During a board meeting, a well-crafted board pack is the star of the show: preparing directors to make informed contributions, guiding discussions where they need to go and facilitating decisive next steps.

In the busy days leading up to the meeting, however, finalizing board packs can become a brutally stressful race against time. Behind-the-scenes players like you are wrangling disparate data, refining content and burning the midnight oil to get it all together, get it done and get it right.

For corporate secretaries, general counsel and board administrators, 

purpose-built artificial intelligence (AI) tools

 offer a magic wand to simplify the pack-prep process, simplifying manual tasks and making the end product more effective.

How exactly does this all work? What makes AI such an indispensable governance tool? Read on for specifics, including a 

real-world example of AI-powered board packs

Meeting prep’s most important — and laborious — tasks

Think back on the process, and pain points, involved in preparing your latest 

You’re manually poring through reams of past minutes and documents, determining that you need to update. And then you’re chasing down data from multiple sources, with multiple time-consuming gentle (and sometimes less-than-gentle!) reminders.

You’re whittling content down to only the most salient points, often running on too little sleep amid multiple distractions. You’re tinkering away on formatting and squandering pre-meeting minutes on double-checking, manual cross-referencing and the logistics of distribution, losing time that should be spent on strategy and the bigger picture. 

You end up spending too much time on the wrong things, like manual tasks that could be digitized and automated. Meanwhile, out-of-date information and inaccuracies risk slipping through the cracks.

Surely there must be an easier way of delivering board members the updates, insights and clarity they need to make smart decisions.

One of AI’s biggest superpowers for governance professionals is its ability to quickly produce context-driven content summaries. Picture the instantaneous AI summaries you see at the top of an online search, only larger and much more sophisticated. 

With 

 application, it's now possible — providing your board members with quick-read, cross-referenced takeaways for everything on the meeting agenda, from performance metrics to pending regulations, all in the click of button. 

This capability works in a text-to-speech format, too, turning your board pack into your board members' new favorite podcast that they can use to prep for meetings on the go (whether on a plane or train, at the gym or even when walking the dog).

Beyond the substantial benefit of content summarization, such purpose-built AI  delivers more tools even the most tech-averse members of your board can appreciate.

 can conduct an intelligent analysis of board pack content, for example, automatically generating targeted questions for board discussions. And automatically generated citations throughout keep page-flipping and scrolling to a minimum during meetings.

Meanwhile, automated tracking keeps time-sensitive activities like investment reviews, roadshow materials, registration filings and reports moving quickly, and AI-generated action items turn shorthand notes and meeting materials into next steps and deliverables.

But what about the behind-the-scenes plight of administratively burdened corporate secretaries, general counsel and administrators?

 assists at every stage leading up to the end product as well, with transparency, security and accountability built in:

Analyzing past content for information that needs to be updated

Automatically (and intelligently) collecting metrics, measures and other raw data across filings, earnings transcripts, historical minutes and more

Automatically requesting information from specific teams, partners and departments

Generating concise narratives based on a context-driven analysis of these compiled materials

Facilitating collaborative reviews with continuous integration, including automated version control and personalized briefings on changes

As general counsel and corporate secretary, Eric Myers handles board packs — and much more — at ELCO Mutual, an insurance provider managing more than a billion dollars in assets. Using Diligent's AI-powered board management software has freed up valuable time in his schedule.

“I used to spend maybe a day or two preparing for board meetings with the old system. Now with Diligent, it’s maybe an hour or two,” said Myers.

Meeting documents at ELCO can run to 150 pages or more. But with the software's AI Board Book Summary tool, Myers was able to generate concise overviews at the click of a button. “It basically summarizes everything, and I can pull out the bits and pieces that I need,” he said. “Having something that tells the board, ‘Hey, this is where you need to go, this is what you should focus on,’ is very helpful.”

The new summaries had a substantial impact: directors’ engagement rose, and meeting dynamics improved as board members were more prepared and informed, leading to faster, more effective decision-making.

“I can tell much better than I used to how prepared people are,” said Myers, “just based on how the meetings go.”

 to discover how ELCO Mutual leveraged AI-powered governance technology to modernize its boardroom operations.

For those in Myers’ shoes preparing board packs, AI amps up efficiency, with streamlined processes that shift time from manual tasks and logistics to more strategic work.

For the executives and directors using the new board packs, added features like smart summaries and automated citations enable more effective preparation, helping them arrive at meetings ready to engage, contribute and make future-focused, data-driven decisions. And across the board and governance team, AI enhances accuracy and accountability, with automation that reduces errors and ensures follow-through.

