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Meetings
AI meeting summaries: what actually works
What to automate, what to ignore, and how to keep your team in sync.
Aug 28, 2024 · 1 min read
Key takeaways
- Capture decisions and next steps, not every detail.
- Send summaries within 2 hours while context is fresh.
- Use one consistent template across teams.
Meeting summaries are only useful when they answer: What did we decide? Who is doing what? By when?
Step-by-step: the summary workflow
- Record the meeting with consent.
- Generate a transcript within 5 minutes.
- Ask the AI to produce: decisions, action items, risks.
- Edit for clarity and add owners.
- Send the summary within two hours.
A simple template
- Decisions
- Action items
- Risks / open questions
- Next meeting date
FAQ
Do these replace notes?
They replace manual notes for most teams, but keep raw transcripts for reference.
What about privacy?
Use tools with admin controls and data retention policies.
Tools mentioned
- Fathom (affiliate)Why we like it: Solid AI summaries and action items.
- Otter (affiliate)Why we like it: Transcripts plus searchable highlights.
- Notion AI (affiliate)Why we like it: Turns transcripts into readable notes.
About the author
AI Shortcuts Team · Workflow researcher
We test AI tools with real calendars, inboxes, and family schedules so you can steal the shortcut without the chaos.
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