Last Wednesday, I mixed up a client family’s follow-up details
Last Wednesday afternoon, I met with a freelance consultant at a café in Hangzhou. Her family had just returned from a follow-up appointment, and the doctor had covered the tests, medication, and timing for the next visit. I chatted while scribbling notes, then realized afterward that I’d missed “who to contact before stopping the medication.” After the meeting, I had to go back through my messy handwriting. One note first: these conversations must be recorded only with the participants’ consent, and medical information shouldn’t casually be dropped into public tools. I’ve also made the mistake of trying to capture everything and remembering it all wrong.
It doesn’t diagnose; it turns consented conversations into checklists
Ashley Alexander, OpenAI’s vice president of product for healthcare, described how she used AI after both of her parents were diagnosed with cancer within a week—to prepare for appointments, research treatment options, and manage the emotional strain of caregiving. The article also mentions Granola, an AI notetaker designed for medical conversations with consent. With permission from family members and the care team, she can review what was discussed, what decisions were made, and who to ask next. For us, the more common use is probably client interviews, consulting sessions, or project retrospectives: get everyone’s consent first, then turn the recording into action items instead of letting AI give medical advice on its own.
Replication cost: start free, but budget time for review
Money: Granola offers a free trial in the article; check its current pricing page for the latest terms. Time: schedule one 30-minute conversation, then spend 20–30 minutes checking the notes and action items. Technical barrier: no code is needed, but the first setup can trip you up. I got stuck figuring out recording access, participant authorization, and where files were saved, so I’d start with a conversation that contains no sensitive information. First step: open the official site, find the “Free trial” or “Get started” button, and check which recording and export options it supports. If the site doesn’t clearly explain consent, data storage, and deletion, I wouldn’t record a real client conversation yet.
Based on these three situations, here’s how I’d choose
If I’m just starting out and don’t have many client conversations, I’d use my phone’s native voice recorder and transcription rather than rush to buy a tool. If I already have one or two long-term clients and spend time writing up notes after every session, I’d try a small workflow: obtain consent, record, generate a summary, then review it manually. If I’m scaling, I’d standardize the consent script, storage location, and sensitive-information rules before letting a team use it. Not everyone needs this tool, and I’d be especially careful with health, financial, or minors’ information. There’s no urgency to try it now either. I’d first note what I repeatedly miss after conversations, then decide whether it’s worth the investment.