Find it hard to focus on the meeting when you’re trying to keep up with taking notes? Life is about to get so much simpler.
Do you dread taking meeting minutes? It’s a tedious task, and it’s easy to miss something important when you’re writing everything down by hand. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to automatically transcribe meetings so that you don’t have to worry about missing anything? Well, there is! In this blog post, we will discuss how artificial intelligence can be used to record meeting minutes for you so you can relax -er, we mean, pay better attention! 😉
Why Meeting Minutes Suck
Taking meeting minutes by hand can be a tedious task. It requires focus, note-taking skills, and the ability to accurately capture the discussion without bias. This can be an especially challenging task for larger or more complex meetings as multiple people try to talk over each other and get off-topic on irrelevant tangents.
In the beginning, secretaries had to be proficient in “shorthand” in order to accurately take down meeting minutes. This is a method of rapid writing that uses abbreviations and symbols to capture the essence of what was said. While this did improve the accuracy of meeting minutes, it was still a time-consuming task and far from perfect.
The next evolution in meeting minutes came with the invention of audio recordings. This allowed secretaries to focus on capturing the main points of the discussion while still being able to reference the recording for accuracy. This was a major step forward, but it still required transcription which, as we all know, can be very time-consuming.
With the advent of personal computers and typing skills becoming more commonplace, meeting minutes began to be typed up in real-time. This was a major improvement as it allowed for more accurate and complete meeting minutes with less transcription required afterward. However, it still required someone to be present at the meeting whose sole focus was typing up the discussion.
This is where AI comes in! With automatic transcription, you no longer have to worry about taking meeting minutes by hand or even typing them up in real-time. All you need to do is hit “record” and the AI will take care of the rest.
How Automatic Transcription Works
Automatic transcription is a process by which speech is converted into text by a computer. This is done using a combination of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Machine learning algorithms are used to “learn” the sound of human speech and then convert it into text.
The accuracy of automatic transcription has come a long way in recent years and is only getting better as the technology continues to evolve, although it’s important to note that automatic transcription is not perfect and there may be some errors in the transcriptions. That being said, it is still a huge time-saver and can be a very useful tool for taking meeting minutes.
The Pros and Cons of Automatic Transcription
There are both pros and cons to using automatic transcription for taking meeting minutes. On the plus side, it can be a huge time-saver as you no longer have to worry about transcribing the meeting afterward. It also allows you to focus on the discussion itself rather than trying to take down every word that is said. Additionally, automatic transcription can be very accurate and it is getting more accurate as the technology continues to improve.
On the downside, however, automatic transcription is not perfect and there may be some errors in the transcriptions so it would still be wise to proofread the notes before forwarding them to a VIP client! Additionally, if you are dealing with sensitive information, there may be security concerns of potential data leaks. As is true with all third-party software, information stored outside your local system is susceptible to hackers. Also, with the easily sharable nature of the AI transcribed notes, there may be a risk of team members sharing sensitive information with those not meant to be in the room with a simple click of a button.
How to Use AI Transcription in Your Next Meeting
If you’re interested in using automatic transcription for your next meeting, you will need to choose a meeting recording app that offers this feature. There are many different options available, ranging from free apps with limited usability to powerful paid programs with a multitude of features to choose from.
Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Tactiq is a free Chrome extension that transcribes virtual meetings, available in 5 languages. Key features include speaker identification, timestamps, and the ability to add screenshots – perfect for lining up notes with on-screen slides. It also works with Google Docs, Notion, Salesforce, and other apps your workplace is already using – drastically improving the proficiency of meeting note-taking. Packages include a free plan, with premium plans ranging from $9-$20/mo.
Fireflies is an AI assistant that records and transcribes online meetings, and also allows you to easily search through these conversations later and collaborate with your team for things like assigning action items and setting reminders for future follow-ups. Invite Fireflies’ bot to sit in on your Zoom meetings to record in the background so you can fully focus on the call. Fireflies works with Hubspot, Slack, Zapier, and tons of other CRM/collab apps. Start for free, or upgrade to a paid plan starting at $10/month, with large enterprise custom pricing available to fit your company’s needs.
Otter sits in the background of your virtual meeting, quietly transcribing and compiling notes that can be shared with the team. Otter’s AI is designed to learn over time, and you can help it learn to identify speakers, give it custom vocabulary, and let Otter round up key highlights from the meeting for easy reference later. Otter has a free plan geared toward personal use, or upgraded business plans starting at $8.33-$20/mo (with a generous discount when billed annually).
Final Thoughts
Overall, automatic transcription can be a very useful tool for taking meeting minutes but it is important to weigh the pros and cons before using it. If you decide it’s right for you, there are many great apps popping up on the market recently and competition to be the best is pushing AI to rapidly improve.
