Level 1 · User
Summaries that keep what matters
Ask the AI for decisions, owners and dates, not just a pretty summary.
You paste the transcript of an hour-long meeting or a 40-email thread into the AI and say "summarize this". It gives you three paragraphs that sound good, but when you read them you can't tell who agreed to send the quote or by when. A general summary tells you what was talked about. What you need is what was decided and what happens next.
The fix is to ask for a fixed structure: decisions made, tasks with their owner and due date, and questions still open. Also ask it to write "not mentioned" when a detail is missing, so it doesn't make one up. And before you forward the summary, check names and dates against the original: the AI can mix up two people or turn a "Friday" into a "Monday".
Try it today
Take the longest email thread of your week and ask the AI: "Give me three lists: decisions, tasks with owner and date, and open questions. If a detail is missing, write 'not mentioned'". Then check two dates against the original.
Test yourself
Which request gets you the most useful meeting summary?
- "Summarize this meeting briefly"
- "List the decisions, the tasks with owner and date, and what's still open. If a detail is missing, write 'not mentioned'"
- "Write me a very complete and professional summary"
See the answer
"List the decisions, the tasks with owner and date, and what's still open. If a detail is missing, write 'not mentioned'". When you give it a structure, the AI looks for exactly that in the text. And by allowing it to say "not mentioned", you remove the temptation to fill gaps with made-up details.
If you lead a team
Agree with your team on one summary format: decisions, owners, dates and open items. That way anyone can use AI to summarize and everyone finds the information in the same place. The person who sends the summary is still the one accountable for it.