Automate Minutes with "Record → Transcribe → Summarize → Extract Tasks"
Writing up minutes after a meeting can take longer than the meeting itself. Split into the 4 steps record → transcribe → summarize → extract tasks, it can be almost fully automated. Once used to it, an hour-long meeting's minutes become distribution-ready in minutes. Let's go in order.
Step 1: Record
- In-person: a phone recording app, or a small mic placed near speakers
- Online: the recording feature of Zoom / Google Meet / Microsoft Teams
- At the start, tell participants "I'll record for the minutes" and get consent (don't skip this)
Step 2: Transcribe
There are several speech-to-text tools (as of 2026).
- Whisper (OpenAI's transcription model): high accuracy, Japanese support. Can run in your own environment, suited for confidential meetings
- Otter.ai: strong for English meetings, real-time transcription. Integrates with Zoom etc.
- Notta: strong in Japanese, easy UI. Developed by a Japanese company
