This page covers how AI file notes are produced, what a good one contains, how far to trust the draft, where your client's information goes, and what the result looks like in broking, advice and law. We make CallNote, so we explain how it does the job and where it does not fit.
What an AI file note is, and what it is not
A file note is the dated record of a client contact: who spoke, what the client wanted, what you told them and what happens next. An AI file note has the same job. The only difference is who writes the first draft.
It is different from a transcript, which is every word said and too long to be useful on a file. It is also different from a meeting summary, which is a general recap in the tool's layout. A file note follows your firm's headings, uses your terms, and has to stand up when a licensee, aggregator, regulator, insurer or court reads it years later. If you are unsure which term applies to your work, see file note vs attendance note vs case note.
How AI file notes are produced: two approaches
Every tool in this category works one of two ways. The difference decides your consent obligations and your data risk, so check it first.
| Recording-based | Transcript-based | |
|---|---|---|
| How it gets the conversation | The tool captures audio itself: a bot joins the meeting, an app listens on your device, or a hardware recorder sits on the desk | The tool receives text that already exists: a transcript from your phone system or meeting platform, or a memo you dictate afterwards |
| Who holds the audio | The note vendor, at least until it is transcribed | The phone or meeting platform you already use. The note tool never has it |
| Consent | You are adding a recorder to the conversation. State and federal recording law applies to it | Applies to the phone system or platform that made the transcript. A voice memo dictated afterwards has no client on it |
| Works on phone calls | Only if the tool can hear the call | Yes, if your phone system transcribes calls |
| Main catch | A second copy of the conversation sits with another vendor | A transcript or a dictated memo has to exist |
Neither approach is wrong. Recording-based tools suit people whose conversations would otherwise leave no trace. Transcript-based tools suit firms whose phone system or meeting platform already transcribes, or whose clients or licensee would object to another recorder. We go deeper in meeting bots vs transcript-only note tools.
What a good AI file note contains
The test is the same as for a note you typed yourself. Someone who was not on the call should be able to read it and know what happened and why.
- The basics. Date, time, length, how the contact happened, who was on it, and who wrote the note.
- Consent. If the call was recorded or transcribed, that the client was told and agreed.
- What the client wanted, in their terms. Their goals and priorities for this matter, specific to them.
- The facts you relied on. Income, debts, dates, amounts, documents sighted. Numbers as numbers.
- What you said. The options you explained, any advice or recommendation, and your reasons.
- What the client decided. Including a decision to do nothing or to think about it.
- Next steps. Who does what, by when.
- What was not covered. A good tool marks a section as not covered on the call. It does not fill the gap with something plausible.
Then add what your profession's rules ask for:
- Mortgage brokers. ASIC's Regulatory Guide 273 says evidence of meeting the best interests duty (National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 s 158LA) will come predominantly from your records, and lists what they generally include at RG 273.165. The list includes relevant conversations with the client, the options and recommendation you gave, and your reasons. Use our NCCP file note checklist.
- Financial advisers. For personal advice to retail clients, ASIC Corporations (Record-Keeping Requirements for Australian Financial Services Licensees when Giving Personal Advice) Instrument 2024/508 requires the licensee to keep records of the information relied on and the action taken to meet the best interests duty (Corporations Act 2001 s 961B), the advice given and the reasons it is appropriate (s 961G), and how any conflict was handled (s 961J). They must be kept for seven years after the advice. Use our best interests duty file note checklist and see ASIC file note requirements for financial advisers.
- Solicitors. Instructions received, advice given, and anything said about costs, timing and risk. Use our law firm file note checklist.
See what a finished file note looks like.
Pick your line of work and we'll send a sample note written from a mocked call. No account, no card, and nothing from your own client files.
One sample note, plus the occasional CallNote update. Unsubscribe any time by replying. We never ask for your call recordings or client files.
Three worked examples
Each note below is the kind of draft an AI file note tool should produce from a short call. The clients are fictional. Real notes use your own headings and shorthand. These are written in plain English so anyone can follow them.
Mortgage broking
- Why he called
Daniel wants to buy his first home in Brisbane and asked how much he could borrow.
- His situation
- Full-time registered nurse, salary $96,000, same employer for 3 years.
- Savings of $72,000.
- Car loan with $11,000 owing and one credit card with a $6,000 limit.
- No dependants.
- What he wants
- A unit or townhouse up to about $600,000.
- Low upfront costs matter more to him than the lowest possible rate.
- An offset account if it does not cost much more.
- What we explained
With a deposit under 20%, most lenders charge lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). We explained the first home buyer options that can remove that cost, and that we need his documents before confirming which ones he is eligible for. No lender or product recommended on this call.
- Next steps
- Daniel: send 2 payslips, 3 months of bank statements and his car loan statement.
- Us: work out what he can borrow with at least 3 lenders and compare total costs.
- Follow-up call booked for 6 October 2026.
Financial advice
- Purpose
Annual review. Helen is 58 and wants to know whether she can stop full-time work at 62.
- What has changed since last year
- Her mortgage is now paid off.
- She received an inheritance of $85,000 in July, currently in a savings account.
- Her health and her employment are unchanged.
- Her goals
- Reduce to 3 days a week at 62 and stop work at 65.
- Keep $30,000 in cash for emergencies.
- She does not want more investment risk than she has now.
