MAX’S NOTES
How to turn a meeting transcript into decisions and action items
A useful meeting record captures decisions and tasks, not just a polished summary. Use this prompt and fictional example to keep missing deadlines visible.
To create meeting notes with AI, provide an accessible transcript and ask for decisions, action items and open questions separately. Every action should have support in the text, with missing deadlines or unnamed owners explicitly marked.
You do not need to begin by automatically recording a call. You can work with an existing transcript that you are allowed to share with the selected tool. Check its quality first: a wrong speaker name remains a problem in a neatly formatted report.
Distinguish discussion from agreement
“I suggest launching on Friday” is different from “we agreed to launch on Friday.” Here is the structure I suggest:
- Decisions: what was explicitly agreed.
- Actions: who committed to doing what.
- Open questions: what still needs clarification.
- Proposals: ideas discussed but not approved.
This is an editorial structure, not a mandatory format for every meeting.
A prompt to adapt
Draft meeting notes using only the transcript below. Do not treat a proposal as an agreed decision without support in the text. For each action, give the task, named owner, deadline and a short supporting passage. Write “not specified” when the owner or deadline is missing. Separate decisions, actions, proposals and open questions. Do not add your own actions. Do not send the notes to participants.
Paste the transcript after the prompt. Include the meeting date when it is needed to interpret relative deadlines. Do not convert “by Friday” into a calendar date without establishing the date and context.
A fictional excerpt
Anna: “I'll take care of the mock-up.”
Ben: “I suggest showing it to the client on Friday.”
Anna: “I'm not confirming the presentation date yet.”
A useful checking record would be:
Action: prepare the mock-up. Owner: Anna. Deadline: not specified. Evidence: “I'll take care of the mock-up.”
Proposal: show it to the client on Friday. Status: unconfirmed.
You cannot turn this into Anna's promise to finish by Friday merely because that fits neatly into a table. This example was written by the editorial team; it is not a real meeting or a product test.
What ready-made products can do
Microsoft documents meeting summaries and suggested action items for Copilot in Teams. Availability and post-meeting use depend on settings and whether a transcript is available. [1] That describes a particular product, not every AI chat.
Check before using
Keep the original transcript beside the draft. Verify names, dates, negations and statements confirming decisions. Collect missing information separately.
The relevant people can then confirm the wording. Transfer agreed actions into your work system using your normal process. Producing meeting notes does not mean assignments have been sent, accepted or completed.