remove it from the participant list instead, or use the Stop Notetaker control on the conversation page.

Can I stop Otter recording just one meeting?

Yes. Leave the default setting alone and toggle the notetaker off for that specific event from the Meetings or Calendar tab. Otter recommends making the change at least thirty minutes before the meeting starts so it has time to sync. Inside that window, the reliable option is to let it join and then remove it in the meeting.

Can an admin block Otter from confidential meetings?

On Otter Enterprise, admins can have blocked keywords configured so Notetaker will not auto-join meetings whose titles match, across the whole workspace. Otter notes this is not yet exposed in their interface, so an admin has to contact Otter support or an account manager to set it up. Keywords are not case-sensitive, and the filter only applies to members of your own workspace.

Does turning off the notetaker delete my old transcripts?

No. Switching the auto-join setting only changes what happens in future meetings. Existing conversations stay in the account that recorded them, and Otter treats deletion as a separate action. If a transcript of your meeting sits in someone else's account, only that account holder can remove it.