When the AI asks if you have any drafts or notes, you can upload documents or paste in information to help it understand your work more deeply. Don't worry about tidying them up first, rough is fine. The AI will ask if anything important is missing.

Important context (add as much of this as you can):

• Your meeting notes: typed, copied from a document, or pasted as plain text
• The date and purpose of the meeting, even if just a sentence
• Names or roles of key people, if you've noted them
• Any actions or decisions you remember, even if not fully written up

Additional context to add depth and detail:

• An agenda or list of items you intended to cover
• A previous summary from a recurring meeting, to help match format and tone
• Names of those responsible for actions and any agreed deadlines
• Context about the purpose of the meeting, for example a funding review, team check-in or partner call

Before you upload files: check for sensitive data

Review your documents for personal or sensitive information about beneficiaries. Anonymise names and identifying details before uploading. Even though Worthwhile Chat is privacy-first, good data practice starts with you. If you're using other AI tools, check their data settings too — many train on your data by default. How much you share depends on your existing privacy and data policies, and how much control you have over the tools you use.

If you’re unsure, ask yourself: “If this document were seen by someone outside our organisation, could anyone be identified or harmed?” If yes, anonymise first. 

The AI will produce a structured draft based on your notes. It may ask you a clarifying question - for example, if a name appears without a clear role, or if an action item seems incomplete. This is normal and helps improve the output.

Before you use or share the summary, take a few minutes to read it through.

Ask yourself:

• Does this accurately reflect what happened in the meeting?
• Are the decisions and actions correct, and assigned to the right people?
• Is anything important missing, or anything included that wasn't actually agreed?
• Is the tone right for the intended audience?
• If colleagues or partners are named, would they be comfortable with how they're represented?
• Is anything sensitive that shouldn't be shared beyond the intended recipients?

If something doesn't feel right, that's fine: you can refine it in the next step.

If the first draft isn't quite right, that’s ok - getting a good summary often takes a short back-and-forth. You can ask the AI to adjust the output in all sorts of ways.

Ask for revisions

Tone:

• "The tone is too formal, make it more conversational."
• "Rewrite this in plain language, avoid jargon."
• "Make the actions section more direct and easy to scan."

Length:

• "Shorten this to a brief one-page summary."
• "Cut this down to the key decisions and actions only."

Structure:

• "Lead with the actions table at the top."
• "Add a short 'context' paragraph at the beginning explaining why this meeting took place."
• "Group the action items by person rather than by topic."

Representation:

• "Make sure [name]'s contribution comes through clearly, not just their action items."
• "Check the language doesn't make anyone look less engaged than they were, especially anyone who spoke less in the meeting."

If the draft still isn't working, you can start a fresh conversation with different instructions instead.

Add what only you know

AI can only work with what you give it. Once you have a solid draft, fill in anything that wasn't in your notes:

• The full name or role of someone mentioned only by first name
• A deadline that was agreed verbally but not written down
• Context that would help readers who weren't in the room
• Any follow-up that has already happened since the meeting

Always check the facts

AI works from the notes you provide, but it can occasionally misread figures, misinterpret shorthand or fill in gaps with plausible-sounding but inaccurate text. Always check key decisions and action items against your own recollection before sharing the summary. 

Get consent before recording

If you're working from a transcript rather than typed notes, make sure everyone in the meeting gave consent to be recorded. Always tell participants at the start of a call if you're planning to transcribe it. This is good practice, and increasingly expected.

Think about who will read it

A summary for your own reference looks different from one you'll share with a partner organisation or send to a funder. Tell the AI who the audience is so the tone and level of detail can be matched appropriately.

Get a colleague to read it through

Before sharing a summary externally, ask a colleague to read it through. A fresh pair of eyes can catch errors or misrepresentations you might miss, particularly if the meeting involved sensitive topics, formal commitments, or external partners.

Be transparent about AI use

Consider noting that AI tools were used to help produce the summary. This is in line with our Worthwhile AI values and builds trust with colleagues and partners.