Ever sit through a two-hour meeting, only to forget what actually mattered? Or get handed an even longer transcript and feel your soul leave your body? If your calendar is a graveyard of endless calls, this guide’s for you. We’ll walk through how to use Notta to get the gist of any meeting—without wading through all the talking-in-circles. Whether you’re a manager, a team lead, or just the person stuck taking notes, let’s cut straight to the good stuff.
Why bother with AI summaries for meetings?
Let’s be honest: most meetings aren’t as important as people think. But every so often, something critical gets buried in a sea of small talk and status updates. Skipping through an hour-long recording isn’t practical, and nobody wants to read a ten-page transcript.
AI summaries—like those Notta generates—can help you:
- Find the actual decisions and action items without scrubbing through audio
- Share highlights with people who couldn’t make it (or just want to skip the details)
- Free up your brain for work that actually matters
But before you get your hopes up: these tools aren’t magic. They’re good at spotting the obvious, but sometimes they miss details or misinterpret context. Keep your expectations grounded.
Step 1: Get your meeting into Notta
You can’t summarize what you don’t have. First step is making sure your meeting audio or video lands in Notta.
There are a few ways to do this:
- Record directly in Notta: If you’re on a live call, you can use Notta’s built-in recorder. Hit the “Record” button before your meeting starts.
- Upload a file: Have a Zoom or Teams recording? Download the file and upload it to Notta.
- Sync integrations: Some plans let you hook up Notta to Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams, so it grabs recordings automatically.
- Use the Notta bot: On some platforms, you can invite the Notta bot to join and record for you.
Pro tip: If you’re worried about privacy, check your company policy before recording. Make sure everyone knows the meeting’s being recorded—don’t be that person.
Step 2: Let Notta transcribe the meeting
Once your file’s in, Notta will churn out a transcript. This usually takes a few minutes for hour-long meetings, but it depends on how busy their servers are.
What works: - The transcription is generally accurate for clear audio and speakers who don’t mumble. - Speakers are usually labeled, which helps track who said what.
What doesn’t: - Heavy accents, crosstalk, or poor audio quality can trip it up. - Jargon, names, and technical terms may get butchered—don’t trust the transcript blindly.
Ignore: The urge to fix every little typo in the transcript. Unless you’re sending it to a client, it’s not worth your time.
Step 3: Generate an AI summary
Here’s where things get interesting. Notta offers an “AI Summary” feature—usually a button right above the transcript. Click it, and the tool will spit out a summary within seconds.
Expect it to cover:
- Main topics discussed
- Decisions made (if any)
- Action items and next steps
- Sometimes, a bulleted list of highlights
What works: - The summary is good for getting the gist, fast. - Action items are usually called out clearly. - It saves you from reading the whole transcript.
What doesn’t: - It can miss subtle points if people don’t spell things out in the meeting. - If the meeting is rambling or off-topic, the summary might be, too. - AI sometimes writes in vague, “business-speak” language—don’t expect poetry.
Pro tip: If something in the summary looks off, use the timestamps or speaker labels in the transcript to jump right to that part of the meeting.
Step 4: Review, copy, and share the summary
Once you’ve got your AI summary, it’s time to use it. Here’s what you can do:
- Skim for decisions and action items. This is usually all you really need.
- Copy the summary. Notta lets you copy it to your clipboard—you can paste it into Slack, email, or wherever your team lives.
- Export options. Some plans let you export to Word, PDF, or even as a shareable link.
What works: - Sharing the summary is way more respectful of people’s time than emailing a full transcript. - You can quickly update folks who missed the meeting—or just want the highlights.
What doesn’t: - If your team expects detailed notes, the summary may feel too thin. Consider adding your own context before sharing. - Don’t blindly trust the summary with sensitive details—AI can misinterpret things.
Ignore: The temptation to forward the whole transcript unless someone specifically asks for it. Most people won’t read it.
Step 5: Spot-check and tweak if needed
AI isn’t perfect, and meetings are messy. Before you rely on the summary for anything critical:
- Double-check action items. Make sure they’re accurate and assigned to the right people.
- Scan for missing context. If the summary feels generic, jump into the transcript at the relevant points.
- Edit before sharing. If you’re sending this to your boss or clients, polish it up a bit.
Pro tip: Save your edited summaries in a shared folder or Notion page. They make life a lot easier when you need to look back in a month.
What to ignore (and what not to expect)
Don’t expect: - AI to capture sarcasm, inside jokes, or “reading between the lines.” - Flawless summaries of chaotic, multi-speaker meetings. - The summary to magically make a useless meeting worthwhile.
Ignore: - All the bells and whistles around “meeting analytics” unless you have a genuine use for them. Focus on what actually saves you time.
When Notta’s summary feature is (and isn’t) worth using
Great for: - Long meetings where nobody wants to read a full transcript - Quick follow-ups and status updates - Teams that mostly need the highlights
Not great for: - Highly sensitive discussions (AI can misinterpret nuance) - Legal, HR, or anything where “close enough” isn’t good enough - Meetings where the main value is the detailed discussion, not the action items
A few honest tips for getting better summaries
- Coach your team: If you want better summaries, encourage clear decisions and action items in meetings. AI can’t summarize what’s never said.
- Label speakers: Make sure Notta is picking up who’s talking, especially in big groups.
- Keep audio clear: Background noise and crosstalk ruin both transcription and summaries.
- Iterate: Don’t be afraid to tweak the summary or add your own notes. AI’s a tool, not a replacement for judgment.
The bottom line
Summing it up: Notta’s AI summary is a solid shortcut for anyone drowning in long meetings and endless transcripts. It won’t catch every nuance, and you’ll still want to double-check important stuff. But if you use it as a starting point—not the only source of truth—you’ll save yourself a lot of time (and probably a headache or two).
Start simple. Use the summaries, tweak them as you go, and don’t overthink it. The whole point is to spend less time in meeting land and more time actually getting things done.