How to Use ChatGPT for Meeting Notes?

If you use ChatGPT like your life depends on it, you've probably wondered whether it can also take meeting notes for you.

Yes. There are two ways to do it:

1. Using ChatGPT Record Mode
2. Manually uploading transcription and using the right prompt to generate notes

Let's look at both of these methods in detail.

Method 1: Using ChatGPT Record Mode

When ChatGPT Record mode launched, the AI Twitter crowd lost it. The actual feature, though, feels like a beta that escaped into production. Before I get into that, let's see how it works.

Prerequisites of ChatGPT Record Mode

Record mode is available for Plus, Enterprise, Edu, Business, and Pro workspaces, and only on the macOS desktop app. No web version yet.

How to Use ChatGPT Record Mode

Here's the step-by-step process:

1. Open the ChatGPT Mac app (not the website)
2. Look for the record button at the bottom of any chat, next to where you'd normally type
3. Click it and handle permissions. Your Mac will ask for microphone access, then system audio access
4. Start talking. ChatGPT live-transcribes as you speak, with a timer showing elapsed time. You can pause and resume freely.
5. Hit "Stop" when done. You'll see options to "Upload", "Delete", or "Cancel".
6. Choose "Upload" to send the transcript to the ChatGPT server. Within seconds, it opens a private canvas with a structured summary.

Important details:

• Each session can run up to 120 minutes and ends with an editable summary that includes time-stamped citations and suggested action items.
• ChatGPT doesn't join your meetings as a bot, so no one knows you're recording. Make sure to explicitly ask for consent.
• Record mode works with all meeting types—virtual, in-person, or playback of recorded conversations—because it captures microphone and system-level audio.

Pros of Record Mode:

• The 120-minute limit is generous. Most meetings don't reach this. I've recorded entire workshop sessions without running out of time. Compare that to tools capping you at 30 minutes on free tiers.
• Canvas integration is genuinely useful. Once you get your summary, you can edit it collaboratively, ask ChatGPT to reformat it, or transform it into other documents. I've turned meeting notes into project plans, emails, and slide outlines without leaving the interface.
• It handles interruptions gracefully. You can pause mid-meeting to take a phone call, resume when you're back, and it treats it as one continuous session. No weird gaps or formatting issues.

Cons of Record Mode:

• The reliability issue is real. I've had it stop mid-recording randomly (network hiccup, even though it's supposed to be local processing), and once it simply forgot a 20-minute chunk of a client call.
• AI hallucination creates false meeting records. ChatGPT will confidently invent details that never happened. I've seen it fabricate entire action items, claim people said things they didn't, or create follow-up meetings that were never scheduled.
• Speaker identification is basically broken. It can tell the difference between your microphone and system audio, which works for one-on-one calls. But it gets confused with multiple speakers. If someone joins late, it doesn't identify them as a new speaker.
• No explicit GDPR compliance workflow. OpenAI basically shrugs and says, "make sure you have consent." That's it. If you're dealing with European clients or employees, Record mode puts you in a legally gray area.

How Much Does ChatGPT Record Mode Cost?

Record mode is included at no extra cost if you're already on a paid plan. If you're using free ChatGPT, you'd need to upgrade to at least a Team plan ($25/month) to access Record mode.

How Does Record Mode Handle Your Data?

According to official ChatGPT documentation, audio recordings are only used for transcription and are deleted afterwards.

However, if you're a Pro, Plus, or Free user with "Improve the model for everyone" enabled in your settings, OpenAI may use transcripts and canvases from record mode to train their models.

When you delete a conversation, the canvas and transcript are removed from their systems within 30 days, unless they're legally required to retain them.

Is ChatGPT Record Mode Worth Trying?

If you're already paying for a ChatGPT Team plan and want to experiment with AI note-taking for casual internal meetings, it's worth trying. For client calls, legal discussions, or anything where accuracy matters, the risk of losing or corrupting your meeting record outweighs the convenience.

You still have to verify everything it produces, which defeats most of the time-saving benefits. It's a preview of what meeting AI could be, but it's not ready for professional use yet.

Method 2: Manually Uploading Transcription + Smart Prompting

This is where I found better results. It's more manual, but you get way better control and outcomes.

I use my phone's voice recorder for in-person meetings and let Zoom transcribe virtual ones. Then I copy-paste into ChatGPT with specific prompts I've refined through trial and error.

ChatGPT Prompts for Meeting Notes That Worked for Me

After testing dozens of variations, here are the prompts that consistently give useful output:

1. For Quick Summaries:

💡

I'm going to paste a meeting transcript. Please create a summary with exactly these sections:
- MAIN DECISIONS (what we agreed on)
- ACTION ITEMS (who does what by when)
- OPEN QUESTIONS (what we still need to figure out)
- NEXT MEETING (when and what to discuss)

Keep each section to 3-4 bullet points max. Here's the transcript:
[paste transcript]

This works because it's specific. Generic prompts like "summarize this meeting" give you generic output.

