Meeting minutes generator that finds motions, seconds and votes

A meeting minutes generator for a public body has to do more than summarize the talk: it has to name who moved, who seconded and how each member voted. Minutes Draft does this from an audio recording, and the sample on this page runs it on a fictional township board meeting so you can see the result before you use your own.

Most generators sold as "AI meeting notes" are written for sales calls and team stand-ups. A clerk needs a record of decisions, so this page explains what a generator for council and board minutes should produce and how to judge one.

What should a meeting minutes generator produce for a public meeting?

It should produce the parts of the record that carry weight: the call to order, who was present, each motion with its mover and seconder, the vote by member, the outcome, and the adjournment time. Discussion is optional, and writing sentences the recording did not contain is a risk, not a feature.

Minutes Draft produces that record in this form for each motion: "Motion by <mover>, seconded by <seconder>, to <text>. Vote: Aye: <names>. Nay: <names>. Abstain: <names>. Carried." Its header carries the municipality, the body, the type of meeting and the date.

How does it know who moved, who seconded and who voted?

It works from the voices, not from a guess about names. The steps are:

1. Upload the audio. MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG or WEBM, up to 30 MB, or up to four parts of a longer meeting in order. Video files are not accepted, so export the audio first.
2. Name each voice once. It splits the recording by speaker and you match each voice to a member on your saved list ("Speaker 2 is Councilmember Alvarez"). A voice with over 20 seconds of speech must be named before a draft is made.
3. Find the business. It looks for motions in the usual phrasing ("I move", "I make a motion", "motion to"), a second within 30 seconds, then a call for the vote ("all in favor", a roll call) and the answers.
4. Mark what it is unsure of. Anything it could not match fully is marked to check, and those motions are listed first.

What does it do when it cannot tell?

It says so instead of filling the gap. A motion with no second is listed as "no second heard". A vote it did not hear is listed as "not heard". If no "nay" is heard on a voice vote, the line reads "carried by voice vote, no dissent heard" and no tally is invented.

This is the test to apply to any generator: ask what it prints when two members talk at once. A generator that always prints a clean vote count is guessing.

What can it not do?

Being clear about this saves a clerk a wasted afternoon.

• It does not transcribe live and does not accept video.
• It does not paraphrase discussion. Summary style adds who spoke on each item and for how long, not what they said.
• It does not write closed-session minutes: skip that part of the recording.
• It is English only, and it does not post anything to your website.
• It finds motions spoken in the usual phrasing. An unusual form such as "so moved" may be marked to check or missed, and you can add a row yourself.

Can I edit what it generates?

Yes, and you should. Every motion's mover, seconder, wording, votes and outcome can be changed, and rows can be added, deleted or merged. The draft downloads as a Word file or a PDF, and the file is labeled "DRAFT, not reviewed" until you press "Mark reviewed".

What does the output look like?

The two styles are action minutes and summary minutes. Action minutes list motions, votes and outcomes only. Summary minutes add a heading per agenda item and a list of who spoke and for how long. The sample lets you run either one.

To see a finished page laid out line by line, read the board meeting minutes example. To fill in your own form by hand, use the committee meeting minutes template. If you are weighing tools, the minutes of meeting software guide lists what to ask each one. Or compare it with hiring help in recording secretary or software.

FAQ

Can a meeting minutes generator work from audio instead of live notes?

Yes. Minutes Draft takes an uploaded audio recording of the meeting afterward. It is not a live captioning tool.

Does a generator replace the clerk's review?

No. You remain the custodian of the official minutes and the recording, and the draft stays marked as a draft until you review it.

How long does a recording stay on the service?

Recordings are deleted 30 days after you mark a meeting reviewed, or 90 days after upload if you never do. Transcripts and minutes files are kept for 13 months.