Guide to Hosting AI-Augmented Conversations

AI-augmented conversations integrate artificial intelligence tools into the full lifecycle of a discussion—from hosting and transcription to content creation and refinement. This approach streamlines workflow, boosts quality, and saves time while preserving human insight and oversight.

Step 1: Plan and Host the Conversation

  • Choose your platform. Select a video conferencing platform like Zoom that supports large audiences (up to 100 or more).

  • Set date and time. Ensure it works for your speakers, collaborators, and target audience.

  • Collaborate and assign roles. Consider inviting a partner organization and designating a skilled moderator to guide the first part of the conversation.

  • Require registration. This helps manage attendance and enables follow-up communications.

  • Develop guiding questions. Use AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and FutureHouse to co-develop questions based on your goals. Revise collaboratively with your guest expert.

  • Structure the session. Plan for a 30-minute moderated conversation followed by open discussion or audience Q&A.

Step 2: Transcribe the Conversation

  • Record the session. Ensure audio quality is clear and saved in a format suitable for transcription.

  • Use AI transcription tools. Tools like Otter.ai can quickly generate an accurate transcript, typically within 10 minutes of uploading.

  • Edit lightly if needed. Correct speaker names and clarify unclear passages to prepare for analysis.

I used Otter.ai to generate in minutes a highly accurate transcript of a WAMC interview with Skidmore Consitutional law scholar Beau Breslin. (Click to enlarge.)

Step 3: Upload Materials for AI Analysis

  • Upload to a research assistant tool. Use NotebookLM or a similar platform to upload the transcript and other relevant documents (articles, bios, reports).

  • Build your briefing doc. NotebookLM will aggregate the content into a searchable “Briefing Doc,” providing context for content generation.

If you click on the above to enlarge it, you’ll see I’ve uploaded ten source documents for NotebookLM to consult in writing a feature on Beau Breslin that spotlights our conversation with him.

This is the top of an extensive ‘Briefing Doc’ an entire, well-organized aggregation of the ten documents I uploaded, laying out all of the material on which NotebookLM can freely draw upon when I give it the prompt I’ll ask ChatGPT to write for it.