Summary Templates

Summary Templates

Different meetings need different summaries. A daily standup needs action items and blockers. A client call needs follow-ups and commitments. A brainstorming session needs ideas organized by theme.

Think of templates like form letters -you define the structure (sections, headings, table formats), and the AI fills in the content from your meeting's transcript. The same 1-hour meeting can produce completely different summaries depending on which template you use.

Templates are managed in Meeting Details > Preferences > Templates.

Quick Start

1. Open any meeting from the sidebar
2. Click the Preferences icon (gear) in the top-right toolbar
3. Select the Templates section
4. Browse built-in templates or click + New Template to create your own
5. Click a template card to select it as your active template
6. Go back to the AI Summary tab and generate a summary -it follows your template's structure

Built-In Templates

Meetily includes pre-built templates for common meeting types:

Built-in templates cannot be edited or deleted, but you can duplicate them to create a customizable copy.

Creating a Custom Template

Step-by-step

1. In Preferences > Templates, click + New Template
2. The template editor opens with a starter markdown template
3. Write your template using the markdown format described below
4. Click the ? button to open the hints panel for formatting examples
5. Click Create Template
6. Your template appears in the template grid

Template Format

Templates use a simple markdown structure:

# Meeting Summary
 
Standard meeting format with action items and discussion.
 
## Key Points
 
List the main discussion points from the meeting.
 
## Action Items
 
List all tasks with owner and due date.
 
| **Owner** | **Task** | **Due** |
| --- | --- | --- |

How it works:

Writing Effective Templates

The hints panel (click ? in the editor) offers these tips:

• Think of it as prompting -each section heading is an instruction to the AI
• Be specific -"List all action items with person responsible and deadline" works better than "Action items"
• Use tables to get structured output -the AI will fill in your columns
• Use bullet format (- item) for free-form lists
• Keep section descriptions short -1-2 sentences per section is ideal

Managing Templates

Edit a Custom Template

1. Hover over a custom template card
2. Click the pencil icon (Edit)
3. Modify the markdown content
4. Click Save Changes

Note: If you change the template name (the # Title line), Meetily creates a new template and removes the old one. If the name stays the same, the template is updated in place.

Duplicate a Built-In Template

1. Hover over any built-in template card
2. Click the + icon (Duplicate)
3. A custom copy is created with the same content
4. Edit the copy to customize it for your needs

Delete a Custom Template

1. Hover over a custom template card
2. Click the trash icon (Delete)
3. Confirm in the confirmation dialog
4. The template is permanently removed

Export a Template

1. Hover over any template (built-in or custom)
2. Click the download icon (Export)
3. Choose a save location in the file dialog
4. Template is saved as a .md file (e.g., daily-standup.md)

Import a Template

1. Click Import Template in the Templates section
2. Select a .md template file in the file picker
3. The template is imported and appears in your template grid

This is useful for sharing templates between team members or restoring templates from a backup.

Selecting a Template

Click any template card to make it your active template. The selected template shows a checkmark indicator. This template is used the next time you generate an AI summary.

How It Works

When you generate an AI summary, Meetily combines the template with the transcript:

Your Template → AI reads section headings as instructions
    +
Meeting Transcript → AI extracts relevant information
    =
Structured Summary → Each section filled with meeting content

1. Template parsing: Meetily reads your template's sections and understands the structure
2. Transcript analysis: The AI reads the full meeting transcript
3. Section filling: For each template section, the AI extracts relevant content from the transcript
4. Format matching: If your template specifies tables, the AI produces table output; if bullet lists, it produces bullet lists

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Engineering standup template

"I run a 15-minute daily standup. I need a summary that captures what each person said about yesterday, today, and blockers."

Template:

# Engineering Daily Standup
 
Brief daily status update format.
 
## Yesterday's Progress
 
List what each person completed yesterday, organized by person.
 
## Today's Plan
 
List what each person plans to work on today, organized by person.
 
## Blockers
 
List any blockers or issues raised, with who raised them and proposed solutions.

Result: The AI produces a per-person breakdown for each section, pulling specifics from the transcript.

Example 2: Client call template with follow-ups table

"After client calls, I need to send a follow-up email with commitments and deadlines."

Template:

# Client Call Summary
 
## Client Needs
 
What did the client ask for or raise as concerns?
 
## Our Commitments
 
| **Commitment** | **Owner** | **Deadline** | **Status** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
 
## Next Steps
 
What are the agreed next steps and when is the next meeting?

Result: The AI fills in the commitment table with specific items mentioned in the meeting, making it easy to copy into a follow-up email.

Example 3: Sharing templates across a team

"I created a template that works great for our sprint retrospectives. My teammates want to use it too."

Setup: Hover over your retro template → click Export → save the .md file → share via Slack or email. Teammates click Import Template → select the file → the template appears in their Meetily. Everyone uses the same structure.

Screenshots Guide

These are the key screens worth capturing for visual reference: