How to Use Microsoft Copilot for Team Meeting Summaries

Microsoft Copilot has become a central feature in Teams meetings, transforming transcripts and recordings into structured summaries that help teams track decisions, tasks, and discussions. By combining real-time assistance with post-meeting recaps, Copilot reduces the need for manual note-taking and ensures that critical information is easily accessible.

What you need before using Copilot in Teams meetings.

Copilot in Teams requires the right licensing and meeting policies. Each participant needs a Teams license plus either Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot. For audio recap features, users must specifically have Microsoft 365 Copilot, and PSTN call recaps require Teams Phone.

Administrators must enable Transcription and ideally Recording in Teams policies. Transcription is essential for Copilot to generate summaries, while recording unlocks richer features such as chapters, speaker timelines, and topic markers. Without transcription, Copilot cannot provide persistent summaries after the meeting ends.

Requirement	Details
License	Teams + (Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot)
Extra for audio recap	Microsoft 365 Copilot
Extra for PSTN calls	Teams Phone
Policy setting	Transcription enabled (Recording recommended)

How Copilot operates during and after meetings.

When transcription is active, Copilot runs during and after the meeting. It draws on the transcript and meeting chat to create structured summaries and action items. Copilot remains available in the Recap tab once the meeting ends.

There is also a “only during the meeting” mode, where Copilot works in real time without transcription or recording. In this case, the speech-to-text stream is temporary, discarded when the meeting ends, and no summary is stored in Recap. This option is useful for confidential discussions but does not provide post-meeting notes.

Mode	Data source	After the meeting
During and after	Transcript + chat	Full recap available in Recap tab
Only during	Temporary speech-to-text	No recap after meeting ends

What Copilot summaries include.

Copilot structures meeting output into multiple layers of information:

• Key points and decisions: Condensed notes showing what was agreed upon.

• Action items: Tasks assigned to individuals, with ownership inferred by context.

• Speaker markers: Timeline segments showing when each participant spoke.

• Chapters and topics: Grouped sections of the meeting to navigate long recordings.

• Shared files and links: Documents or presentations mentioned in the discussion are embedded in the summary.

• Audio recap: A podcast-like recording summarizing up to eight meetings, available for 60 days in OneDrive.

Element	Example output
Decisions	“Approved Q4 budget for marketing”
Action items	“John to draft report by Friday”
Timeline	“At 32:15 – vendor selection discussion”
Audio recap	Condensed spoken overview of meeting points

Where to find the summaries after a meeting.

Once the meeting concludes, the summary is available in the Recap tab. It can be accessed from the meeting chat or directly from the calendar event. Copilot notes and action items can be opened in Word or Excel for further editing, and tasks can sync with Planner or To Do. This integration ensures that follow-up work is embedded directly into productivity tools without manual transfer.

How to enable Copilot in a Teams meeting.

1. Schedule or join a meeting as usual.

2. In meeting options, set “Allow Copilot” to either During and after or Only during.

3. Start transcription to ensure Copilot can generate summaries after the meeting.

4. During the meeting, click the Copilot icon in the toolbar to ask real-time questions such as:

   • “What decisions have we agreed so far?”

   • “List all open questions.”

   • “Summarize what has been discussed in the last 10 minutes.”

5. After the meeting, open the Recap tab to review notes, tasks, and the audio recap if enabled.

Recommendations for best results.

• Always enable transcription to ensure a complete recap is generated.

• Let participants know Copilot is being used, for both transparency and compliance with company policies.

• Review and confirm action items manually to ensure they are properly assigned.

• Connect the Recap to Planner or To Do so that tasks move seamlessly into project management.

• For multilingual meetings, use the multilingual recap preview, which translates summaries into each participant’s selected transcription language.

Why Copilot summaries matter for teams.

Teams often spend significant time recapping discussions, clarifying tasks, and distributing meeting notes. With Copilot, these processes are automated and integrated with Microsoft 365 applications. Managers can track accountability, team members can revisit decisions, and absent participants can catch up quickly. The result is a reduction in administrative effort and a clearer record of commitments.

By configuring licenses, enabling transcription, and adopting Recap as a routine part of workflow, organizations can turn every Teams meeting into a structured, searchable, and actionable resource.

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