Someone always ends up typing while everyone else talks, trying to catch the decisions and to-dos before the meeting moves on. Turn on AI summary in Lark Meetings and that job disappears: AI follows the discussion in real time, and once the call ends, a notes document with the key points and to-do list is waiting for everyone automatically.
Note: Using AI Notes requires available quota, either allocated by your organisation or purchased individually. If you cannot find the option in your settings, contact your Lark administrator.
A quick note on terms: AI Notes is the content AI generates, whether from a live AI summary, or from recording or uploading an audio or video file. Minutes is the recording file itself, containing the meeting’s recording and transcript.
Important: Use AI Notes with caution in meetings that cover sensitive or confidential information. For meetings that need discretion, have the organiser or host select only Generate AI-enhanced meeting notes in Minutes and Only the host can enable or disable AI Companion for meeting summaries in Smart Meetings settings. With just those two selected, AI Notes only appears inside the Minutes file once the meeting ends, and the host controls exactly who that file is shared with.
Before You Start
Three things need to be true for AI Notes to work:
- Your account is not restricted by your organisation’s policies.
- You have quota available, whether allocated by your organisation or purchased individually.
- The meeting’s settings allow you to turn the feature on. If a meeting only allows the host to enable AI Notes, you will need the host to do it, or to be the host yourself.
Turning On AI Summary
During a meeting, click AI summary in the toolbar at the bottom. AI begins summarising the discussion automatically, and a panel opens on the right showing the summary alongside live subtitles.
Closing the panel with the ✕ icon does not stop the summary running in the background. Click the Subtitles icon in the toolbar to bring the panel back.
Note: If the summary appears in a small floating window instead of the side panel, click the expand icon in that window to open the full panel.
Once the meeting ends, the AI Notes document is generated automatically.
Turning Off AI Summary
Two ways to stop it mid-meeting, and either one also stops the AI Notes document from being generated:
- From the toolbar: Toggle AI summary off, then confirm by clicking Turn Off in the pop-up.
- From the status bar: Hover over the AI summarising icon at the top of the meeting, click Turn Off, then confirm again in the pop-up.
You can turn AI summary back on again at any point during the same meeting.
Viewing AI Notes After the Meeting
The AI Notes Document
By default, every participant gets a bot message with a link to the AI Notes document once the meeting ends: to the meeting group if one exists, from the Video Meeting Assistant if it does not, or straight into the private chat for a one-on-one call. Opening it shows meeting info, a summary, a to-do list, and a transcription.
Note: All participants can view and edit the AI Notes document by default. The organiser or host can adjust these permissions manually afterwards.
AI Notes in Minutes
For a recorded meeting, anyone with view permission for the Minutes file can also find AI Notes there. Click Meetings in the left navigation bar, select Minutes, then open the meeting from the list and click the AI Notes tab in the side pane.
The tab has three sections: Summary, Action items, and Smart chapters. Anyone with edit permission for the Minutes file can click Edit beside Meeting notes or Smart chapters (using the ··· icon first if Edit is not immediately visible), make changes, and click Done.
Configuring AI Notes Settings
The same set of AI Notes options can be reached from three different places, and each affects the outcome slightly differently depending on who sets it.
A participant’s own Meetings settings
Open Lark, go to Meetings, and click the Settings icon.
Go to Smart Meetings and select or deselect the options as needed.
An organiser’s calendar event settings
When creating an event, click Settings next to Lark Video Meetings. For an existing event, open its details in Calendar and click the Video Meeting Settings icon.
Go to Smart Meetings and select or deselect the options there as well.
The host’s meeting toolbar
During the meeting itself, the host or organiser can click the Security icon in the toolbar, then Smart meeting permissions, and select or deselect the same options.
What Each Option Actually Controls
| Option | When selected | When deselected |
|---|---|---|
| Generate AI-enhanced meeting notes in Minutes (selected by default) | If the meeting is recorded, the Minutes file will contain AI Notes and is sent to the organiser automatically, who can then decide whether to share it further. | The Minutes file will not contain AI Notes. This option has no effect if the meeting is not recorded. |
| Generate AI-enhanced meeting notes in the meeting notes document (selected by default) | AI Notes is added to an existing meeting notes document, or a new one is created automatically after the meeting. | AI Notes will not be added to an existing document, and no new document will be created. |
| Enable AI Companion for meeting summaries | AI summary is available, and AI Notes is created automatically once the meeting ends. | AI summary is turned off for the meeting entirely. |
| Only the host can enable or disable AI Companion for meeting summaries (deselected by default) | Only the host can turn AI summary on or off during the meeting. | Any participant can turn AI summary on or off during the meeting. |
| Receive meeting notes from AI Companion after the meeting (default set by your organisation) | You receive a bot message with a link to the AI Notes document after the meeting. | You will not receive the AI Notes document when a meeting you attended ends. |
For the two document-generating options, viewing rights default to all participants able to view and edit, with the organiser or host able to adjust that afterwards; for the Minutes option, viewing rights follow whatever the meeting organiser sets.
Practical Use Cases for SMEs and Startups
- Client calls: Capture commitments and next steps automatically instead of relying on whoever remembered to write them down.
- Internal standups: Turn recurring updates into a searchable smart-chapter breakdown rather than a meeting nobody re-watches.
- Interviews and reviews: Keep an accurate transcript and summary without anyone splitting attention between listening and typing.
- Cross-team handovers: Share a Minutes file with AI Notes so a colleague catching up afterwards gets the key points in minutes, not the full recording.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why can’t I turn on AI summary during a meeting?
Usually one of three reasons: your account is restricted by your organisation’s policies, you do not have available quota, or the meeting only allows the host to enable it and you are not the host.
Why didn’t I receive an AI Notes document after a meeting where AI summary was on?
Either the meeting did not have Generate AI-enhanced meeting notes in Minutes enabled anywhere in its settings, or you have not selected Receive meeting notes from AI Companion after the meeting in your own Meetings settings.
Who automatically receives the AI Notes document?
By default, every participant receives it after the meeting ends. The organiser can restrict this afterwards by opening the document and adjusting permission settings under Share.
Can I change where AI Notes documents are stored?
Not the default location, no. You can move an AI Notes document manually after it has been created.
Does AI Notes work if the meeting isn’t recorded?
The AI Notes document and meeting notes document can still be generated without recording. Viewing AI Notes inside a Minutes file specifically requires the meeting to have been recorded.
Can I stop AI Notes from being shared with everyone in a sensitive meeting?
Yes. Select only Generate AI-enhanced meeting notes in Minutes and Only the host can enable or disable AI Companion for meeting summaries. AI Notes will then only exist inside the Minutes file, and the host decides who it gets shared with.
Letting the Meeting Take Its Own Notes
The point of AI Notes is not the transcript, it is what it frees people up to do instead: actually participate in the discussion, rather than transcribe it. Turn it on for the meetings that matter, and treat the confidentiality settings as seriously as the feature itself for the ones that need discretion.
Ready to Power Your Business with Lark?
Lark Meetings is just one part of an all-in-one platform that brings messaging, meetings, documents, approvals, and automations together for your entire team.
As the Platinum Partner for Lark in Malaysia, Exabytes offers tailored Lark plans, hands-on onboarding, and dedicated local support to help your team spend meetings talking instead of typing.
