Guide
How to extract tasks from a WhatsApp group chat
WhatsApp groups are where plans actually get made — and where they get lost. Decisions sit between memes, someone says “I’ll handle the venue” on Tuesday, and by the weekend nobody remembers who owns what. This guide shows how to turn a messy thread into a clean action plan in a couple of minutes.
1. Get the conversation out of WhatsApp
On mobile, open the group, tap the group name, and choose Export chat → Without media. That gives you a .txt file. For a shorter thread, press and hold the first message, select the rest, and tap Copy.
2. Paste it into Planpaste
Drop the text (or upload the exported .txt) into the paste box. Planpaste reads the WhatsApp timestamp-and-sender format and extracts every task, who committed to it, and any date mentioned — including relative ones like “by Friday”.
3. Edit, assign, and set reminders
Review the extracted list before saving. Delete the small talk, fix an owner, then set a per-task reminder with a date and time so nothing quietly slips.
4. Share the plan back to the group
Copy the plan as Markdown or export it to your calendar, then paste it back into the same WhatsApp group so everyone sees the same list.
What a WhatsApp thread looks like before and after
Pasted in
[10:12] Amina: can we lock the venue this week? [10:13] Dan: I'll call them tomorrow morning [10:15] Amina: cool. I'll do the invites by Friday [10:16] Priya: budget sheet is on me, Monday latest
Extracted plan
- Call the venue — Dan — tomorrow morning
- Send invites — Amina — by Friday
- Prepare budget sheet — Priya — Monday
How this differs from a meeting recorder
AI note takers and meeting recorders such as Otter.ai listen to live calls and produce a transcript summary. WhatsApp coordination isn’t a call — it’s written text spread over days, across many people, mixed with everything else. Planpaste works on the text you already have: no bot to invite, no recording, no meeting required. You paste, it extracts commitments, and you keep an editable plan you can share back to the group.
Common questions
- Does it work with the exported .txt file?
- Yes. Upload the export, or paste the text directly — both are handled the same way.
- Do relative deadlines work?
- Phrases like “tomorrow”, “by Friday”, or “next week” are turned into concrete dates you can adjust before saving.
- Do I need an account to try it?
- You can run a first parse without signing up. An account is needed to save plans, set reminders, and come back to them later.
Try it with your own group chat
Paste a thread and see the plan it produces.