Incorporating AI into board management is not just about keeping pace with technology, but also about transforming the way we approach governance. With AI, boards can work smarter, not harder, focusing more time on strategic decision-making that drives success.



Ready to explore how purpose-built AI can transform your board management?

of our AI-powered board management platform today.

Discover the full suite of AI-powered board management features that can boost your board’s efficiency with tools to use before, during and after the board meeting. 

Put AI to work in your boardroom

How to harness AI for more efficient and effective board pack preparation

Whether you serve on a school board, city council or any other public entity, and whether you are a leader or an administrator working full-time or part-time, the realities of public service make it difficult — and important — to manage complexity with precision.

Digital tools can help resolve this complexity. Many of the technologies that were once only affordable for large corporations are now well within reach for public service organizations.

Today, Diligent Community provides public boards with the tools and support they need to effectively govern and meet their goals. Over the past few years, Diligent Community has evolved into an essential resource for thousands of people like you.

In this blog, we highlight 10 key features of Diligent Community that you might not be taking advantage of. We'll show you what they can do for your organization and offer some pro tips to help get you started and save even more time.

Agendas are time-consuming and often require multiple changes as agenda items are added or amended — not to mention the collation of seemingly endless appendices, version control management, and the distribution of the agenda to board members. For those who manage them, agenda prep can be a nightmare.

Diligent Community’s agenda builder is designed to streamline the process and remove roadblocks. With it, you can:

Create agendas, attach documents, insert items, and build and publish packets within a single digital tool

Choose from user-friendly templates and use our drag-and-drop interface

Auto-save work for uninterrupted progress

Share agendas securely with board and committee members

Print with one click for convenient physical copies

Administrators, clerks, board secretaries and anyone who manages meeting agendas

 The agenda builder feature is included in all Diligent Community packages.

 Need to provide your members with context or sensitive background information? Use Members Notes to add confidential information about an agenda item. These briefing notes are visible to members only — never the public.

2. Approval workflows: Streamline agenda item submission

Creating a meeting agenda is often a collaborative process, and as anyone who prepares agendas knows, finalizing them is often an up-to-the-last-minute process. Diligent Community provides a streamlined way of managing the submission and approval of agenda items through its customizable workflows feature. With it you can:

Allow staff to submit agenda items for inclusion

Create workflows to review and approve before included them in the meeting's official agenda

Create custom approval groups with admins, staff or members

Tailor approval processes to match your unique workflows for accurate approvals

Choose from linear, non-linear, group or single approval trees

Send notifications for timely agenda item approvals

Board administrators and staff responsible for overseeing the approval of agenda items within Diligent Community

 Approval workflows are included in the full version of Diligent Community.

 Have your approvers enable SMS notifications to get your agenda items approved in real-time. 

3. Policy Publisher: Take control of your policy management

School policy management needs to support the school board’s vision while embracing transparency, accessibility and flexibility. This is why Policy Publisher for Diligent Community helps streamline the whole policy lifecycle. Policy Publisher organizes your policy cycle into a single and easily manageable flow, built to accommodate each stage of your process. With it, you can:

Easily navigate the policy lifecycle and adoption workflows

Draft policies collaboratively through our Microsoft Word integration

Maintain version control and a history timeline for a clear audit trail

Add to the agenda for board review at the click of a button

Digitally vote to adopt and publish directly to your handbook on the public site

Quickly and seamlessly combine a new policy template with an existing document, creating a new draft that integrates all updates with track changes.

 Tailored for governance professionals overseeing policy adoption

 Policy Publisher is available as an add-on to Diligent Community. Please contact your Customer Success representative today to find out more.

 Use the policy compare and merge tool to keep track of changes made since your last review and integrate policy updates with one click. This tool gives a side-by-side view of the old version vs. the new version. This feature is available to both staff and board members to help with decision-making.

4. Livestream Manager: Stream meetings to support transparency

The public and, in some instances, legislation, require transparency — it feeds trust and engagement, which in turn ensures healthy governance. Livestreaming public meetings has become an important instrument for transparency. Livestreaming also enhances accessibility, giving everybody the opportunity to view deliberations that have a real impact on their lives.

