> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alterhq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Never Miss Action Items from Meetings

> How to automatically record, transcribe, and extract tasks from your meetings

<Info>
  **Perfect for:** Busy professionals, team leads, and anyone who wants to focus on the conversation instead of taking notes.
</Info>

## The Problem

You're in back-to-back meetings all day. By the time you get to the third one, you can't remember:

* What was decided in the first meeting
* Who agreed to do what
* What your actual action items are

You could take notes during meetings, but then you're not fully present in the conversation.

## The Solution: Let Alter Handle It

Alter automatically detects when you're in meetings and creates searchable transcripts with speaker identification. Then you can ask it to extract action items, decisions, and key points.

## Real-world example

**Sarah, Product Manager:**

> "I used to spend 30 minutes after every meeting writing up notes. Now Alter records everything, and I just ask 'What are my action items?' and 'What decisions did we make about the API?' It saves me hours every week."

## How to set it up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enable auto-recording">
    1. Open Alter Settings (`Cmd + ,`)
    2. Go to **Dictation** tab
    3. Turn on **Auto Record Meetings**
    4. Set the minimum duration (default: 2 minutes)

    Now Alter will automatically detect Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams calls and ask if you want to record.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose your transcription quality">
    **Option 1: Cloud Processing** (Fastest, most accurate)

    * Uses online AI for transcription
    * Best accuracy for accents and technical terms

    **Option 2: Whisper Pro** (Private, works offline)

    * Download a local model (recommended: Whisper Large V3)
    * 100% offline processing
    * Great for confidential meetings
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test with a sample meeting">
    1. Join any meeting (even a test Zoom with yourself)
    2. Click **Record** when Alter asks, or manually start recording
    3. Speak for 2-3 minutes
    4. End the meeting
    5. Wait 10 seconds for transcription
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How to extract value from transcripts

Once you have a transcript, try these prompts:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Get action items" icon="check-circle">
    "List all the action items from this meeting and who is responsible for each"
  </Card>

  <Card title="Summarize decisions" icon="gavel">
    "What decisions were made? List them with context"
  </Card>

  <Card title="Find specific topics" icon="search">
    "What did we say about the budget/timeline/API?"
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create follow-up email" icon="envelope">
    "Draft a follow-up email summarizing this meeting for the team"
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Pro tips

<Tip>
  **Speaker identification:** Alter uses AI to identify different speakers (Speaker 1, Speaker 2, etc.). You can rename them manually after the meeting if you know who they are.
</Tip>

<Tip>
  **Search across all meetings:** All transcripts are searchable. Type `#` in the prompt box to search past meeting content. Ask "What did John say about the roadmap in last week's meetings?"
</Tip>

<Tip>
  **Live captions:** Turn on live captions during meetings (Settings > Voice > Enable Live Captions) to follow along in real-time, especially helpful if audio quality is poor.
</Tip>

## Where your data goes

All transcripts are stored **locally on your Mac** at:

```
~/Library/Application Support/Alter/Transcripts
```

No one else can access them unless you explicitly share them.

## Related features

* [How to access settings](/how-to/settings-guide) – Configure meeting and voice options
* [Troubleshoot mic transcription](/common-issues/mic-not-transcribing) – Fix capture issues
* [Use Tool Manager](/how-to/tool-manager-guide) – Configure tools for follow-up workflows

***

**Ready to try it?** Your next meeting is the perfect time to test this out. Just turn on auto-record and see how much easier your follow-up becomes!