Copilot: Create Custom AI Summaries for Teams Meetings

Key insights

• Custom AI summaries: A recent video outlines a new preview feature in Microsoft Teams that lets Microsoft 365 Copilot users create tailored AI summaries for recorded or transcribed meetings.
  
• Transcription-based summaries: Copilot analyzes the meeting transcript (transcription must be turned on) and uses user prompts to extract main points, action items, and detailed notes.
  
• Custom templates: Users can build and reuse summary templates or change prompts to get either short overviews or deep dives focused on specific topics.
  
• Comprehensive recaps: Summaries link to the full transcript and recording and collect shared notes and files, making follow-up and review easier.
  
• Productivity gains: The feature reduces manual note-taking, speeds review, and lets teams personalize summaries by role or meeting type to improve actionability.
  
• Preview availability and requirements: The capability is available as a preview for Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams, requires transcription to be enabled, and complements existing intelligent recap tools; users should test prompts and consider privacy settings when using it.
  

Introduction

Nick DeCourcy of Bright Ideas Agency explains a new preview feature in a recent YouTube video that lets Microsoft 365 Copilot users create custom AI summaries for recorded or transcribed Microsoft Teams meetings. The video walks through how the feature works, shows a live demonstration, and highlights where it fits alongside existing recap tools. Overall, the presentation aims to help business users understand how to tailor meeting outputs to their needs. Consequently, the piece is useful for teams exploring ways to make meeting content more actionable.

Video Overview and Key Demonstrations

DeCourcy organizes the video into short chapters that identify what a custom AI summary is, how to build a template, and how to share results after a meeting. He demonstrates creating summary templates, applying prompts to shape the output, and generating summaries from a meeting transcript, which helps viewers visualize the workflow. Moreover, the clip compares this approach to the built-in Intelligent Recap tools to show where custom summaries add value. Thus, viewers can quickly see practical differences rather than just theoretical benefits.

How the Custom Summaries Feature Works

The feature relies on captured meeting transcripts and the Copilot engine to produce summaries that reflect user prompts and preferred formats. First, transcription must be enabled for the meeting, and then users can either request a broad overview or a focused deep dive on specific topics discussed. Next, the system combines the transcript, prompts, and AI models to output a tailored summary that often includes action items, decisions, and links to recordings or files. Therefore, the capability is more interactive than a static recap and encourages users to fine-tune prompts for better results.

Benefits and Tradeoffs

One clear benefit is time saved: teams no longer need to re-listen to recordings or manually compile meeting notes, and summaries can improve follow-up and accountability. Furthermore, tailoring summaries with prompts introduces personalization that aligns meeting output with different roles, such as executives needing concise insights and project managers needing detailed action lists. However, there are tradeoffs to consider: reliance on accurate transcription is crucial, so poor audio quality or speakers talking over each other can reduce summary quality. Also, customization requires some experimentation, and teams must balance the time invested in prompt design against the gains from more precise summaries.

Adoption Challenges and Practical Advice

Adopting custom AI summaries raises practical and governance challenges, such as ensuring transcripts are enabled, defining prompt standards, and managing access to sensitive content. Teams should weigh privacy and compliance requirements because automated summaries can surface confidential details, so administrators need clear policies about who can generate and view outputs. Additionally, organizations face a learning curve: users must learn to craft useful prompts and validate summaries to avoid relying on incorrect or incomplete interpretations. Consequently, Bright Ideas Agency’s approach suggests starting with pilot groups, validating outputs, and iterating on templates before rolling the feature out more broadly.

Conclusion and What to Watch For

DeCourcy’s video presents the Microsoft 365 Copilot custom summaries feature as a practical enhancement to Teams that can make meeting content more accessible and actionable. Yet, successful adoption depends on transcription quality, clear governance, and user training to manage tradeoffs between speed and accuracy. For teams considering the preview, the recommended path is to pilot the feature on non-sensitive meetings, refine prompts, and record learnings to inform wider deployment. In short, the tool promises productivity gains while also requiring careful planning and oversight.

Keywords

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