However, setting up reliable livestreams is often difficult and time-consuming, requiring resources and expertise outside the job description of many public servants. To bypass this complexity, boards can use Livestream Manager, which empowers you to:

Efficiently set up livestreams directly within Diligent Community

Livestream meetings directly to your public website for enhanced transparency

Offer high-quality video streams through integration with best-in-class solution BoxCast

Offer the public livestreams in a split screen alongside the agenda

Upload recorded meetings alongside time-stamped minutes to facilitate easy navigation through recorded content

 Any public board looking to add livestreaming to enhance meeting transparency

 Reach out to your Diligent Customer Success representative to add Livestream Manager to your Diligent Community package.

Use automated live closed captioning for even better accessibility and public search.

5. Committee Manager: Get better committee oversight

Committees are a powerful instrument for many boards, allowing them to delegate decision-making and action to more focused groups. Without good management, however, committees can dilute the overall efficacy of the board by dividing its influence.

Committee Manager can keep the power of a committee’s delegation without diluting the power of your board. This Diligent Community feature allows you to:

Seamlessly manage multiple board committees or meeting groups all within Diligent Community

Customize who can create, access and engage with content within each committee, ensuring the right stakeholders are involved

Tailor custom workflows and approval trees for each committee, optimizing efficiency and accountability

Allow the public to subscribe to specific committee groups for updates through your public website, enhancing transparency and engagement

 Board administrators, clerks and chairs managing multiple boards, groups or committees.

 Reach out to your Customer Success representative to discuss adding more meeting groups to your Diligent Community package.

When managing multiple committees, you can optimize your efficiency by creating custom workflows and approval trees for each.

6. Digital voting: Bring voting into the digital age

It all comes down to the vote. Board and council members can bring voting into the digital age — and get unparalleled flexibility and efficiency. With digital voting, you can:

Record digital votes and adopt signed minutes documents in real-time, streamlining and supporting accurate minute-taking

Support various voting methods, including simple majority, two-thirds majority and weighted voting

Enhance decision-making flexibility with different voting thresholds

Board and council members involved in decision-making and board administrators responsible for recording votes.

Digital voting is available as part of Diligent Community.

 Customize digital voting to reflect your board, with options to tailor:

The voting language to reflect the state stature or board policy you follow

The text that appears in the Disposition field when the majority of members vote in favor of or against a motion

The language for each voting response type

7. Customizable document library: Build your own document library

Good administration depends in no small part on institutional knowledge. For many organizations, this knowledge is scattered across a broad array of document types, both analog and digital, making it hard to consolidate insights and maintain a comprehensive view of an organization.

Diligent Community comes loaded with a customizable document library, which provides a convenient, secure and centralized location to upload and manage your documents. You can structure the library so that it has searchable public content and internal folders to protect sensitive information. The library also:

Makes public folders accessible through the public transparency website

Restricts private folder access to specific members and staff

Simplifies folder management and permissions

Ensures security for sensitive documents and enhances data management practices

Gates access to users with editing rights, allowing them to make changes using our Microsoft integration

 Administrators and governance professionals overseeing document management.

Private and public document libraries are included with the full version of Diligent Community.

 Ensure appropriate access to documents in a central location with permission management.

8. AI Meeting Minutes: Streamlining your minutes

This feature allows you to generate relevant, high-quality meeting minutes with actions built from board materials, typed notes and transcripts. With this feature you can:

Articulate key takeaways, and track decisions and actions.

Enhance accuracy and efficiency in creating meeting minutes, even during fast-paced discussions

Ensure that all actions and motions are accurately captured and documented

Suggest updates to motion text based on past meeting records, easily added to minutes with a single click

 Board administrators looking to summarize meeting minutes quickly and easily 

This feature will soon be available. Reach out to your Diligent Customer Success representative to learn more.

9. Public transparency website: Build trust with the public

Public institutions are powered by public trust. Building that trust is a complex task, and it’s not reducible to any one intervention. Diligent Community users find its public transparency website function to be very helpful in brokering deeper and more engaged relationships with the public. These websites allow organizations to:

Give easy public access to meeting agendas, minutes and policies.

Offer seamless search capabilities to help members of the public find exactly what they’re looking for

Offer sign-ups for meeting notifications and submit requests-to-speak

Facilitate livestreamed meetings beside follow-along agendas and minutes

Organizations aiming for increased community trust and engagement.

 The public transparency website is included in all Diligent Community packages.

 Encourage sign-ups for notifications and subscriptions so the public has easy access to agendas and meeting activity.

10. Goal tracking: Track your organization’s goals for public accountability

Effective public organizations communicate their goals to their stakeholders and see them through. Doing so is not just a matter of efficacy, but also of trust and accountability. Diligent Community supports goal tracking by:

Supporting the creation of board goals, projects or a strategic plans

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