*Thisarticle is based on a YouTube video by Sophie Hundertmark, an expert in the use of artificial intelligence with a focus on chatbots and strategic AI applications in companies and public institutions. Sophie is a researcher and lecturer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and is doing her doctorate in Conversational AI at the University of Fribourg. The blog text was created using a custom GPT model that was trained on Sophie’s video content, language style and expertise. The result is well-founded, up-to-date articles based on Sophie Hundertmark‘s own expertise.
You can find the link to the video at the end of this article.
Meetings are part of everyday working life for many of us. However, the same question often arises after the appointment at the latest: How do we document the most important results efficiently and comprehensibly?
While classic meeting summaries are not always the most popular task, AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or similar applications can simplify this process considerably. With the right approach, structured summaries are created within a few minutes that can be used or sent directly.
Why use AI for meeting summaries?
After a meeting, a transcript is often already available – for example from a recording or an automatic transcription service. Instead of analyzing the content manually, you can insert the transcript into an AI tool of your choice and have a professional summary created from it.
The advantage: The most important findings, decisions and next steps are quickly prepared in a structured manner. This saves time and ensures consistent documentation.
Don’t forget data protection and consent
Before you record a meeting, you should always obtain the consent of all participants. In many companies and countries, the recording of a meeting is subject to legal requirements.
Equally important is how the data is handled after the meeting. If you upload transcripts to AI systems, you should take your company’s applicable data protection guidelines into account and use data protection-compliant AI solutions where appropriate.
The right prompt for better results
The quality of the summary depends heavily on your instructions to the AI. Instead of just asking for a general summary, it is worth making concrete specifications.
For example, you can define the following requirements:
- Create a classic meeting summary.
- It should be possible to send the summary by e-mail.
- Limit the length to a maximum of one A4 page.
- Avoid unnecessary empty phrases.
- Use Swiss spelling.
- Do not use a sharp S (ß).
- Organize the content into clear thematic blocks.
- Highlight decisions and next steps.
The more precisely your requirements are formulated, the better the result will meet your expectations.
Have e-mail prepared directly
One particularly practical use case is to have the AI not only create the summary, but also directly formulate the appropriate email.
This means that the most important content of the meeting is already integrated into the message. You then just have to check the e-mail, adjust it if necessary and send it.
This significantly reduces the manual effort and at the same time ensures that the key points of the meeting are communicated.
Always check AI results critically
Even if modern AI systems deliver impressive results, the summaries produced should not be accepted without verification.
Checks in particular:
- Whether all important points have been recorded correctly.
- Whether decisions are reproduced correctly.
- Whether no relevant information is missing.
- Whether the proposed e-mail strikes the desired note.
A brief quality check helps to avoid errors and ensure the reliability of the documentation.
Conclusion
With ChatGPT, Claude and similar AI tools, professional meeting summaries can be created within minutes. The process is particularly effective if you give the AI clear guidelines on structure, scope and style.
At the same time, you should keep an eye on data protection and the legal framework and always review the results critically. This saves you time on documentation and allows you to concentrate more on the content and decisions that really matter.
Any further questions?
Do you have any questions? I am happy to support you, act as a sparring partner and answer your questions. I am always happy to receive your messages, preferably by WhatsApp message or e-mail.
