AI note-taking tools are one of the hottest topics among professionals and knowledge workers right now. Taking notes and acting on information from meetings is at the core of my book, The 24-Hour Rule and Other Secrets for Smarter Organizations, so this is a topic close to my heart. After experimenting with tools like Otter AI, Copilot and Teams, I have some strong opinions on where they help and where they fall short.
In this short video, I share my hot take on the good, the bad and how to get the best of both worlds:
1. The good: accurate records with less effort
- AI tools do a remarkably good job of recording, transcribing and summarizing meetings, workshops, walkthroughs and interviews.
- They create a helpful record for later reference.
- Transcripts can help you generate process documentation, articles, proposals and project plans.
2. The bad: collecting without acting
- Most transcripts and recordings are never looked at again and end up collecting digital dust.
- Having a recording can make us slower to act on what we heard.
- People are often less willing to share confidential or candid information when they know they’re being recorded.
3. The biggest drawback: losing the thinking that note-taking supports
- Manual note-taking forces you to process information, decide what matters and synthesize what you’ve heard.
- Research consistently shows that traditional notes boost memory and recall.
- It builds your skills of discernment, analysis and communication.
4. The verdict and a happy medium
- Time savings can be significant for formulaic meetings like status updates, but closer to 20 to 30% for work requiring professional judgment.
- Use AI transcripts to speed up your summaries, but don’t rely on AI alone, or your work will lose its human touch.
- Try a 5-minute recap of 3 to 5 key bullets at the end of each meeting.
- Above all, the value of your notes comes down to acting on the information.
Watch the video below to see how it works. 👇