If your sales team spends too much time writing up meeting notes—or worse, skips it altogether—you're not alone. Chasing down who said what, or digging for action items, gets old fast. The good news: you can set up automated meeting recaps in Vowel and let the software handle the tedium, so your reps can actually focus on selling.
This guide is for sales managers, ops folks, and anyone tired of losing track of next steps. I'll walk you through exactly how to set up automated recaps, flag what’s worth your time, and call out the pitfalls to avoid.
Why bother with automated recaps?
Before we dive in, let's be honest: most meeting notes are either (a) too long, (b) too cryptic, or (c) never written at all. Automated recaps do a few things well:
- Save time: No more playing scribe or nagging reps to “update the CRM.”
- No more lost details: You get a summary, action items, and highlights—even if half the team spaces out.
- Consistency: Everyone gets the same format, so nothing slips through the cracks.
But let’s not pretend it’s magic. No tool gets nuance or tone 100% right. You’ll still want to review and edit before blasting out recaps to clients or the C-suite.
Step 1: Set up your Vowel account and workspace
If you’re already using Vowel, skip ahead. If not, here’s what you need:
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Sign up for Vowel
Head to their website and create an account with your work email. It’s straightforward—no secret handshakes required. -
Create a workspace for your sales team
Add your sales reps, managers, and anyone else who should be in the loop. -
Pro tip: Only invite folks who actually need access. More isn’t always merrier.
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Integrate your calendar
Connect Google or Outlook calendars so meetings show up automatically. - If you skip this, you’ll be fiddling with manual invites every time (not fun).
Step 2: Schedule meetings through Vowel
Automated recaps only work if Vowel is involved in the meeting from the start. Here’s how to make sure it’s set up right:
- Book meetings directly in Vowel
Use Vowel’s built-in scheduler, or connect it with your sales calendar tool (like Google Calendar). -
Look for the “Add Vowel video link” option when creating events.
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Invite the right people
Add prospects, teammates, or anyone who needs to be in the loop. -
Yes, prospects can join even if they don’t have a Vowel account.
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Double-check your video settings
Make sure “auto-record” and “AI recap” are enabled for sales meetings. - You’ll find these in the meeting settings or defaults for your workspace.
What to skip:
If your team still runs lots of meetings in Zoom or Teams, don’t bother with half-baked third-party integrations—they’re slow and limited. Move your core sales meetings to Vowel if you want real results.
Step 3: Record and capture your meetings (the right way)
Automated recaps work best with clear audio and everyone on the same call. A few basic habits go a long way:
- Join with a good mic (your laptop mic is fine in most offices, but avoid echo chambers).
- Ask everyone to identify themselves at the start—AI is decent, but not psychic.
- Stick to one meeting per link—reusing links can confuse the recap tool.
If you want the AI to catch action items, say them out loud (“Next step: send proposal by Friday”) instead of burying them in side conversations or chat.
Step 4: Set up automated recaps
Now for the main event—turning on automated recaps in Vowel.
- Enable AI-generated recaps in your workspace settings
- Go to Workspace Settings > AI Recaps (names may change, but it’s usually right there).
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Toggle on “Auto-generate recaps for all meetings” or set it meeting-by-meeting.
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Customize what gets included
- Choose whether to include action items, highlights, decisions, and full transcripts.
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For sales, focus on action items and decisions. You don’t need a transcript of small talk.
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Set up default recap recipients
- Add your sales ops, managers, and (maybe) the CRM shared inbox.
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Don’t overdo it—no one wants more unread emails.
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Test it with a short internal meeting
- Run a quick mock call, let Vowel do its thing, and see what the recap looks like.
- Check for any weird phrasing or missing points.
Honest take:
AI recaps aren’t perfect. Sometimes they miss context, or lump two action items into one. Always have a human quickly review before sharing with clients or adding to the CRM.
Step 5: Automate delivery of recaps to your team
Recaps are only useful if people actually see them. Here’s how to automate delivery:
- Set up email delivery
- Vowel can automatically email recaps to meeting participants.
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You can also add specific team addresses or a Slack channel.
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Connect to Slack (if you use it)
- Integrate Vowel with your team’s Slack so recaps show up in a dedicated channel.
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Pin that channel for visibility, or set up notifications for “action items only” if you hate clutter.
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Sync with your CRM
- Some CRMs (like HubSpot or Salesforce) let you forward recap emails directly to a deal record.
- Don’t expect seamless two-way sync unless you have a custom integration. For most teams, a simple recap email is plenty.
What to ignore:
You don’t need to set up ten different delivery methods. Start with one (email or Slack) and see if people use it. If not, try another.
Step 6: Review and edit recaps before sharing externally
AI will get you 80% of the way, but don’t trust it to know what your client cares about. Before forwarding recaps outside your team:
- Skim for mistakes: Look for missing names, wrong action items, or off-topic highlights.
- Cut the fluff: Delete small talk or inside jokes. No one wants to read that.
- Check for sensitive info: Make sure you’re not sharing anything you shouldn’t.
If you’re pressed for time, set a rule: “Nothing goes to the client without a 2-minute human review.”
Step 7: Train your team (just enough)
Don’t assume everyone will magically use automated recaps the right way. Spend 30 minutes showing your team:
- How to start meetings in Vowel and check recaps afterward.
- Where to find action items and how to edit them.
- What to do if the recap misses something (hint: add it manually).
Skip the hour-long “AI in sales” presentation. Focus on what actually saves time.
Step 8: Iterate and improve (without overcomplicating)
Once you’ve run a few weeks with automated recaps, check in with your team:
- Are the recaps actually useful?
- Is anything consistently missing or wrong?
- Are people reading them, or just ignoring the emails?
Tweak your process based on real feedback. Don’t pile on more tools if this one does the job.
Pro tips and pitfalls
- Don’t over-automate: If you try to auto-share every meeting recap, people will tune out. Be selective.
- Keep your CRM process simple: If your team hates logging notes, auto-upload recaps. But don’t expect AI to fill in custom fields or score deals for you.
- Privacy matters: Let attendees know meetings are being recorded and recapped, especially with external folks.
- Watch out for “AI hallucinations”: Sometimes the software invents action items or misattributes comments. Humans still have to check the work.
Wrapping up
Automated meeting recaps in Vowel can save your sales team a lot of hassle, but only if you keep it simple and review what matters. Start with the basics: get meetings into Vowel, turn on recaps, and actually use them. Don’t chase every shiny feature, and don’t be afraid to tweak as you go. The goal isn’t perfect notes—it’s making sure your team actually follows up.