Smarter Docs with AI and Markdown

Table of Contents

• What You Will Learn in this Article
• What is “Markdown” in the First Place? Simple Notation that Anyone Can Use
• How is Markdown Useful?
• Markdown in Action
• But Isn’t Markdown Difficult to Use?
• Summary

What You Will Learn in this Article

Do you have any of these problems?

• Notes from meetings and meetings are jumbled up, and it’s hard to look back at them later
• It’s a hassle to make meeting minutes from scratch every time
• I want to use AI to improve efficiency, but I don’t know how to use it.
• You want to share information, but it takes too much time to create the material

For those who have such problems, we will introduce how to improve the efficiency of work notes and meeting minutes at once by combining a simple writing method called “Markdown” with AI, Google Docs, and Notion.

What you will get from this article

• Understand the basics of Markdown and the benefits of using it at work
• See why taking notes and meeting minutes can be sped up
• You can experience further efficiency by linking with AI
• Get examples of practices you can start with today

What is “Markdown” in the First Place? Simple Notation that Anyone Can Use

Easy notation with “#”, “-“, and “*”

Markdown is a super simple way to write sentences that don’t require special software or hard rules. For example, “#” is used for headings, “-” is used for bullet points, and “**” is used for emphasis. Even if you don’t care about the appearance, it is attractive that you can organize the information firmly.

How is it different from Word and Google Docs?

In Word and Docs, it tends to take a long time to adjust the appearance such as font size and color. But with Markdown, you can minimize that embellishment and focus on the structure and content. It’s text-based and lightweight, so it’s easy to store and share, and it can be reused in a variety of tools.

How is Markdown Useful?

You can focus on the “contents” instead of the decoration

The best thing about Markdown is that you can focus on what’s inside without worrying about the decorations. For example, you can quickly organize information by using simple symbols such as “#” for headings, “-” for lists, and “**” for emphasis. The big advantage is that you don’t have to adjust the formatting every time like Word, and you can concentrate on the writing itself.

“Meaning-making” makes it easier to look back

The description in Markdown is not just a look, but a structure with “meaning” such as “this is a heading” and “this is a bullet point”. Therefore, when you look back at it later, it is easy to find “Where are the action items of that meeting?”, and the value of the memo increases dramatically. Even a spontaneous memo will turn into information that can be used in Markdown.

Compatibility with AI, Google Docs, and Notion is also great

Markdown is known to be an easy-to-handle format for AI such as ChatGPT. If you instruct them to “summarize this content in Markdown”, it will output a beautifully structured sentence in one shot. You can also use it as it is for Google Docs and Notion by copying and pasting, so just remembering it will make your daily work insanely easy.

Markdown in Action

Let AI do the drafts and clean them up in Markdown

For example, if you give a meeting voice memo or agenda note to an AI (such as ChatGPT) and tell it to “create meeting minutes in Markdown format,” you will get a draft that is neatly organized to the point. If you make a few changes to it yourself and add supplements, you can quickly create a memo that is easy to read and share. It is overwhelmingly faster than thinking from scratch.

You can share it with your team by copying and pasting

All you have to do is copy and paste the finished Markdown memo directly into the tools used by the team, such as Notion and Google Docs. Since it can be pasted while maintaining the structure, there is almost no need for shaping. (* In Google Docs, Markdown must be enabled.) Go to Tools>Preferences and check “Enable Markdown”. ）

Use Markdown Templates for AI Prompts

When giving instructions to AI, writing them in Markdown format makes your intentions clearer and helps ensure you receive more accurate and relevant responses. For frequently used prompts, it’s a good idea to organize them as templates in advance using Markdown.

Personally, as I began using AI daily, my collection of templates kept growing, and I often found myself wondering, “Which one was the latest version?” To solve this, I started using a tool called GitHub, which allows me to keep track of changes and organize my files effectively. It’s incredibly useful—I can easily check different versions and stay organized!

But Isn’t Markdown Difficult to Use？

Not at all actually! You can remember the basic formatting just by using a few common symbols like “#” and “-“. Here are some that I use often:

• # : Heading

• ** text ** : Bold

• * text * : Italic

• 1. : Numbered list

• - : Bullet list

• --- : Horizontal line

• - [ ] : Task list

• > : Quotation

There are many more, so if you’re curious, I recommend checking out the full Markdown Documentation!

Summary

Key takeaways

• Markdown lets you focus on content rather than formatting

• Its structure makes notes easier to review later

• When combined with AI, it can drastically reduce time spent on meeting minutes and work memos

• Works seamlessly with tools like Google Docs and Notion

The Best Way to Learn is to Just Try It Out!

You don’t need to go all-in with Markdown right away. Even something as simple as “writing just your meeting notes in Markdown” is a great start. With the help of AI, getting started is easier than you might think. Try it for yourself—you’ll be surprised at how much it can boost both the quality and speed of your work.