PRACTICAL AI AT WORK · GOOGLE · GEMINI
A meeting summary is only useful if people know what to do next. AI can make notes easier to produce, but the bigger opportunity is to connect preparation, decisions and follow-through. Gemini provides a useful example for organisations already using Google Workspace.
On eligible plans, Google Meet’s “Take notes for me” feature can capture meeting notes in a Google Doc. Availability and controls depend on the account and organisation. Before using it, check the meeting settings, the intended recipients and your organisation’s approach to recording or capturing discussions.
Start before the meeting
Give the assistant an approved project update and ask for an agenda organised around decisions. Replace broad headings such as “Project discussion” with a question such as “Which of the two delivery options should we choose?” Add the information participants need to read beforehand.
Keep the agenda realistic. If an item needs evidence that nobody has gathered, assign that work rather than spending the meeting speculating. AI can help spot missing inputs, but the organiser still decides what belongs on the agenda.
Capture the discussion with clear expectations
Tell participants when AI note-taking is being used and follow the applicable organisational process. Check who will receive the notes. Google’s sharing options can include invited guests, which is not necessarily the same group as the people who actually attended.
For sensitive discussions, decide in advance whether AI capture is appropriate. A useful workflow also works from manually written, approved notes; it does not depend on recording every conversation.
A PRACTICAL WORKFLOW
Separate decisions from ideas
Ask for three sections: decisions made, actions agreed and questions left open. This prevents an interesting suggestion becoming an apparent commitment. A phrase such as “we could launch next week” should not automatically become a launch date.
Have the chair or project owner check the summary against the discussion. Pay particular attention to names, dates, numbers and any disagreement. A polished summary can hide uncertainty more effectively than rough notes do.
Use a prompt that exposes missing details
Review these meeting notes. Create a table with action, owner, due date, dependency and supporting note. Include only actions explicitly agreed. Mark missing owners or dates as “To confirm”. Put suggestions in a separate section. List decisions requiring clarification and draft a short follow-up for the chair to review. Do not send it.
Gemini in Docs can help refine the resulting update. Alternatively, use an approved copy of the notes in ChatGPT or Claude. The review method transfers across platforms; a native meeting feature in one product should not be assumed to exist identically in another.
Close the loop at the next meeting
Maintain the approved action list in the system your team already uses. At the next meeting, begin with overdue actions and unresolved decisions. Ask owners to confirm status rather than asking the assistant to infer completion from an optimistic email.
Measure whether fewer actions get lost and whether people spend less time chasing clarification. A shorter summary is helpful, but reliable follow-through is the real result. For teams using Microsoft 365, the same working habits can be practised with the relevant Copilot and Teams features.
Sources and further reading
Product information checked 4 November 2026. Features and availability depend on your plan and administrator settings. Examples and suggested workflows are illustrative.