2. For Detailed Minutes (When You Need to CYA):

💡

Turn this transcript into formal meeting minutes. Use this exact structure:

Meeting: [Date/Time/Purpose]
Attendees: [List everyone who spoke]
Key Discussions: [Main topics with brief context]
Decisions Made: [What was decided and by whom]
Action Items:
- Task | Assigned to | Due date | Status
Next Steps: [What happens next]

Here's the transcript:
[paste transcript]

3. For When You Need to Extract Specific Info:

💡

From this meeting transcript, create a table with these columns:
| Issue Discussed | Current Status | Who's Responsible | Deadline | Dependencies |

Only include items that have clear action items or decisions. Ignore general discussion. Here's the transcript:
[paste transcript]

Pro Tips

• Chunk Long Transcripts: ChatGPT has limits. If your meeting was over an hour, break the transcript into 30-minute chunks and process them separately. I learned this after getting "that's too long" errors.
• Clean Your Transcript First: Take 2 minutes to fix obvious transcription errors—especially names and technical terms. "John" becoming "Jon" throughout screws up action item assignments.
• Be Specific About Format: Don't just say "make a list." Say "create a numbered list," or "use bullet points," or "make a table." ChatGPT defaults to paragraph form, which doesn't work for action items.
• Test Your Prompts: I keep a doc with my best-working prompts because what works varies by meeting type. Sales calls need different output than technical planning meetings.

How Does the Manual Upload Method Use Your Data?

When you copy-paste transcripts into regular ChatGPT conversations, different privacy rules apply than in Record Mode. By default, OpenAI may use your content to train its models unless you opt out through the "Improve the model for everyone" toggle in Settings > Data Controls.

The biggest trap is the feedback system. Even if you've opted out everywhere, giving a single thumbs up or thumbs down on any response means the entire conversation, including your meeting transcript, can be used for model training.

One accidental click can override all your privacy settings and make your sensitive meeting data part of ChatGPT's training dataset.

Is the Manual Upload Method Worth Your Time?

• The Good: You get complete control. You can run the same transcript through different prompts to get summaries for different audiences—detailed minutes for the file, an executive summary for your boss, and action items for the team.
• The Annoying: Sometimes ChatGPT decides to be "helpful" and adds context that wasn't in the meeting. I once had it infer that we "probably decided" something we absolutely did not. Always double-check.
• The Weird: It occasionally misses obvious action items while perfectly capturing random side conversations. It seems to get drawn to interesting tangents.

Is There a Better Alternative to ChatGPT for Meeting Notes?

Bot-based AI notetakers like Otter or Fireflies can feel intrusive and may not offer privacy advantages. For bot-free options, we recommend Char. Here's why:

Char listens to system audio like ChatGPT and runs on Mac, but that's where the similarities end.

Char is a local-first AI notetaker that keeps all your data on your device. It uses local AI models to transcribe your calls in real-time and generate instant summaries without sending data to the cloud. This reduces compliance surface area and third-party data exposure.

It's also open-source, so you can inspect every line of code, modify any component, and self-host on your infrastructure. No licensing servers or usage tracking.

Char's note-taking features include:

• Take notes and let AI enhance them based on the transcript, or let AI do the entire summary without hallucinations.
• Set custom vocabulary for industry jargon, client names, project codenames, or technical terms so transcription gets them right every time.
• Familiar interface that just works. Feels like Apple Notes with powerful AI running locally in the background.
• Universal platform support. Works with any meeting software and in-person conversations without bots or restrictions.
• Custom templates for every situation—therapy sessions, legal meetings, job interviews, or casual conversations.
• Search your meeting history naturally. Ask "What did Sarah say about the budget?" instead of scrolling through months of notes.
• AI chat for instant clarification. Get immediate answers about action items, deadlines, or who said what.
• Control how much AI changes your notes. Choose minimal improvements to your original thoughts or complete restructuring.
• Verify everything with source analysis. Hover over summaries to see the exact transcript quote behind every point.

Char provides unlimited AI summaries and all core features free forever. You can upgrade to Pro ($8/month) only when you need unlimited advanced functionality.

Want to try Char? Download it for free!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can ChatGPT record meeting minutes?

Yes, if you have the right plan and setup. But "can" and "should" are different questions. It works great for internal team meetings and completely fails on important client calls.

2. How long can ChatGPT record audio?

Recording length is capped at 120 minutes per session. Longer sessions stop automatically and generate notes as a private canvas.

3. How to record voice in ChatGPT?

Here's the step-by-step process:

1. Open ChatGPT Mac desktop app
2. Click the record button (bottom of chat)
3. Grant microphone and system audio permissions
4. Start talking. You can pause and resume freely.

4. Is ChatGPT's Record Mode free?

No. Business features like data analysis, record mode, canvas, projects, tasks, custom workspace GPTs, and deep research require paid plans. Minimum $25/month for Team.

5. Is ChatGPT Record Mode secure?

Your audio gets deleted after transcription, but the transcript can be used for AI training unless you're on Enterprise or opt out. For sensitive meetings, this should raise concerns.