How to Use an AI Meeting Assistant in 2026: A 5-Step Guide (Using Tinrec as an Example)

Have you ever calculated: you spend 15 hours a week in meetings, and another 8 hours organizing meeting notes—the time spent in meetings versus organizing them is almost 1:1.

This was the most profound realization I had after becoming a manager. I used to think meeting notes were just "writing down what everyone said," but I soon discovered that the real time sink is after the meeting: you have to organize chaotic conversations into structured conclusions, extract each person's action items, and ensure everyone remembers what they need to do before the next meeting.

It wasn't until I started using an AI meeting assistant that this process finally got shorter. In this article, I'll use Tinrec (a voice recording app) as an example to walk you through the complete process from recording to producing meeting minutes, and finally share team collaboration and advanced tips.

Before You Start: What You Need to Prepare

Before you begin, please make sure you have the following:

• A smartphone or computer (Tinrec supports iOS, Android, Windows, macOS)
• Download and install the Tinrec app (available for free from the App Store or Google Play; registration only requires Google or Apple ID login)
• Prepare an audio recording you want to transcribe (it can be a meeting recording, lecture recording, or interview recording)
• A stable internet connection (real-time transcription requires internet; if you need to use it offline, remember to download the language pack in advance)

Step 1: Record the Content You Want to Transcribe

The goal of this step is to obtain a clear audio file—this is the foundation for all subsequent steps.

Open Tinrec and tap the record button on the main screen to start recording. When recording, make sure the phone is close to the speaker—the closer it is, the clearer the audio, and the higher the transcription accuracy will be. For one-on-one interviews, place the phone between the two people; for multi-person meetings, it's recommended to place it in the center of the table.

Why emphasize recording quality? Because the accuracy of AI transcription depends on audio quality—even the best transcription engine can't handle blurry audio. Instead of spending time correcting errors later, it's better to spend an extra 30 seconds checking the placement during recording.

Once done, you'll see the recording on the Tinrec main screen, with the duration and file size displayed next to it.

(Illustration: A person recording in a meeting room, phone placed in the center of the table, surrounded by participants, professional and natural atmosphere)

Step 2: Let AI Transcribe It for You

After recording, the next step is to let AI turn the audio into text.

In the Tinrec recording list, tap the file you just recorded, and the app will automatically start transcribing. If it's a live recording, transcription happens almost in real-time—you can see the transcript immediately after the recording ends. If it's an imported file, transcription time depends on the file length, but it usually completes within a few minutes.

Tinrec supports multiple languages, including Chinese (traditional and simplified), English, Japanese, Korean, and can handle mixed Chinese-English content. After transcription, you'll see the full transcript, with each speaker labeled before their segments, making it easy to distinguish who said what.

(Illustration: Phone screen showing transcript text, with different speakers' segments highlighted in different colors, clear and readable)

Step 3: Quickly Proofread the Transcript

Although AI transcription is convenient, it's inevitable to have typos or missing words, especially with technical terms or speakers with heavy accents. Therefore, proofreading is a necessary step.

Tinrec's transcript interface allows you to tap directly on the text to edit. You can listen to the recording while editing, or search for specific keywords to quickly jump to the corresponding location. If you enabled "Smart Noise Reduction" during recording, the transcription accuracy will be higher, and there will be fewer corrections needed.

When proofreading, pay special attention to names, product names, numbers, and proper nouns. These are often the most important information in meetings and the most likely places for AI to make mistakes.

(Illustration: A person wearing headphones, looking at the transcript on a phone screen, tapping text to edit, focused expression)

Step 4: Let AI Generate Meeting Minutes for You

After proofreading the transcript, the next step is the main event—letting AI generate meeting minutes.

On the Tinrec transcript page, tap the "AI Summary" button, and the app will automatically analyze the entire meeting content and generate a structured summary, including:

• Meeting Topic: Automatically determines the main content discussed in the meeting.
• Key Points: Lists key decisions and important information from the meeting.
• Action Items: Automatically extracts tasks assigned to each person and labels the responsible person.

You can edit this as a basis, adding your own supplements or corrections. Tinrec's AI summary is not a rigid template; it dynamically adjusts based on the meeting content to ensure the summary truly reflects the meeting's key points.

(Illustration: Phone screen showing AI-generated meeting minutes, including title, key points list, and action items, clean and clear)

Step 5: Export and Share

Once the meeting minutes are complete, you can export them in various formats for easy storage or sharing with your team.

