AI for Meetings and Notes

Stop Taking Notes, Start Listening

You're in a meeting, frantically typing notes, and you miss half of what's said. AI can record, transcribe, and summarize—so you can actually participate.

AI Meeting Tools

Otter.ai (Best for most people)

• Free tier: 300 minutes/month
• Features: Real-time transcription, speaker identification, summary
• Works with: Zoom, Google Meet, Teams
• Use case: Automatically joins and records your meetings

Fireflies.ai

• Free tier: Unlimited meetings, limited storage
• Features: Transcription, AI summaries, searchable notes
• Works with: Most video platforms
• Use case: Great for sales calls and client meetings

Microsoft Teams (Premium)

• Built-in: Recap feature with AI summary
• Features: Transcription, key topics, action items
• Use case: If your company already uses Teams

Google Meet + Tactiq

• Tactiq extension: Free Chrome extension
• Features: Live transcription, AI summary
• Use case: Simple option for Google Meet users

Setting Up AI Meeting Notes

Step 1: Choose your tool
For this lesson, we'll use Otter.ai (free plan works great).

Step 2: Connect to calendar

1. Sign up for Otter.ai
2. Connect your Google/Outlook calendar
3. Otter will automatically join scheduled meetings
4. Or manually start recording for in-person meetings

Step 3: Configure settings

• Enable speaker identification
• Turn on auto-summary
• Set sharing preferences (who can access notes)

Done. Now it works automatically.

During the Meeting

What AI captures:

• Full transcription (every word)
• Speaker labels (who said what)
• Timestamps
• Key moments you can highlight

Your job during meeting:

• Listen and participate (not frantically typing)
• Highlight important moments (one click)
• Add comments or tags in real-time if needed

AI handles the note-taking.

After the Meeting: AI Summaries

Automatic summary includes:

• Overview of discussion
• Key topics covered
• Decisions made
• Questions raised

Otter.ai example prompt:

Summarize this meeting in 3 paragraphs: main discussion, decisions, and next steps.

Takes 30 seconds. Beats reading 45 minutes of transcript.

Extracting Action Items

The problem: Meetings generate tasks, but they get lost in notes.

AI solution:
Copy meeting transcript to ChatGPT:

From this meeting transcript, extract all action items. For each, identify: what needs to be done, who's responsible, and any mentioned deadlines.

[paste transcript]

AI output:

Action Items:
1. Sarah - Update Q4 projections by Friday
2. John - Schedule follow-up with client next week
3. Marketing team - Draft campaign proposal for review
4. Everyone - Review budget doc before next meeting

Copy to your task manager. Done.

Creating Professional Meeting Minutes

From rough notes to formal minutes:

Prompt:

Convert these meeting notes into formal meeting minutes:

Format:

• Meeting: [title]
• Date: [date]
• Attendees: [list]
• Agenda items discussed
• Decisions made
• Action items with owners
• Next meeting: [date/time]

Notes: [paste your notes or transcript]

AI formats it professionally in seconds.

Searchable Meeting Archive

The power of AI transcripts: You can search across all meetings.

Otter.ai search:

• "What did we decide about the budget?"
• "Find mentions of Project Phoenix"
• "When did Sarah mention the deadline?"

Finds it across months of meetings in seconds.

One-on-One Meeting Notes

For recurring 1:1s:

After each meeting, prompt:

Summarize this 1:1 meeting transcript. Include:

• Key updates shared
• Concerns or blockers raised
• Agreed action items
• Topics to follow up on next time

[paste transcript]

Keep these summaries in a doc. Great for performance reviews.

Client/Sales Call Notes

After client calls:

From this sales call transcript, create:

1. Summary of client's needs and pain points
2. Solutions discussed
3. Client concerns or objections raised
4. Next steps agreed upon
5. Follow-up tasks

[paste transcript]

Perfect for CRM updates and handoffs to team.

Sharing Meeting Notes

Who should get notes:

• Meeting attendees
• Stakeholders who couldn't attend
• Your future self (searchable archive)

How to share:

1. Direct share: Otter allows sharing transcript link
2. Email summary: Copy AI summary, send via email
3. Project tool: Post in Slack/Teams/Asana
4. Meeting minutes: Formal document for official meetings

Tip: Share summary, not full transcript (unless needed)

Handling Sensitive Meetings

Privacy considerations:

When to record:

• Internal team meetings (with permission)
• Your own meetings
• When all parties agree

When NOT to record:

• Without consent
• Confidential HR discussions (unless policy allows)
• Client calls without permission
• Anywhere recording is prohibited

Best practice:

• "I'm using Otter to take notes for us. Is that okay with everyone?"
• If anyone objects, take manual notes

Delete recordings of sensitive content after summarizing.

Practical Use Cases

Daily standup:

• Record quickly
• Extract blockers and updates
• Share summary with team

Project kickoff:

• Full transcript for reference
• AI summary of goals, timeline, responsibilities
• Action items distributed automatically

Brainstorming session:

• Capture all ideas without slowing down
• AI organizes ideas by theme
• Nothing gets lost

Training/onboarding:

• Record training sessions
• New employees can review anytime
• Searchable for specific topics

Performance review:

• Review summaries of 1:1s over time
• Track progress on goals
• Reference specific conversations

Tips for Better AI Meeting Notes

Speak clearly:

• AI transcription works best with clear audio
• Mute when not speaking
• Use good microphone

Identify speakers:

• Say your name first time you speak
• Or edit speaker labels after meeting

Highlight in real-time:

• Mark important moments during meeting
• Easier than searching later

Review and edit:

• AI isn't perfect—misheard words happen
• Quick edit pass for accuracy
• Especially for names, numbers, technical terms

Add context:

• Add a comment with context for future you
• Tag relevant people or projects