May an AI Tool Transcribe Client Meetings?

Minutes are among the most obvious uses of AI in a firm. This is also where three areas of law meet: criminal law, professional law and data protection. The FAQ of the German Federal Chamber of Tax Advisors of 27 October 2026 addresses transcription of conversations explicitly.

Is transcribing client meetings allowed?

In principle, yes. The BStBK classes file memos, conversation notes and transcription as dictation AI and considers their use in tax practice permissible if it complies with the law and professional rules. It also notes that offline use is preferable and that no confidential content may reach public AI tools.

Why must consent exist before the conversation?

Because § 201 StGB makes the unauthorised recording of the privately spoken word a criminal offence. The BStBK is explicit that consent given afterwards is not sufficient. In practice, the firm asks everyone present before starting, including anyone who joins later. A spoken yes is enough, silence is not. The firm records this in the client file, so the proof stays available for as long as the memos do. If anyone declines, the conversation goes ahead without recording.

What do § 203 StGB and § 62a StBerG do?

They govern who may learn the content. Tax advisors are bound to secrecy under § 57 StBerG, and § 203 StGB makes breaches a criminal offence. § 62a StBerG allows access for service providers to the extent the service requires it. The BStBK applies this to AI vendors too. For that, the firm must:

• select the vendor carefully (para. 2),
• conclude a contract in text form that binds the vendor to secrecy and instructs it on the criminal consequences (para. 3),
• ensure a comparable level of protection for services provided abroad (para. 4).

This has to happen before the vendor gains knowledge of the data. The data processing agreement can contain this obligation. If it doesn't, it isn't enough.

What does the GDPR require?

Dictation AI regularly processes personal data. As a minimum, the BStBK names a legal basis, transparency towards those affected, a data processing agreement, processing in the EU where possible and clear deletion concepts. High-risk use adds a data protection impact assessment.

What does a firm check before using it?

What does a tool without a meeting bot change?

It changes who sits in the conversation, not whether it is captured. A bot appears as an additional participant. With capture on the device, as with TaxMeet (Next Intelligence GmbH, Berlin), that participant disappears. Because the conferencing platform then shows no recording notice of its own, the spoken question before the start takes over that role. Consent from everyone involved is still needed, as are contractual safeguards with the vendor processing the data. TaxMeet's terms of use expressly make consent the firm's responsibility. We provide template wording for the invitation, the conversation and the record.

More selection criteria are in the article What should I check when choosing a vendor?