Tinrec supports exporting to common formats like TXT, PDF, and Word, and you can also copy the text directly to paste into emails or messaging apps. If you use note-taking tools like Notion, Google Docs, or OneNote, Tinrec also offers one-click export to get the meeting minutes directly into your workflow.

Additionally, Tinrec supports sharing meeting data to a team space. If your team uses Tinrec for Teams, you can centrally store meeting recordings, transcripts, and minutes in the team space, where all members can view, search, and reference them, making meeting data a shared asset for the team.

(Illustration: Phone screen showing export menu with options like PDF, Word, Notion, intuitive interface)

FAQ and Troubleshooting

Q: The transcription has many errors. What should I do?

Usually, the recording environment is too noisy or the distance is too far. Tinrec has built-in Smart Noise Reduction—enable it in settings before recording. If you're using an already recorded file, you can manually select "High Noise Environment" mode after importing. Most transcription tools on the market don't have this option—they use a default mode for all recordings.

Q: The action items in the meeting minutes are inaccurate. Can I modify them?

Yes. The AI-generated action items are just an initial extraction; you can freely add, delete, or modify them in the editing interface. We recommend confirming them based on the actual meeting discussion to ensure accuracy.

Q: What languages does Tinrec support?

Tinrec supports multiple languages, including Chinese (traditional and simplified), English, Japanese, Korean, and can handle mixed Chinese-English content. Actual transcription results may be affected by recording quality, accents, and technical terms, so it's recommended to use clear recordings for important occasions.

Q: What's the difference between the free and paid versions?

The free version provides 100 minutes of transcription per month, suitable for occasional use. If you have regular meetings every week, we recommend upgrading to the Pro version for more minutes and advanced features like real-time translation and team space.

Advanced Tips: 3 Ways to Double Your Efficiency with Tinrec

Tip 1: Use AI Q&A to Quickly Find Key Points

Tinrec's AI Q&A feature allows you to ask questions directly about the meeting content, such as "What did the client think about the price?" or "What needs to be done before the next meeting?" It will provide answers based on the transcript and summary, saving you time from searching through the recording again.

Tip 2: Enable Real-Time Translation for Seamless Cross-Language Meetings

If you have foreign clients or colleagues in meetings, you can enable Tinrec's real-time translation feature. It will display the original text and translation simultaneously during recording, so you won't miss any important information.

Tip 3: Use Team Keywords to Improve Recognition of Technical Terms

If your team frequently uses specific technical terms, you can add "Team Keywords" in Tinrec's team settings. This way, AI will prioritize recognizing these terms during transcription, significantly reducing errors.

If You Don't Use Tinrec, Here Are Other Options

• Otter.ai: A mature choice for English meeting notes, but weaker Chinese support.
• Notta: A multilingual transcription tool, but lacks bot-free meeting recording and team space.

However, if you need Chinese meeting notes, bot-free recording, and team data consolidation, Tinrec would be a more suitable choice for you.

Conclusion

Now that you've learned the 5 steps above, you can use Tinrec to turn any recording into a transcript, automatically generate meeting minutes, and even use AI chat to find key points. Next step: download the free version of Tinrec and try it with one of your own recordings. The 100 minutes of free transcription per month is enough to try a couple of meetings.

If you're a team manager, you can also consider Tinrec for Teams to centrally manage meeting data and make team collaboration smoother.

Connect Meeting Minutes to Your Team's Next Actions

Tinrec doesn't just produce transcripts. After organizing summaries, key points, and action items, the Agent can help further process the action items into action plans, follow-up materials, reports, tables, or documents based on the meeting context. Important commitments and external communications should still be reviewed by a human.

Tinrec's team edition places meeting data, action items, and post-meeting outputs in a shared team space, allowing members to continue following up, search context, and accumulate knowledge over time. The capabilities selected for this scenario include "Shared meeting materials."

If these meeting notes need to be managed collaboratively by multiple people, you can further use Tinrec's team edition to establish a consistent collaboration workflow.

References

• Meeting.ai: Agent for Work - Google Play App
• 2024's Top 5 Best AI Meeting Assistants – meetXcc
• Intelligent productivity with Microsoft Teams Premium | Microsoft Support
• Krisp - AI Meeting Assistant | Automated Meeting Assistant
• SeaMeet | AI Assistant Built for Teams with Back-to-Back Meetings