AI-powered tools for meeting minutes are everywhere. They promise fast transcription, automated summaries, and instant action items. These are often at a low or no upfront cost. Marketed as productivity boosters, tools like Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Zoom AI Companion, and Fathom can truly reduce administrative effort.
However, efficiency alone does not equal accuracy, professionalism, or discretion. When it comes to official meeting records, human minute takers still play a critical and necessary role.
Where AI Falls Short
Despite rapid improvements, AI tools continue to struggle in areas that matter most for formal minutes:
- Accuracy and nuance: AI often misidentifies speakers, mishears names or numbers, and misses implied decisions or informal consensus.
- Formatting limitations: Most tools rely on rigid templates that do not adapt well to organizational standards or meeting contexts.
- Bias risks: AI may unintentionally prioritize dominant or senior voices, skewing the record and subtly reinforcing hierarchies
- Context gaps: Tone, intent, and importance are difficult for AI to interpret without human judgment.
A skilled human minute taker can listen critically, distinguish speakers accurately, and document decisions in a neutral, consistent format aligned with organizational expectations. The potential for bias is significantly lessened with a neutral human party.
Security and Privacy Concerns
Security is one of the most significant risks of AI-assisted minute taking. Most tools record entire meetings and store audio and transcripts in cloud-based environments that organizations do not fully control. Selective recording is often unavailable, meaning confidential discussions may be captured unintentionally.
This creates risks for:
- Executive or legal sessions
- HR investigations
- Sensitive negotiations
- Proprietary or classified discussions
In contrast, a human minute taker can exercise discretion through recording only what is appropriate and storing records in compliance with internal policies.
Where AI Does Add Value
AI tools are most effective when used as support, not replacements. They can:
- Reduce cognitive load by handling raw transcription
- Capture fast-paced discussions more completely
- Provide a starting draft for review
- Format text in easy-to-read formats.
For example, Otter.ai can record meetings, generate transcripts, summarize key points, and identify action items. Used correctly, this saves time and allows the minute taker to focus on accuracy and clarity rather than speed.
Best Practices for Using AI in Minute Taking
To use AI responsibly and effectively:
- Always obtain participant consent, especially across jurisdictions with recording laws
- Manually review and edit all AI-generated notes before finalizing
- Add context and clarify decisions AI may miss
- Store records securely according to organizational policy
- Avoid overreliance—AI supports judgment, it does not replace it
When AI Is Not Appropriate
Manual minute taking is strongly recommended for:
- Legal or executive sessions
- HR or disciplinary matters
- Sensitive financial or strategic discussions
In these cases, human oversight is not optional. It is essential because whatever is written by AI is never entirely private. It gets put into the system to continuously train the AI, so it could be found later and cause issues.
The Human Advantage
AI tools can improve efficiency, but they cannot replace professional judgments. The ability to format minutes appropriately, remain impartial, safeguard confidential information, and accurately reflect decisions is what keeps human minute takers indispensable, especially in high-stakes environments.
The strongest approach is not human versus AI, but human with AI. When speed and automation are paired with expertise and discretion, organizations get meeting records that are accurate, compliant, and trustworthy.
References
Reynolds, M. (2024). AI minute-taking tensions: Navigating risks and best practices. Torys LLP. https://www.torys.com/en/our-latest-thinking/torys-quarterly/q2-2024/ai-minute-taking-risks-and-best-practices
CSB Corporate Services. (2024, October 15). AI minute-taking: Convenience or catastrophe? LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-minute-taking-convenience-catastrophe-csb-corp-services-8ezsc/