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Are AI Meeting Notetakers Safe for Client Meetings?

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They can be, but only after the firm decides which tool, which meetings and which rules apply. An AI notetaker records a conversation, sends it to a service to be transcribed and summarized, and stores the result somewhere. For a confidential client meeting, you need to know where that data goes, who can access it, how long it's kept, whether it's used to train the vendor's AI, and whether everyone in the meeting has agreed to be recorded. Free or personal accounts that employees add on their own are the biggest risk.

Why notetakers deserve extra care

A notetaker isn't just another app. It creates a full recording or transcript of a conversation that may include privileged legal advice, tax details or account information. That record may live outside your firm's systems, be shared automatically with every attendee, and be kept longer than your retention policy allows.

Some notetakers also join meetings on their own once a single person connects their calendar, including meetings that person didn't organize.

Questions to answer before using one with clients

  1. Which account is it? A firm-managed business account or an employee's personal sign-up?
  2. Where is data stored, and for how long? Can you set retention and delete recordings?
  3. Is your content used to train the vendor's models? Get this in writing in the contract or settings, not from marketing.
  4. Who can see the transcript? Are summaries emailed automatically to everyone in the meeting, including outside parties?
  5. Can you control which meetings it joins? Turn off auto-join for client meetings unless it's been approved, and use a lobby (see below) so nothing joins without your say-so.
  6. Consent. Do your clients know and agree? Recording consent laws differ by state, some states require everyone in the conversation to agree, and meetings often include people in other states. Legal consent also isn't the same as your confidentiality duties to a client. The simplest approach is to tell everyone in the meeting when a notetaker is running and get their agreement, and to ask your attorney about your specific situation.

Extra considerations for law, CPA and financial firms

  • Law firms: ABA Formal Opinion 512 (July 2024) discusses lawyers' duties when using generative AI, including confidentiality and, in some cases, getting the client's informed consent before entering information about the representation. Think about whether a recording could affect privilege, and involve your ethics counsel.
  • CPA and tax firms: a transcript containing taxpayer information is part of the data your written information security plan should cover. See does my CPA firm need a WISP?
  • Financial firms: check your recordkeeping and supervision obligations before adopting a tool.

Use a lobby to control who joins

Most meeting platforms, including Microsoft Teams and Zoom, have a lobby (also called a waiting room). When it's on, everyone who joins, including an AI notetaker, waits until the meeting host lets them in. For client meetings, turn the lobby on and treat a notetaker like any other guest: check what it is and whose it is, and only admit it if you've approved it. If a notetaker you didn't approve is waiting in the lobby, don't admit it, and if one is already in the meeting, remove it.

A lobby is the simplest way to keep a notetaker from joining a confidential conversation just because one attendee connected their calendar.

A practical policy

  • Approve specific tools, using business accounts only.
  • Don't allow notetakers in client meetings unless they're approved and the client knows.
  • Turn off auto-join and automatic sharing of summaries with outside attendees.
  • Use the meeting lobby for client meetings, so the host decides whether a notetaker is admitted.
  • Have a person review AI summaries before relying on or sending them.
  • Set retention to match your records policy.
  • Add notetakers to your AI acceptable-use policy.

FAQ

Is Microsoft Teams' built-in transcription safer than a third-party bot?

It keeps data inside your Microsoft 365 environment, which can make retention and access easier to manage. It still needs settings, policies and consent.

Can we use a notetaker for internal meetings only?

That's a common starting point. Still set rules for meetings that discuss client matters.

What if a client's notetaker joins our meeting?

If you're using a lobby, you can see it waiting before it joins. You can ask what tool it is and how the recording will be handled, or ask that it be removed for sensitive discussions.

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