01 / START HERE
A useful way to approach it.
'Maybe Sam could check the venue' is a suggestion. 'Sam will check the venue by Friday' is a commitment if the notes accurately record it. A useful meeting recap preserves that difference. Before turning notes into tasks, separate agreed actions from ideas, questions, and statements that need confirmation.
Paste notes you are permitted to share into o1 after removing unnecessary personal or confidential details. Ask for a text recap you can review with participants. This guide does not record audio, attend a meeting, assign tasks automatically, send follow-up messages, or assume access to a calendar. The example notes are fictional.
02 / THE PROCESS
Go from question to next step.
- 01
Prepare the notes and meeting context
Include the meeting purpose, date, and participant roles when useful. Remove unrelated conversation and unnecessary sensitive details without changing what was said. Keep an original copy for review. If notes are incomplete, say so before extraction; an assistant should not fill the gaps with plausible conversation.
- 02
Classify what the notes contain
Ask for decisions, confirmed actions, suggestions, unresolved questions, and informational updates as separate groups. Look for verbs indicating commitment and qualifiers such as 'might' or 'if'. A discussion about a possible next step should not become an assigned task merely because it sounds actionable.
- 03
Extract actions with evidence
For each proposed action retain the supporting note, stated owner, stated date, and dependencies. Use 'not specified' when a detail is missing. If the note contains a relative date, resolve it only from reliable meeting context and flag your interpretation. Do not invent an owner because a participant is associated with the topic.
- 04
Draft clarification questions
Identify the smallest question needed to turn an uncertain action into a commitment. Ask who will own it, what output is expected, and when it is needed. Keep blocked actions linked to their dependency. This makes the recap useful for follow-up without claiming participants already accepted a plan they have not seen.
- 05
Review before sharing or assigning
Compare the action table with the original notes, then confirm ambiguous items with the participants through your usual process. Only after confirmation should you transfer actions into a task system or send a recap. Producing a draft in chat does not mean it was delivered, approved, or added to anybody's calendar.
03 / YOUR STARTING POINT
A prompt you can make your own.
Replace the bracketed fields. Add only information you have permission to share. This is a reusable text prompt; it does not run a task from this page.
Convert these permitted meeting notes into a draft recap: {{notes}}. Context: {{meeting_context}}. Separate decisions, confirmed actions, suggestions, questions, and updates. For each action show the supporting wording, stated owner, stated due date, dependency, and confidence in the interpretation. Use 'not specified' for missing details. Do not convert tentative language into commitments or invent attendees' agreement. Draft clarification questions and a short follow-up message for my review; do not claim it was sent or tasks were assigned.04 / SEE THE SHAPE OF IT
Illustrative action extraction
Fictional meeting notes and authored interpretations; no meeting was recorded and no real tasks were created.
| Note | Classification | Draft follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| 'Rae will check room access by Friday' | Confirmed action in supplied notes | Confirm Rae and the exact Friday date |
| 'Maybe Sam could draft the invitation' | Suggestion | Ask whether Sam can own a draft |
| 'We will use the smaller room' | Decision | Record the agreed room choice |
| 'Budget still needs approval' | Unresolved dependency | Identify the approver before booking |
The draft preserves tentative language and blockers instead of turning every sentence into a task with an invented deadline.
05 / KEEP YOUR JUDGMENT
What to watch before you use it.
Assigning every mentioned person
Mentioning a name does not establish ownership. Retain the commitment wording or ask who has agreed to do the work.
Inventing dates from urgency
'Soon' is not a calendar date. Ask for the needed deadline rather than creating a precise schedule.
Discarding unresolved decisions
An open decision can block a confirmed action. Include it in the recap so the action table does not imply the path is clear.
06 / THE FINAL PASS
A little review goes a long way.
Your checks stay on this page. They do not approve or run a task.
07 / GOOD QUESTIONS
Before you begin.
Can I use a transcript instead of notes?
You can supply a transcript you are permitted to share. Check its accuracy and remove unnecessary sensitive material first. This guide does not imply that o1 recorded the meeting or can resolve a mistaken transcript without other evidence.
What should happen to an action without an owner?
Keep the action as a proposed next step and ask who will accept responsibility. Do not assign it based only on a person's role. Confirmation matters before the recap becomes an operational task list.
How detailed should a recap be?
Include enough context to reproduce important decisions and understand the next actions. Avoid a transcript-length summary when a short action table will do. Keep links to the underlying notes so ambiguous wording can be checked.