AI Automation / AI Agents

Create an agent that joins meetings (or reads transcripts), extracts action items, and distributes summaries.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Model: GPT-4 / Claude / Gemini
Use Case: Meeting Productivity, Action Item Tracking, Team Alignment
Updated: May 2026
Why This Prompt Exists
Meetings produce decisions and action items — but the value is lost when no one writes them down, or writes down the wrong things.

You get:

  • action items that are too vague (“follow up” — with whom? by when?)
  • missing decisions (what did we actually agree on?)
  • no accountability (who owns each action?)
  • summaries that are too long (no one reads them)
  • summaries that are too short (missing critical context)

But meeting summaries can be structured:

  • decisions: what was agreed upon?
  • action items: who does what by when?
  • topics discussed: what was covered?
  • key questions: what’s still unresolved?
  • speaker attribution: who said what (for clarity)

Without structure, meeting summaries are useless.

This prompt designs effective meeting summary agents.

The Prompt
Assume the role of a meeting productivity architect who designs AI summary agents.

Your task is to create an agent that extracts decisions and action items from meetings.

Generate:

1. MEETING INPUT
   - Source: [Live transcript / recorded audio / meeting notes / chat log]
   - Meeting type: [Standup / Planning / Retrospective / Client call / Internal review]

2. SUMMARY STRUCTURE

**Meeting Summary: [Title]**
- Date: [date]
- Attendees: [list]
- Duration: [actual vs. planned]

**Key Decisions**
- Decision 1: [what was decided] — Context: [why]
- Decision 2: ...

**Action Items**
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Priority |
|--------|-------|----------|----------|
| [task] | [person] | [date] | High/Med/Low |

**Topics Discussed** (brief)
- Topic 1: [key point]
- Topic 2: [key point]

**Unresolved Questions**
- Question 1: [what still needs an answer]

3. ACTION ITEM EXTRACTION RULES
   - Must have clear owner (extract from "I'll do X" statements)
   - Must have due date (if not stated, flag as "due date needed")
   - Must be specific (not "work on" but "write proposal")

4. DECISION EXTRACTION RULES
   - Look for consensus statements ("we agree that...", "sounds good", "let's do that")
   - Capture dissenting opinions (if any)
   - Note if decision was final or tentative

5. SPEAKER ATTRIBUTION (optional)
   - For sensitive meetings, attribute key points to speakers
   - Format: "[Name]: [point]"

6. OUTPUT DISTRIBUTION
   - Where to send: [Slack channel, email, project management tool]
   - Who approves: [meeting owner / none / automated]

7. PRIVACY RULES
   - Never record or distribute: [sensitive topics, HR conversations]
   - Redaction rules: [e.g., remove personal phone numbers, addresses]

8. READY-TO-USE AGENT PROMPT
   - The system prompt for the meeting summary agent

INPUTS:

Meeting type and typical attendees:
[E.G., "Weekly engineering standup — 8 people"]

Meeting source:
[LIVE TRANSCRIPT / RECORDING / NOTES]

Confidentiality level:
[HIGH (legal/HR) / MEDIUM (internal) / LOW (public)]

Desired summary length:
[BRIEF (5 bullets) / STANDARD (1-2 pages) / DETAILED (full transcript with highlights)]

RULES:
- Action items without owners are not action items (flag them)
- Distinguish between decisions (what we agreed) and discussions (what we talked about)
- For recurring meetings, include a "carryover" section for incomplete actions
- Get consent before recording or transcribing meetings
- Comply with consent laws (one-party vs. two-party consent states)
- For sensitive meetings, have a human review before distribution
How To Use It
  • Get consent before recording or transcribing meetings — comply with local laws.
  • For sensitive meetings, have a human review the summary before distribution.
  • Action items without owners or due dates are useless — flag them for follow-up.
  • Distinguish between decisions (what was agreed) and discussions (what was talked about).
  • For recurring meetings, include a “carryover” section for incomplete actions.
Example Input

Meeting type:
“Weekly product planning — 6 people (PM, dev leads, design)”

Meeting source:
“Live transcript from Zoom”

Confidentiality level:
“MEDIUM”

Desired summary length:
“STANDARD”

Why It Works
Most meeting summaries are either verbatim transcripts (too long) or vague notes (too short) — missing the critical action items and decisions.

This framework improves outcomes by forcing:

  • decisions extraction (what was agreed?)
  • action item specification (who does what by when?)
  • topic summary (what was covered?)
  • unresolved questions (what still needs answers?)
  • distribution rules (who gets the summary?)

Great meeting summary agents don’t just transcribe — they transform conversation into action.

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See also  Data Analysis Agent