What are AI meeting assistants
These are tools which use AI in order to enhance different processes and tasks associated with meetings. Depending on the tool itself, AI meeting assistants can have cross-functionalities which make them useful for a range of different tasks.
What features to look for
One of the key reasons for adopting an AI meeting assistant is that it can potentially enhance productivity and free up time better spent on more urgent tasks. AI meeting assistants can automate various processes such as:
- Note-taking
- Scheduling meetings
- Transcription and translation
- Search tools for transcribed meetings
- Meeting analytics
- Insights on engagement and inclusivity
- Email recapping
- Automatic video and audio recording
- Attendance tracking
- Project management tools
- Agenda creation tools.
There is a wide range of different AI meeting assistant tools available. It may be that some employers will only be looking to automate certain processes such as note-taking and analytics. At the end of the day, it’s up to employers and their teams to work out what functionalities are a top priority.
The benefits of using AI meeting assistants
Let’s start by looking at some of the best reasons to use an AI meeting assistant. Here are some top reasons for using one:
1. They can free up valuable time with automation
Most managers will understand the importance of freeing up time spent scheduling meetings, organising note-taking, managing projects and setting agendas. With the help of an AI meeting assistant, they can automate these tasks. Once these have been automated, they can focus on their key priorities and aspects of the project that require their full attention.
2. Provide useful takeaways, summaries and analyses
Sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of the key takeaways and points covered during a meeting. Note-taking can also be time-consuming and requires a member of staff to diligently record any important comments or information. Some AI meeting assistants can provide this information for you. This can come in the form of meeting analyses, plus summaries of the meeting’s actionable insights.
3. Can help track tasks
AI meeting assistants can help with the tracking of follow-up tasks. It can keep an eye on whether any of the actionable insights mentioned during the meeting were followed up on. This means that AI meeting assistants can look at more than just automating and summarising meetings themselves, they can become part of an overall workflow, where actionable points made during meetings are recorded and followed up as new tasks to be completed.
4. Transcription and note-taking functionalities can help make meetings more accessible
As Indeed SVP of Environmental, Social and Governance LaFawn Davis explains, while AI has the capacity to make workforces less inclusive and accessible, they can have the reverse effect as well. However, it is up to employers to leverage the technology in a way that supports diversity.
Some employees in a diverse team may be hard of hearing or have a neurodivergence like auditory processing disorder. Any real-time transcription and note-taking options can help them keep track of key points made during meetings. This could boost a wider range of participants and perspectives during meetings. Engineer and designer Shawn Brown explains to Indeed that creating an accessible workplace can help employers tap into a much wider, richer talent pool.
Easy transcription also means that if someone has to leave the meeting early, they can access the whole transcription of the meeting. This solution might be preferred to the meeting minutes.
5. Can be integrable
Another strength of AI tools is that they are usually integrable with the tools a team is already using. This can include:
- Calendar apps;
- Project management tools;
- Communication tools such as video conferencing.
The challenges of using AI meeting assistants
While AI tools can be useful in many ways, it is essential to bear in mind some of the challenges associated with them. Below are some considerations to make:
1. Transcription tools may not always be accurate
Transcription and text-to-speech tools can be inaccurate. This can be due to a number of factors like background noise, translation tools misinterpreting someone’s accent, or issues interpreting speech due to several people talking across each other.
Some meeting tools may eliminate background noise, which can be a good workaround. If concerned about transcription inaccuracy, it may be of interest to make sure someone proofreads any automated transcriptions after the meeting. That way, they can manually amend any errors.
This means that employees might have to amend any notes or transcriptions the tool makes. While transcription tools may be useful for getting the general picture of a conversation, it might be necessary to make edits if someone is planning to quote the text.
Some transcription tools might be more effective than others. Employers can check the options on the market and use customer reviews to help them make the right decision. Some tools might be faster than others, while some may be more accurate.
As we explain in our guide to responsibly using AI-powered HR tools, employers can benefit from auditing the tools that they use. Consider researching testing metrics, whether the AI model could degrade over time and how often to test the tool. That way, employers can ensure the tool is working to the best possible standards.
2. The tool might not be integrable
When choosing an AI meeting assistant, it could be a good idea to make sure it’s integrable with any pre-existing software. Some tools might be more integrable than others, so employees might want to consider checking their features first. Again, this makes another argument for auditing any AI tools in general.
3. AI tools might not grasp context
The idea of having an AI summarise all points in a meeting and provide actionable points is highly useful. However, this comes with the caveat it might not correctly interpret the context of the discussion.
This issue potentially applies to many speech-to-text AI tools in general. Essentially, these tools can pick up on words and phrases but may not analyse the context in which they’re used. This can mean certain phrases are misinterpreted. Or, punctuation errors emerge in the end product which requires some manual tweaks. Some AI meeting tools may be better at analysing the context of speech than others.
AI meeting assistants can help automate meeting processes. With note-taking, transcription, meeting summary and analysis capabilities, AI meeting assistants can help free up valuable time better spent on more urgent tasks. However, it is worth considering some of the challenges of using AI to automate tasks in general – transcription capabilities may not always be accurate, or grasp context. Before using AI meeting assistants, consider weighing up the pros and cons first to ensure it’s used effectively.
