Manually Create Meeting Notes with AI

Introduction

This article walks you through how to create meeting notes using Microsoft Teams transcription and Copilot—even if you don’t have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license (Free Copilot users included). With a few simple steps and some manual assistance from Copilot, you can still capture clear and helpful notes from your meetings.

Important: Free Copilot does not automatically create meeting notes in Microsoft Teams. To ensure nothing is missed, meeting notes will need to be created manually by following the process outlined below.

Details

What Free Copilot Can and Cannot Do

✅ What Free Copilot Can Do

• Summarize text that you manually provide.
• Rewrite or clean up meeting notes.
• Turn a pasted meeting transcript into: 
  • Key discussion points.
  • Decisions.
  • Action items.
• Help draft follow‑up emails or summaries.

❌ What Free Copilot Cannot Do

• Automatically capture meetings.
• Automatically generate meeting notes in Teams.
• Access meeting chat, audio, or transcripts on its own.
• Create post‑meeting recaps inside Teams.

Process Overview

Free Copilot users create meeting notes by:

1. Turning on Transcription during the Teams meeting.
2. Copying or downloading the transcript after the meeting.
3. Pasting the transcript into Copilot.
4. Asking Copilot to summarize the meeting.

Process

Step 1: Turn On Transcription in Microsoft Teams.

Note: Transcription must be enabled during the meeting for this process to work and only transcribes from the moment it's started.

How to Enable Transcription

1. Join or start the Microsoft Teams meeting.
2. From the meeting toolbar, select More (⋯).
3. Select Start transcription.
4. Choose the correct spoken language if prompted.
5. Confirm transcription has started (you will see a transcription indicator).

Note: All meeting participants are notified when transcription is enabled.

Step 2: Retrieve the Meeting Transcript

After the meeting ends:

1. Open the meeting in Teams Calendar or Meeting Chat.
2. Select Transcript.
3. Choose one of the following: 
   • Download the transcript file.
   • Copy the transcript text.

Save the transcript where you can easily access it.

Step 3: Create Meeting Notes Using Free Copilot

1. Open Copilot Chat (Copilot in Edge or Windows).
2. Paste the meeting transcript into the chat.
3. Use a prompt such as:
   1. “Summarize this meeting transcript into clear meeting notes with: ___”
      1. Key discussion points
      2. Decisions made
      3. Action items and owners

Copilot will generate a structured summary based on the pasted content.

Step 4: Review and Save Your Notes

1. Review the generated notes for accuracy.
2. Edit as needed.
3. Save or share the notes using: 
   • OneNote
   • Word
   • Teams (manual paste)
   • Email follow‑up

Best practice: Always validate AI‑generated content before sharing.

Key Notes and Best Practices

• Transcription must be started during the meeting. Only records when started.
• Free Copilot works only with text you provide.
• Sensitive or confidential information should be reviewed carefully before pasting into Copilot.
• This process is manual and user‑initiated.

Summary

• Free Copilot does not automatically generate meeting notes.
• Meeting notes can still be created by: 
  • Enabling Teams transcription.
  • Copying the transcript.
  • Using Copilot to summarize the content manually.
• Automated meeting notes require a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Revision History

Date Created: 03/11/2026 4:16 pm EDT
Last Modified: 03/11/2026 4:18 pm EDT