AI software
AI Meeting Assistant: What to Check Before You Connect One
Test whether a meeting assistant creates accurate, usable follow-through, and understand its recording and data practices first.
Decide what you need captured
Some teams need a searchable transcript; others need a short decision log, assigned follow-ups, or a summary for people who missed the call. Write down which outputs matter and who acts on them. If the only goal is to remember a few tasks, a lighter note-taking process may be enough.
Check how the assistant joins or records meetings, how it handles multiple speakers and terminology, and whether people can correct notes. Test language, accents, poor audio, interruptions, and the meeting format common to your team. Compare results with notes reviewed by a participant.
Check consent and data controls before rollout
Recording and transcription affect everyone in a meeting. Decide how participants are notified and how consent is handled for your contexts and jurisdictions; get appropriate legal or policy advice where needed. Do not silently record meetings or assume a vendor’s default satisfies your obligations.
Review the provider’s current documentation for storage location, retention, deletion, model-training use, access roles, transcript sharing, and administrative controls. Determine who can search across meetings and how a user can remove sensitive content. Avoid connecting the assistant to meetings containing restricted information until the controls are approved.
BetaPick lists meeting tools including Granola. Check the current product page and vendor documentation to verify its behavior for your specific meeting setup.
Run a realistic, low-risk test
- Choose a meeting type without sensitive information and tell participants what is being tested.
- Compare notes against the meeting’s actual decisions and owners.
- Check whether action items are specific, assigned correctly, and easy to export or share.
- Test correction, deletion, access permissions, and failure handling.
- Measure review time and subscription cost before expanding use.
Keep the human record as the source of truth until the tool has proved dependable. For adjacent options, see how to compare AI note-taking apps and the software comparison checklist.
Meeting assistant questions
Should an AI assistant join every meeting?
Not by default. Use it where the output has a clear purpose and participants know how recording or note capture works.
Are AI meeting summaries accurate?
Quality varies with audio, speakers, terminology, and the system. Verify decisions, names, figures, and assigned actions before relying on a summary.
Can meeting transcripts be shared automatically?
Check sharing defaults and access controls. Limit distribution to people who need the record and follow your organization’s retention rules.