# Summarize a meeting transcript with ChatGPT > A meeting transcript is useful for about five minutes, and then nobody reads it again. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/meeting-recap-steps · Updated 2026-10-18 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual#format-steps-carousel) · 7 slides · [ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/chatgpt) By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 18, 2026 · From the free lesson [Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript) A meeting transcript is useful for about five minutes, and then nobody reads it again. Swipe or scroll sideways for all 7 slides. The whole guide is written out below. ## The guide in text Decisions, an action items table and a recap email. ## Step by step 1. ### Copy the whole transcript Harbor Street Bakery's Monday meeting: pumpkin rolls, pie pre-orders, a catering request, a clicking oven and a van lease. 2. ### Ask for named sections A three-sentence summary, the decisions, an action items table with owner and due date, and open questions. Not "summarize this." 3. ### Add the Not stated rule Only use what's in the transcript. If an owner or date isn't said, write Not stated. Gaps show up instead of guesses. 4. ### Ask for the recap email In the same chat. Read it, check owners and dates, then send it from your own email. 5. ### Next time, upload the file Skip copy and paste: upload the transcript file straight into ChatGPT with the same request. Businesses and people in the examples are made up. The steps, screens and wording come from the free lesson and the Stepthrough glossary and prompt library. ## Do it yourself, free **Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT**. Paste a long meeting transcript into ChatGPT and get the decisions, an action items table with owners and due dates, and a follow-up email ready to send. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/chatgpt-meeting-summary) [Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript) ## Related terms Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson. [Action items](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/action-items) · [AI note-taker](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-note-taker) · [AI summarization](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-summarization) · [Context window](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/context-window) · [Executive summary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/executive-summary) · [File upload (in an AI chat)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/file-upload) · [Kickoff meeting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/kickoff-meeting) · [Markdown](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/markdown) [The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) ## Related prompts - [Action items table prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/action-items-table-prompt): Paste a meeting transcript or rough notes and get a table of every task, owner and due date, with "Not stated" wherever nobody… - [Feedback conversation script prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/feedback-conversation-script-prompt): Plan a short, direct feedback talk with a teammate: the specific moment, why it mattered, a question to hear their side and one… - [Meeting agenda prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/meeting-agenda-prompt): Turn a list of topics into a timed meeting agenda where every item has an owner, a question to settle and minutes that add up to… - [Performance review notes prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/performance-review-notes-prompt): Turn a year of scattered manager notes into dated, factual examples for a performance review. A free ChatGPT prompt that keeps… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) ## From the blog - [AI Meeting Minutes Template (Copy and Paste)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/ai-meeting-minutes-template): A fill-in meeting minutes template plus an AI prompt that fills it from a transcript, with Not stated for gaps. Works in ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot. - [Microsoft Copilot in Teams: Meeting Recap Explained](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/copilot-teams-meeting-recap): What Copilot can do in a Teams meeting and after it, what it needs, and how to check a recap, using only Microsoft's own help pages. Free lesson links. - [Claude: Summarize a Meeting Transcript Step by Step](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/claude-summarize-meeting-transcript): Upload or paste a meeting transcript into Claude and get a summary, decisions, action items with owners and dates, and open questions. Copy the request. ## More visual guides - [Meeting notes myth: “summarize this” is all ChatGPT needs](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/summarize-this-myth): Myth: paste a transcript, type “summarize this”, done. Fact: ask for the decisions, an action items table with owners and dates, and open questions. - [Prompt of the Day: Summarize an Email Thread for a Handoff](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/prompt-summarize-an-email-thread): A visual prompt card: turn a long email thread into a short handoff with the situation, what was promised and each question marked Answered or Open. - [What Is a Context Window? A Visual Guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/term-context-window-explained): A visual guide to the context window: how much text an AI model can see at once, shown with a real ChatGPT meeting summary lesson. [All visual guides](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual) · [All free tutorials](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content)