It seems like nearly every administrative task is being slowly absorbed by machines. Secretaries once played a vital role in the office environment, but most of their duties can now be completed by a computer. What does this mean for the future of businesses — and is it possible that it could be a good thing? It is yet to be seen whether these advancements will have a net positive impact on companies, but there are undoubtedly many tools that have emerged that are useful in the virtual workplace. One of these tools, a virtual note taker, could make your next meeting go more smoothly.
What Are Virtual Note Takers
Virtual note takers emerged several years ago as a way to transcribe meetings automatically. The phrase may also refer to an application that allows a human to transcribe notes manually. The iterations of this tool that use artificial intelligence typically offer more features and better compatibility with applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. In addition to transcribing a meeting, a virtual note-taker tool can do as its name implies and take notes. The algorithm built into the program enables it to identify key points from the text of a meeting and compile those points into a document.
Benefits of Using AI Note Takers in Virtual Meetings
There are many advantages that an AI note taker can provide, but the most significant benefit is likely the massive saving of time it offers. Rather than having a designated meeting member be responsible for taking notes, you can have an application do the work for you. This effectively frees up the time of the would-be human note-taker and allows them to take on other tasks within the meeting. This can also save money by minimizing the cost of labor that a human note-taker would incur.
You might be surprised to learn, too, that an AI note-taker may even be more effective than a human note-taker! Indeed, a virtual note taker is programmed with a unique algorithm designed to identify the recurring themes and essential concepts that emerge during a conference. Because of this, it might be able to pick up on ideas that a human wouldn’t, and its notes may be more comprehensive. Ultimately, an AI note-taker makes it easier for everybody to be an active participant in a meeting.
Best Virtual Note-Taking Software Options
One of the top-rated virtual note-taker applications is the Fathom AI note-taker. This program can be seamlessly integrated into a Zoom meeting, allowing you to record the speech of its participants, transcribe it to text, highlight important moments, and organize meeting notes. Users rave about its many benefits, saying that it vastly reduces the workload of a meeting. It’s also notable for its high-security standards, end-to-end encryption, and the completion of the Type 2 SOC2 audit.
Otter.ai is another popular option. It is similar to Fathom, but it is designed to use with Microsoft Teams rather than Zoom. In addition to automatically taking notes as a meeting is in progress, Otter.ai can keep a list of action items and interject gentle reminders to ensure every meeting stays on track. All transcripts generated by the program are also searchable, meaning that it’s easier than ever to maintain a clear record of events — and reference that record whenever necessary. It also records the audio of every meeting, generates an outline of its automatic notes, and allows for collaboration so that all meeting attendees can revise the notes.