Where Notion AI meeting notes actually live (and why it matters)

If you're exploring Notion AI, you've probably seen the promise: automatic meeting transcripts, AI-generated summaries, and organized notes — all without lifting a finger during your calls.

It sounds perfect for creative teams juggling client calls, internal syncs, and project check-ins. But before you turn it on, there's some crucial details most people miss until it's too late.

Let me show you what Notion AI meeting notes actually do, whether they're right for your workflow, and the one setting that determines whether this feature becomes your secret weapon or a privacy nightmare.

What are AI meeting notes in Notion?

Notion AI can listen to your calls (via Notion Calendar integration) and via a dialog on your desktop to:

• Record and transcribe the entire conversation
• Generate a summary of key points and decisions
• Pull out action items and next steps
• Store everything as a searchable page in your workspace

No more frantic note-taking while trying to focus on the conversation. No more "wait, what did they say about the deadline?" moments. The AI captures it all.

For consultants, agencies, and creative teams managing multiple projects, this can be transformative. Instead of spending 15 minutes after every call writing up notes, you can review, edit, and share the AI summary in minutes.

The benefits are real (when it fits your workflow)

Here's why teams love this feature:

You can actually be present in meetings — Instead of splitting your attention between listening and typing, you can focus entirely on the conversation. The AI handles the documentation.

Nothing falls through the cracks — Client mentions a preference in passing? It's in the transcript. Someone volunteers to handle a task? It's captured in the action items.

Searchable history of every conversation — Need to remember what you discussed with a client six months ago? Search your meeting notes database and find it instantly.

Easy team handoffs — When you need to bring a teammate up to speed, you can share the full context of a conversation instead of your paraphrased memory of it.

Time savings compound quickly — If you take 5 calls per week and save 15 minutes per call on note-taking and sharing recaps, that's over 60 hours per year back in your schedule.

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Why I like it over other meeting note takers:

A robot doesn’t automatically take up a seat on your calls – Sometimes when I am working 1:1 with clients, I prefer having my screen being filled with members of their team so I can watch for reactions and have more genuine conversations.

How to find and set your default meetings database

Being able to save to your existing Notion workspace is a huge benefit to using Notion AI.Here's where this critical setting lives (and how to change it):

Step 1: Open your Notion settings

• Click Settings at the bottom of your left sidebar
• Or click your workspace name in the top-left corner and select Settings

Step 2: Navigate to Notion AI settings

• In the left menu, scroll down to find Notion AI
• Click on it to open the AI-specific settings

Step 3: Find the AI Meeting Notes section

• At the top, you’ll find Meeting Notes
• Look for "Select default meetings database"

Step 4: Choose where your notes should land

• Click the field that says "Search for a database..."
• You can either:
  • Select an existing database from your workspace
  • Create a new database specifically for meeting notes
  • Leave it blank (Notion will prompt you to choose when you record your first meeting)

Important: The database you choose here is where every AI meeting note will automatically be stored. Make sure you're comfortable with who has access to that database before you start recording calls.

Pro tip: You can change this setting at any time, but it only affects new meeting notes going forward. Existing notes stay where they were originally created.

So should you use Notion AI meeting notes or not?

The answer depends on understanding your options:

Option 1: Store all meeting notes in one shared database

This works well if:

• Your team values transparency and you take similar types of calls
• You don't have clients or external collaborators in your Notion workspace
• Most of your meetings can safely be visible to everyone on your team
• You want the simplest setup with maximum search functionality

Option 2: Use a private database and manually organize later

This works well if:

• You take calls with different permission needs (internal vs. client vs. sensitive)
• You have external collaborators or clients in your workspace (page-level permissions can also make this easy for people to use)
• You want to review notes before making them visible to others
• You need different meeting notes in different project spaces

Option 3: Skip AI meeting notes and use templates with a meeting block instead

This works well if:

• You take relatively few calls where note-taking is manageable
• Your calls involve information that shouldn't be recorded or transcribed
• You prefer manual control over what gets documented
• Privacy and confidentiality are paramount

None of these is "wrong" — but choosing without understanding the implications can create problems that are tedious to fix later.

Questions to ask yourself before enabling AI Meeting Notes in your Notion workspace

• Do you take calls with different stakeholders who should see different things?
• Who currently has access to shared spaces in your workspace?
• Would you want a transcript and AI summary of every call you take, or only some?
• Do you work with sensitive or confidential information that requires careful handling?
• Does your workflow need meeting notes organized by project, or is one central database better?

If you're reading these questions and thinking, "I'm not sure how to set this up for my situation," that's completely normal. These structural decisions seem small but they determine whether your Notion workspace helps or hinders your workflow.

When you need help thinking through the setup

This is exactly the kind of decision I help creative teams work through when we're building Notion systems for their business.

It's not just about turning features on or off — it's about understanding:

• How your team actually works
• Who needs access to what information
• How to structure your workspace so people can find what they’re looking for
• How to set up permissions that protect what needs protecting while keeping collaboration easy

The difference between a Notion workspace that works and one that creates more chaos often comes down to these early structural decisions.

If you're evaluating Notion AI (or building out your workspace) and want to make sure you're setting it up in a way that actually fits your workflow, let's talk.

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