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How to Prep for a Meeting in 5 Minutes With AI

Published by 3Gen Internet Corporation, maker of OpenAssistant, Skej and AGNT. Comparisons use public documentation, without hands-on testing.

A small sand timer beside a compact meeting-brief folder containing context and agenda cards, a miniature meeting table softly in the background, fast focused preparation.

The steps below are taken from each vendor’s help pages. We have not run them.

To prep for a meeting in five minutes with AI, have an assistant pull together who is on the call, your last thread with them and what you owe. The fastest way is a brief that arrives on its own: OpenAssistant can send one before every meeting. Copilot and Claude can do it when you ask.

You have five minutes before a call with someone you last spoke to in March. You need to know who is on the call, what you discussed last time, what you promised, and what they will probably ask. AI can pull that together from your calendar, email and files, if it is connected to them. This guide shows three ways, from a brief that arrives on its own to a one-click option:

The 5-minute version, whatever tool you use

  1. Minute 1: open the brief or ask for it.
  2. Minutes 2 to 3: read who’s attending, the last thread with them, and anything you owe.
  3. Minute 4: pick the one question you most need answered in the meeting.
  4. Minute 5: open the doc or deck you’ll share.

The tool does the gathering. You still do the thinking. Check names and numbers before you repeat them out loud.

Option 1: OpenAssistant (a brief before every meeting, on its own)

OpenAssistant can send you prep without being asked, using a trigger such as “30 minutes before every meeting.”

The quick way: switch on the built-in workflow

Open the Recurring Tasks tab and toggle on the Meeting preparation workflow. After it runs, tell it what to change, for example “In my meeting preparation workflow, keep it to less than 5 bullet points,” or “Don’t run meeting prep for internal meetings.” It applies that next time. (OpenAssistant)

The custom way: write your own trigger

Create a recurring task with an event-based trigger. OpenAssistant’s own example sets the trigger to 30 minutes before meetings and asks it to: check the work calendar; include external meetings only; skip spam and webinar events; research attendees, their company and news; look for past emails and meeting notes; suggest talking points; and email the prep to your inbox. (OpenAssistant)

The one-off way

Ask by email or as a task. OpenAssistant’s example: “Prepare background information on the attendees for my meeting tomorrow.” (OpenAssistant)

The brief can draw on whatever you’ve connected: email, calendar, meeting notes from a tool such as Granola, and CRMs such as HubSpot or Salesforce. (OpenAssistant) Its product page says briefs can arrive by email, text or in the app, for example 30 minutes before each meeting; you set the timing. (OpenAssistant)

Each run uses credits, so an every-meeting trigger costs more than a once-a-week one. (OpenAssistant)

Option 2: Microsoft 365 Copilot (one click in Outlook)

Who can use it

Microsoft says the feature is available to all Copilot users, in Outlook on the web, the new Outlook for Windows, Teams, Mac and Outlook Mobile, though the experience varies by app. An admin must have Meeting Insights turned on in the Microsoft 365 admin center, under Search & Intelligence, Configurations, Manage Meeting Insights settings. (Microsoft)

Steps

  1. In Outlook on the web or the new Outlook for Windows, open your calendar and open the meeting.
  2. Prepare for this meeting content appears at the top.
  3. Click Show more for the rest, or pick a suggested prompt to continue in Copilot chat.

Or select the meeting in your calendar and click the Prepare for this meeting button to start in chat. (Microsoft)

Know its limits

(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s page doesn’t say which Copilot license the prep card needs. Work users without the Copilot add-on can still ask Copilot Chat in Outlook about their calendar and meetings. (Microsoft)

Option 3: Claude with Google Calendar, Gmail and Drive

Step 1: Connect your Google apps (once)

  1. On claude.ai, go to Customize > Connectors.
  2. Find Google Calendar and select Connect.
  3. Sign in to Google and grant permissions. The button changes to Disconnect when it’s connected.

