Taking Notes in Teams Meetings with Copilot: A Step-by-Step Guide

Microsoft has seamlessly integrated Copilot across its suite of tools, empowering users to leverage this robust assistant to enrich their experience. Within Teams, Microsoft Copilot is capable of efficiently noting down points during meetings, transcribing dialogues, summarizing discussions, and pinpointing action items, thus enabling all participants to concentrate on collaborative efforts. This article will guide you through the effective use of Copilot for note-taking during Teams meetings.

How Can I Utilize Copilot for Taking Notes in Teams Meetings?

To enable Copilot for note-taking in Teams meetings, first verify whether your organization has access to Copilot with the appropriate Microsoft 365 licenses (typically enterprise-level) and if your administrator has activated it for your account. It’s also important to confirm that you have access to Copilot functionalities within Teams. Depending on your organization’s policy, sensitivity labeling, and template configurations, you can customize how Copilot operates during your meetings.

Configuring Copilot for Use

1. Prior to your meeting, navigate to your Teams Calendar and select the intended meeting.
2. Click on Options, then select More options.
3. Go to Copilot and choose one of the three options from the dropdown list.
   • During and After the Meeting: Copilot begins transcribing once the meeting starts. You can activate Copilot in the meeting controls, prompting you to initiate transcription. Selecting Start will commence both Copilot and transcription for that meeting.
   • Only During the Meeting: Copilot activates via the meeting controls. It utilizes speech-to-text capabilities to generate insights from the spoken dialogue in the meeting.
   • Off: This option disables Copilot for the meeting, preventing any recordings or transcriptions from being made.

     

4. Click on Save.

If you do not have access to these settings, please consult your IT administrator. The next step is to enable transcription. Follow these steps:

Activating Transcription

1. Access the Microsoft Teams Admin Center.
2. Navigate to Meetings and select Meeting Policies.
3. Choose Recording & Transcribe.
4. Find the Transcriptions slider and turn it on.
5. For Copilot, select On with Transcript from the available options.

As a meeting organizer, you have the authority to determine how and whether attendees can utilize Copilot. Moreover, you can manage Copilot settings for meetings you set up even if you do not have a specific license.

Once you’ve configured all settings, you can utilize Copilot live during a meeting. To begin, start or join a meeting where Copilot is enabled.

Capabilities of Copilot During a Meeting

• If you enter the meeting 5 minutes after it has started with Copilot enabled, you’ll receive a summary to help you catch up.
• Access Copilot via the meeting controls and select View Prompts to see a list of commands such as Recap the meeting so far, Suggest follow-up questions, List different perspectives by topic, and Generate meeting notes.
• A prompt will appear a few minutes before the meeting concludes to assist you in wrapping up efficiently.
• By selecting Open Copilot, you can review a summary of key discussion points and identify subsequent steps. You can also inquire with Copilot about any outstanding issues or topics from the agenda.

How Can I Access Notes with Copilot After the Meeting?

Once the meeting is concluded, you can retrieve Copilot from either the meeting chat or the Recap tab. Follow these steps:

Retrieving Notes from the Meeting Chat

1. Click the Open Copilot icon located in the top-right corner of the chat.
2. Copilot will then present comprehensive insights based on the chat content and transcribed dialogue from the meeting.
3. Before the meeting, you can engage with Copilot in the chat thread as if in a regular conversation. However, once transcription initiates, Copilot will incorporate chat details from up to 24 hours prior to the meeting, alongside the transcript.

Retrieving Notes from the Recap Tab

1. Go to the Recap tab in the meeting chat.
2. Click the Copilot icon to review the conversation history curated by Copilot.

In summary, you can easily examine and revise meeting notes throughout and following your meetings using efficient commands. Notes can also be distributed to other participants via OneNote or Teams.

Additionally, you can obtain real-time meeting summaries while discussions are ongoing. Copilot can assist in identifying and emphasizing action items delegated to individuals during the meeting.

If manual note-taking is your preference, you can request Copilot to highlight specific segments, record chosen notes, or transcribe important dialogues during the discussion. It can also offer intelligent suggestions for documenting points according to the flow of conversation.

Should you be curious about which version of Microsoft Teams—Classic or New—suits your needs best, we have a separate guide available.

If you have any inquiries or feedback regarding the use of Copilot for note-taking in Teams meetings, please don’t hesitate to share in the comments section below. We welcome your thoughts!