Meeting minutes with AI take three steps: gather the content (the transcript of the recording or your notes dictated at the end), ask the AI to organise it into attendees, topics, decisions, tasks with owner and date, and next steps, and review the minutes before sending them. The AI drafts; whoever was at the meeting answers for what they say.
What minutes («acta») are, and what a «minuta» is
Meeting minutes («acta de reunión» in Spanish) are the written record of what was discussed and agreed at a meeting. The Diccionario de la lengua española (the dictionary of the Real Academia Española) defines «acta» as «relación escrita de lo sucedido, tratado o acordado en una junta» (a written account of what happened, was discussed or was agreed at a meeting), and minutes do not record every word: that is what a transcript is for (the difference, in the glossary).
«Minuta» is used in Mexico and other countries for the same thing («minuta de reunión», the minutes of a meeting), in the sense of a note made of something to keep it in mind. But «minuta» has another meaning that is heard every day in a Spanish law firm: the document in which a lawyer or a procurador (the court representative in Spanish proceedings) itemises their fees, that is, the fee note. If you write for readers in different countries, «acta» is understood everywhere.
This guide is about a law firm's working meetings: with a client, with the other side or with an expert, and internal meetings to assign matters. The minutes of a shareholders' meeting, a community of owners or a collegiate body follow their own rules and are not the subject of this article.
What meeting minutes must include
Useful meeting minutes always include the details of the meeting, who attended, what was discussed, what was decided and who does what by when. Everything else is optional. This is the structure, section by section:
| Section | What to put | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting details | Date, time, place or platform and subject | 12 November, 10:00, firm's meeting room. Preparing the negotiation with the other side |
| Attendees | Who was there, with their role, and who sent apologies | Ana Ruiz (lawyer in charge), Luis Gómez (client), Marta Sanz (associate) |
| Agenda | The planned items, numbered | 1. Outstanding documents. 2. Proposal for the other side. 3. Timetable |
| Summary per item | Two or three lines per item: what was raised and what positions there were | The client provides the outstanding invoices and asks for the figure in the proposal to be reviewed |
| Decisions | What was agreed, in definitive sentences | The revised proposal will be presented to the other side before 20 November |
| Tasks | What, who and by when | Marta prepares the draft proposal by Friday; the client sends the signed contract |
| Pending | What was left open and when it will be picked up again | Expert's valuation: expected next week |
| Next meeting | Date, or when it will be set | 26 November, same time |
The example details are made up: they show what level of detail fits each section of a meeting with a client. The rule most often forgotten is the one about tasks: a task without an owner or a date is not a task, it is a wish.
Three ways to do the minutes with AI
There are three ways to do minutes with AI, and they differ in where the material comes from: the meeting platform, a transcript or your own notes.
| Platform summary | Transcript plus an AI | Dictated notes plus an AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | Teams, Meet or Zoom generate notes and tasks at the end | You record, transcribe and ask an AI to write the minutes | As you leave, you dictate what was agreed and the AI organises it into sections |
| What you need | A licence that includes it, and the meeting has to be on that platform | The recording and an AI that accepts long texts | Two or three minutes at the end |
| Best | You do nothing | No detail is lost | It captures your judgement, not just what was said |
| Worst | Only for meetings on that platform | The whole text of the meeting goes out to the AI service | It depends on what you remember and say |
1. The Teams, Meet or Zoom summary
All three platforms generate notes and tasks when the meeting ends. In Teams, intelligent recap gives AI notes and suggested tasks with a Teams Premium or Microsoft Copilot licence; in Google Meet, “Take notes for me” writes the notes with Gemini in a Google Docs document, in eight languages, Spanish included; in Zoom, the meeting summary includes next steps and is shared by email and in the chat. It is a good starting point, but it is not in the format of minutes: you have to move it into the structure above and fill in what is missing. We compare them in taking meeting notes with AI.
2. The transcript plus an AI
If you recorded the meeting, you can transcribe it and give the text to an AI with a clear prompt. It works well, with two caveats: an hour-long meeting is a lot of words and some tools only accept part of it, and the full text of the conversation goes out to the service that processes it. With client information, first read what we explain in client confidentiality and the GDPR when using AI. How to transcribe each kind of meeting, in the guides for Teams, Zoom and in-person meetings.
