Can AI Take Your Minutes? Not the Ones That Matter.
Every board eventually asks the question: if there's a recording, why do we need a person? Zoom transcribes. Otter summarizes. Surely that's close enough?
It isn't — and the gap matters more than most boards realize until they're staring down a CAT hearing or a lawyer's request for the record of a contentious vote. Minutes aren't a transcript of what was said. They're part of the corporation’s official legal record that must withstand scrutiny long after everyone in the room has forgotten the details. This post breaks down what AI transcription tools are good at, where they fall short, and why a professional minute taker remains the safer bet for governance records.
What AI Actually Does Well
To be fair to the technology: AI transcription and summarization tools are genuinely useful for certain things. They're fast, cheap, and reasonably accurate at capturing who said what in a low-stakes internal meeting — a staff check-in, a brainstorm, a call where nothing needs to hold up in a dispute. If your goal is a rough record for internal memory, an AI tool can do that job adequately.
The problem is that board minutes are never that low stakes.
And we get why the temptation is there. Property managers are juggling a portfolio of corporations, boards are watching every line item, and an AI subscription looks a lot cheaper than a professional minute taker's invoice. That instinct makes sense almost everywhere else in a budget. It doesn't make sense here. The meeting itself ends the moment everyone logs off — but the minutes don't. They sit in the corporation's records for years, waiting to be pulled out during a CAT dispute, an insurance claim, or a lawyer's file review, long after anyone can rely on memory to fill the gaps.
Cutting costs on the one document built to outlive the meeting is a bet against your own future record.
Where AI Can't Make the Cut
Board minutes serve a legal function under the Condominium Act, and that function requires judgment AI doesn't have.
Knowing what not to record. Section 55 requirements around owner access to records mean minutes should accurately record decisions and, where appropriate, sufficient context to explain those decisions — not every side comment, personal disagreement, or half-formed idea raised in discussion. Left on its own, an AI transcription tool records everything that is said, including comments that may not belong in the corporation's permanent record. A professional minute taker knows the difference between a decision and a debate and only formalizes the former.
Imagine this: During a discussion, a director makes an off-the-cuff comment about an owner, and another director immediately says, "That discussion shouldn't appear in the minutes." A professional minute taker understands the context and prepares the official record accordingly. An AI transcript has already captured every word. Someone still has to exercise judgment to determine what belongs in the corporation's permanent record.
Handling in-camera sessions correctly. Discussions involving legal matters, personnel, or specific unit owners are commonly dealt with in-camera under Section 40. AI can capture the conversation. It cannot exercise the discernment required to protect privileged and confidential discussions. A professional minute taker understands those boundaries and prepares the minutes accordingly.
Catching procedural irregularities in real time. Quorum questions, conflict-of-interest disclosures, and motions that aren't properly seconded all require someone in the room who understands governance procedure well enough to flag the issue as it happens — not just record that a vote occurred. AI cannot reliably determine whether meeting procedures complied with applicable governance requirements. It can only record the words that were spoken.
Producing a document that reads as authoritative. Minutes get pulled into CAT proceedings, insurance claims, and lawyer reviews years after the meeting. A transcript-style AI summary reads exactly like what it is — a rough approximation, full of filler, false starts, and ambiguity about who actually made a motion. [1] A professionally drafted minute reads like the deliberate legal record it needs to be.
Neither the AI transcript nor the recording is inherently privileged. It should also be noted that the AI transcript and the recording from which it was generated may, depending on the circumstances, become records of the corporation capable of being requested under the Condominium Act. Meeting recordings have already been the subject of proceedings before the CAT. [2]
One important distinction here: when a recording is made by a party retained and paid by the corporation — including a professional minute-taking service — the CAT has treated that party as the corporation's agent, meaning the recording can be treated as a record of the corporation while it exists, even if the corporation itself never holds a copy. From a practical governance perspective, what matters isn't simply whether these recordings were technically records — it's whether they're used solely as an internal working document to prepare the minutes and deleted once that work is done, consistently and as a matter of course, rather than in response to a specific request or dispute. In Bogue, the CAT accepted that a recording created for minute-taking purposes that had already been deleted did not have to be produced where there was no evidence of bad faith. Although the CAT did not rule on a formal deletion policy, the decision is also consistent with a corporation maintaining and following a documented, routine practice of deleting working recordings after approved minutes have been prepared.
And here's the part boards often miss: even if you decide to use AI as a starting point, none of the above goes away. A human must read that draft line by line, checking that in-camera content was excluded, that the record reflects decisions rather than debate, and that nothing was transcribed that shouldn't exist in writing. AI can produce an excellent first draft. In fact, it is an excellent drafting tool, but it cannot be the last set of eyes on your minutes.
In short, AI can follow instructions. It cannot exercise discernment.
What a Professional Minute Taker Brings to the Table
A transcript tells you what was said. Minutes tell you what was decided — and why it holds up.
That distinction is the entire value of the role. A trained minute taker isn't typing faster than an AI tool; they're applying years of accumulated judgment about what belongs in a legal record, what protects the corporation, and what a director, owner, or tribunal adjudicator will need to find months or years later (and in our case, that judgment is backed by decades of corporate law experience). That judgment doesn't come from a language model guessing at relevance — it comes from someone who understands condominium governance well enough to know the difference between noise and record.
The Bottom Line
AI can help you remember a meeting. It can't help you defend one. If your minutes ever need to hold up outside the boardroom — and eventually, they will — you need a human who knows what that requires.
— Patricia & Katherine
Wondering if your current minutes would hold up under scrutiny? Let's talk.
References:
[1] The Condominium Authority Tribunal has confirmed that the purpose of minutes is to document the corporation's business transactions and administration, and that minutes are not intended to be a verbatim record of everything said during a meeting. Rahman v. Peel Standard Condominium Corporation No. 779, 2021 ONCAT 32.
[2] The Condominium Authority Tribunal has confirmed that a recording made by a party retained and paid by a condominium corporation to record a meeting is a record of the corporation, even if the corporation itself never possesses a copy. The CAT has also accepted that a recording created for minute-taking purposes that no longer exists does not need to be produced, provided there is no evidence of bad faith in its deletion. Bogue v. Carleton Condominium Corporation No. 288, 2024 ONCAT 15.
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Disclaimer: The information provided on this blog is for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or professional corporate governance advice. While we strive to provide accurate information based on the Ontario Condominium Act, legislation and tribunal rulings are subject to change. Condominium boards should always consult with a qualified condominium lawyer, engineer, or certified accountant before making formal legal or financial decisions for their corporation.
