Turn meeting notes into actions
Separate discussion, decisions and actions. If no owner or deadline was agreed, keep it unconfirmed.
- You'll get
- Decisions, open questions and actions traceable to the original statements.
- You need
- A recording used with participants’ consent, a transcript or your own notes.
- Cost
- Try the tools and free plans you already have first; limits, features and availability vary — check the provider.
Sample file: download it to try along in your AI (a fictional example)
Which tool? See suggestions and limits
Which tool
Suggestions by task, not a tested ranking. If a tool you already have can do the job, keep using it.
| Tool | When to use it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Organise transcripts, or use audio uploads on a supported paid account. | Transcription and speaker identification can be wrong; listen back to key statements. |
| Claude | Organise text notes, then create an editable document or presentation. | Open and inspect generated files before sharing them. |
Start with a short recap
“Discussed”, “decided” and “promised to do” are different states. An assistant can make notes look tidy without distinguishing them correctly.
Start with ten minutes of notes or a short transcript. Ask for agreed decisions, unresolved questions and actions. Each action should include an owner, deadline and supporting statement. Leave missing information marked as unconfirmed rather than inventing it to complete a table.
Paid ChatGPT subscriptions and workspaces currently support audio uploads. Alternatively, use a transcript from another tool or simply paste your notes. Obtain participants’ consent for recordings and listen back to important names, numbers and negatives. Summarising does not repair a faulty transcript.
A suggestion is not a commitment
“Lin: I will send a draft by Friday” supports an action assigned to Lin. “Zhou: How about publishing next week? We need to ask the manager” does not establish a publication decision or assign responsibility to Zhou.
If speakers disagree, retain the positions and their evidence. Do not let the assistant manufacture consensus. Ask participants to review the recap before treating it as an action plan.
A practical sequence
- Attach a short recording or paste notes, explain the topic and remove unnecessary personal details.
- Check key statements before requesting a structured recap.
- Ask for owners, deadlines and evidence for each action; mark anything missing.
- Compare the recap with the source and ask participants to confirm it.
Which decisions in these notes were only suggestions in the source? Which owners or deadlines lack explicit evidence? List the supporting statement or timestamp and mark unsupported information as unconfirmed. Do not add commitments on behalf of participants.
Turning it into slides
Decide who the audience is and what judgment they need to make. Agree on three to five points before requesting an editable deck. Claude’s file tools support PowerPoint creation. Open the download to check text fit, chart values, fonts and images. A transcript is not a presentation: placing every paragraph on a slide usually makes it harder to read.
Try it yourself
An example is filled in. Change the goal, input, output and constraints to your own; the prompt updates as you type. Copy it into your AI app. Nothing leaves this page.
Goal: Summarise project decisions and next steps Input: A transcript or recording used with consent Output: Decisions, open questions and actions with owners, dates and evidence Constraints: Do not turn discussion into a decision; mark missing owners or dates Ask if information is missing; do not invent it. Explain what I need to verify.
Copy into your usual AI, then attach your source material.