3. Your dictated notes plus an AI
The fastest way is to dictate what was agreed straight after the meeting, in two or three minutes, and ask the AI to organise it. You capture what really matters (your reading of the meeting, not just what was said) and the AI only receives what you dictate.
In ablalo, the Assistant has an «Meeting minutes» template that turns what you dictate in Spanish into decisions, tasks and next steps. You choose the type of meeting (with a client, internal team meeting, with stakeholders or personal), the sections you want (decisions taken, tasks with owner and date, risks or blockers, next steps) and the format (bullet points, numbered list or short prose). The template tells the AI not to invent owners, dates or decisions you have not said. Your voice is transcribed on your computer and the Assistant only receives the text, which a European AI processes without using it to train models.
The prompt that works with any AI
A good prompt for the minutes says which sections you want, in what order and what the AI must not do. This one works with any assistant:
- “Turn this text into the minutes of a working meeting.”
- “Sections, in this order: meeting details, attendees, summary per item, decisions, tasks with owner and date, pending items and next meeting.”
- “Use short sentences in the past tense. Decisions, in definitive sentences.”
- “Do not invent names, dates, figures or agreements that are not in the text. If a task has no owner or date, write ‘unassigned’.”
The last line is the most important. A language model tends to fill gaps with whatever seems likely, and in minutes that is the worst thing that can happen: an agreement nobody made or a date nobody said.
What to check before sending the minutes
Before sending minutes made with AI, check the things that go wrong again and again:
- Proper names, figures and dates, one by one. They are what gets transcribed worst and forwarded most.
- That each decision was really taken. What was discussed is not what was agreed.
- That each task has an owner and a date, or is marked as awaiting assignment.
- Sentences attributed to someone: if the minutes say the client accepted something, find it in the transcript and listen to it at that minute.
- The tone: minutes describe, they don't give opinions. Assessments go in a meeting report, which is a different document.
When it is better not to use AI
There are meetings whose content should not go through an AI service: those that deal with client information you don't want to leave the firm, or those where the minutes have formal value. In the first case, transcribe on your computer and write or dictate the minutes yourself. In the second, the AI can help you with a draft, but whoever signs or sends the minutes must write them with the care of any official document.
In short
To do meeting minutes with AI in a law firm, gather the content (the transcript or your notes dictated as you leave), ask the AI to organise it into details, attendees, summary per item, decisions, tasks with owner and date, pending items and next meeting, and forbid it to invent. Then check names, figures and agreements against the recording. Teams, Meet and Zoom make a first summary with their licences; dictating your notes is the fastest option and the one that takes the least information off your computer.
Sources: Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española, «acta» and «minuta» (in Spanish); Microsoft, Intelligent recap for Teams calls, meetings and events; Google, “Take notes for me” in Google Meet; Zoom, Supported languages for Zoom AI features. Checked on 29 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI writes meeting minutes for lawyers?
Teams, Google Meet and Zoom generate notes and tasks with their AI licences, and any AI assistant can turn a transcript or your notes into minutes with the right prompt. In ablalo, the Assistant has an «Meeting minutes» template for your dictated notes.
How do you write a «minuta de reunión» with AI?
The same way as an «acta», because in many countries «minuta de reunión» means the same thing, the minutes: you give the AI the transcript or your notes and ask it for the details, attendees, topics, agreements and tasks with owner and date. Careful: a lawyer's «minuta» is also the document with their fees, another meaning of the word.
What is the difference between minutes and a meeting summary?
The summary tells you what was discussed; the minutes record who attended, what was decided and who does what by when. A summary can be turned into minutes by adding attendees, decisions and tasks.
How do you do the minutes of a Teams meeting?
If your licence includes intelligent recap, start from its notes and tasks and move them into the structure of the minutes. If not, download the Teams transcript or recording and give it to an AI; the steps are in how to transcribe a Teams meeting.
Can AI make things up in the minutes?
Yes. A language model can fill gaps with owners, dates or agreements that nobody mentioned. Ask it explicitly not to, and check every decision and every task before sending the minutes.