To turn a recording into clear AI notes with Oak: (1) record or upload the audio, (2) let Oak generate the structured summary automatically, (3) apply a template if the meeting type needs one, and (4) spend two minutes confirming the action items, then publish. The whole post-meeting workflow is under five minutes, because the structure is built in.
Most teams that succeed with AI meeting notes converge on a similar workflow within their first month. This article documents that workflow so you can adopt it on day one — no trial-and-error required.
Key takeaways
- The structure is automatic. Oak produces the same four-section summary for every meeting, so you don't engineer a prompt or describe what "good" looks like each time.
- Templates handle the exceptions. When a meeting type needs a specific shape, apply a pre-defined or custom template — otherwise the general summary is enough.
- Review is two minutes, not an afternoon. Confirm the action items and owners; if those are right, the rest of the summary almost certainly is too.
- Publish where the team already works. Push the notes to your wiki, CRM, or helpdesk so they land where people will see them.
- Accuracy upstream makes notes trustworthy. For Cantonese and bilingual meetings, the quality of the transcript is what the summary is built on.
The four-step workflow
- Record or upload the meeting. Capture the meeting live or upload an existing recording. For Cantonese and bilingual calls, this is where accurate transcription and code-switching handling matter — the notes are only as good as the transcript beneath them.
- Let Oak generate the structured summary. Oak produces the general summary automatically — Meeting Overview, Attendees, Meeting Details (grouped under topic headings), and Action Items with owners and ETAs. No prompt to write; the structure is the same every time.
- Apply a template if the meeting type needs one. For a specific shape, choose a pre-defined template from a growing library (such as Requirement Gathering, Project Sync, Board Meeting, and Lecture Summary) or upload your own. Most everyday meetings don’t need this — the general summary is enough. See designing meeting summary templates.
- Review in two minutes, then publish. Read the summary once, confirm the action items and owners, and push it to the wiki, CRM, or helpdesk. The whole post-meeting workflow is under five minutes for most calls. This is the workflow used in Sales, CS, and Design Workshops alike.
Why this beats “summarise this meeting”
The reason a bare “summarise this meeting” prompt disappoints is that it gives the model no structure to aim for, so it returns a generic recap that omits the details that matter. Oak inverts this: the output structure is fixed and built in, so every summary already contains the sections a team needs, and the only variable is whether a particular meeting type warrants a specialised template. Less effort per meeting, more consistency across them — which is exactly what makes the habit stick. For the principle behind this, see the AI Meeting Summaries guide.
Oak for Sales
The customer-facing deployment that uses the workflow described in this article.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn a meeting recording into AI notes?
Four steps: record the meeting or upload the audio, let Oak generate the structured summary automatically, apply a pre-defined or custom template if the meeting type needs a specific format, then spend about two minutes confirming the action items and owners before publishing. For most calls the whole workflow takes under five minutes.
Do I need to write a prompt to get a good summary?
No. Oak generates the same structured summary for every meeting — Meeting Overview, Attendees, Meeting Details, and Action Items — so there is no prompt to engineer. If a meeting type needs a particular shape, you apply a template rather than describing what you want each time.
Can I upload an existing recording, or does Oak have to capture it live?
Either works. You can capture the meeting live or upload an existing recording, and Oak generates the notes the same way. The quality of the notes depends on the quality of the transcript, so clear audio and accurate transcription matter most.
How long should reviewing the AI notes take?
About two minutes for most meetings. Read the summary once and confirm the action items and owners — if those are right, the rest of the summary is almost certainly fine. See reviewing and editing AI summaries for the editorial pass in detail.
Does this work for Cantonese and bilingual meetings?
Yes. The notes are built on the transcript, so accurate Cantonese transcription and code-switching handling upstream are what make the summary trustworthy. See the Cantonese transcription guide.