(Anthropic)

Repeat for Gmail and Google Drive, so Claude can find the last thread and the shared doc. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner has to enable the connectors first. (Anthropic)

Step 2: Turn them on in the chat

In a new conversation, select + at the lower left of the message box, then Connectors, and switch on Google Calendar (and Gmail and Drive). Anthropic says Claude may also bring a connected app into a chat on its own. (Anthropic) (Anthropic)

Step 3: Ask for the brief

A prompt worth saving (our wording):

For my next meeting on my calendar: list the attendees with their role and company, summarize my last email thread with each external attendee, list anything I promised them, link any Drive files mentioned in the invite or the threads, and suggest three questions I should ask. One screen, no more.

Claude’s answers cite the calendar events they came from. (Anthropic) Anthropic says it doesn’t train its models on Gmail, Drive or Calendar connector data, and asks for approval before acting for you by default. (Anthropic)

A note on plans: Anthropic’s two pages disagree. One says the Google connectors are available to all users and that Calendar can create and change events; the other says Calendar is on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise and is read-only. Reading is all you need for prep. (Anthropic, Anthropic)

Anthropic’s help pages do not describe an automatic brief before each meeting, so you ask each time.

If you use Gemini

No Google help article for a dedicated meeting-prep feature is cited here. You can ask Gemini in Gmail instead (requires an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan): click Ask Gemini at the top right, start your prompt with @Calendar, ask about your next meeting with a person, and click Submit. It only reads your primary calendar. (Google)

Which one to use

OpenAssistant Microsoft 365 Copilot Claude
How you get it Arrives on its own, or ask Click Prepare for this meeting Ask with a saved prompt
Calendar Google, Microsoft or Apple Outlook Google Calendar
Pulls past email and files Yes, with inbox and apps connected Yes, content you can access Yes, with Gmail and Drive connected
Researches people outside your company Yes, per its recurring task example Not stated Not stated
Needs Free Starter plan (1,000 credits at signup, plus 100 bonus a day up to 1,000 a month) Copilot, admin-enabled Meeting Insights Claude account (plan varies by page)

(Sources linked above)

Start with OpenAssistant if you want prep for every external meeting without remembering to ask.

Where competitors do better: if your company runs on Microsoft 365, the Copilot button is already built into Outlook and takes one click. Claude is the simplest choice for a Google user who’d rather ask than set up automation.

Check it yourself

This section is advice for you. We have not run these checks.

Pick a real external meeting where you know the history. Before opening any tool, write down the three facts you’d most want in a brief. Then run the tool and check:

  1. Did it get all attendees and their roles right?
  2. Did it find the most recent thread with them?
  3. Did it surface your three facts?
  4. Did anything in it turn out wrong?

FAQ

Can AI prepare me for a meeting automatically?

Yes. OpenAssistant can send a brief before every meeting using a trigger such as 30 minutes before every meeting. Microsoft 365 Copilot has a Prepare for this meeting button, and Claude can build a brief when you ask.

What goes into the brief?

In OpenAssistant it can draw on whatever you have connected: email, calendar, meeting notes from a tool such as Granola, and CRMs such as HubSpot or Salesforce. Copilot summarizes content you have access to, and Claude uses Google Calendar, Gmail and Drive when connected.

How do I change what the brief looks like?

In OpenAssistant, tell it what to change, for example “In my meeting preparation workflow, keep it to less than 5 bullet points,” or “Don’t run meeting prep for internal meetings.”

Does it cost credits?

Each OpenAssistant run uses credits, so an every-meeting trigger costs more than a once-a-week one. The free Starter plan includes 1,000 credits at signup, plus 100 bonus credits a day once those are used up, up to 1,000 a month.

Will Copilot work for any meeting?

Microsoft says the summarized insights only appear for 1:1 meetings and meetings with related content. If there is little shared content, answers are generic.

Try OpenAssistant

If you want the brief waiting before each call, Try OpenAssistant and switch on the Meeting preparation workflow. Tell it what to keep or skip after the first run. Plans are on the pricing page.

Sources