- What we discussed
Options for the inheritance: leave it in cash, contribute some to superannuation, or invest outside superannuation. We explained that contribution limits apply and that we need her current superannuation balance and this year's contributions before advising. No recommendation made at this meeting.
- Next steps
- Helen: send her latest superannuation statement and confirm her employer contribution amount.
- Us: check her contribution position and model retirement at 62 and at 65.
- Advice to be provided in writing after the modelling. Next meeting 21 October 2026.
Law
- Instructions
Sofia has been offered a new 5-year lease on her current shop with a 5-year option. The landlord wants it signed by 16 October 2026. She wants to know whether the terms are reasonable and what she can push back on.
- Facts she gave us
- Current rent is $78,000 a year plus outgoings. The new lease starts at $84,000 with a fixed 4% increase each year.
- The landlord has asked for a personal guarantee from her and a bank guarantee equal to 3 months of rent.
- The draft includes a clause allowing the landlord to end the lease if the building is redeveloped.
- Advice given
- We cannot advise on the terms until we have read the full draft lease and the disclosure statement.
- In general terms, the redevelopment clause and the personal guarantee are the points most worth negotiating.
- She should not sign anything, or agree to terms by email, before our review.
- Costs
We told her the review and advice would be a fixed fee of $1,800 plus GST, and that negotiating with the landlord's solicitor would be charged separately. Costs disclosure and costs agreement to be sent today.
- Next steps
- Sofia: email the draft lease and disclosure statement today.
- Us: send costs documents today and written advice by 9 October 2026.
More examples by practice area are in the file note template library and our attendance note examples.
Accuracy: how far to trust the draft
An AI draft is usually a faithful account of what was said. It is not reliable enough to file unread. The errors are predictable, which makes them quick to catch.
- Numbers and names. Transcription mishears figures, lender names, suburbs and surnames. Check every amount, rate and date against the source.
- Who said what. Speaker labels can swap. A client's question can be written up as your advice.
- Discussed versus advised. An option you mentioned can read as a recommendation. Fix the wording so it says what you did.
- Gaps filled in. A weak tool writes something plausible for a section the call never covered. The note should say it was not covered.
- What the transcript cannot know. Documents you sighted, what you observed, your own reasoning. Add these yourself.
Review the note the same day, while you still remember the call. Regulators expect that oversight. ASIC said in Report 798 (October 2024) that the regulatory framework for financial services and credit is technology neutral, and that licensees need to consider their existing obligations before deploying AI. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's guidance on commercially available AI products calls for appropriate human oversight of AI outputs. For solicitors, the note is yours whoever drafted it. See can lawyers use AI for file notes and AI file notes and compliance for mortgage brokers.
Once reviewed, the note should be locked. A file note that can be quietly edited a year later is weaker evidence than one with a fixed time stamp and a visible amendment history.
Where the data goes: questions to ask any vendor
A client conversation holds personal, financial and sometimes privileged information. If the Privacy Act 1988 applies to your practice, Australian Privacy Principle 11 requires reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, and Australian Privacy Principle 8 sets out the steps to take before it is disclosed overseas. Solicitors also carry the confidentiality duty in rule 9 of the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules. Ask every vendor:
- Does your product capture audio, and if so how long do you keep it?
- In which country is the transcript and the note stored and processed?
- Which AI model provider processes the text, and is my data used to train any model?
- Who at your company can read my notes, and is that access logged?
- Can I delete a note and its transcript, and what does my retention obligation mean for that?
- Can a published note be changed, and does the change show?
- What happens to my data if I cancel?
Do not paste client transcripts into a free public chatbot. The OAIC recommends, as best practice, that organisations do not enter personal information into publicly available generative AI tools, and you would have no agreement covering confidentiality, retention or location. If your firm does not yet have a written position, start with our AI note taking policy template.
How CallNote does it
CallNote is transcript-based. It never records calls, never joins a meeting as a bot and never stores call audio.
- The transcript arrives. Automatically from Aircall, Dialpad or Microsoft Teams once connected. For Zoom and Google Meet, you upload the .vtt or .txt file, paste the text, or forward it by email. After an in-person meeting, you dictate a voice memo.
- The note is drafted in your format. Paste one of your own past notes and CallNote builds a template with your headings, order and shorthand in about 20 seconds. Nothing about the client in that note is kept. There are also ready-made templates for general calls, mortgage and NCCP notes, financial advice and legal attendance notes.
- You review it. The draft links to a matching client where it can. Check it against what was said and correct anything that is wrong.
- You publish it. The note is sealed with a SHA-256 checksum and locked. Later amendments are append-only and there is a full audit log.
- It goes to the file. To HubSpot, Clio or Microsoft Dynamics 365 if you have one connected, with Slack, Notion and Zapier also available. Otherwise copy it or export a PDF.
With a connected phone system, the note is waiting after the call. A pasted transcript takes about two minutes. Data is hosted in Sydney, encrypted, and not used to train AI. Pricing is $149 a month Solo or $99 a seat a month for teams, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. In a team, owners and admins see all notes and members see their own. The full walk-through is in how CallNote works.
Common questions
What is an AI file note?
An AI file note is a file note drafted by software from a client call or meeting, then reviewed and approved by the professional. It records who spoke, what the client wanted, what was advised and what happens next, in the firm's own format. The professional remains responsible for its accuracy. It is shorter and more structured than a transcript and more specific than a general meeting summary.
Can financial planners use AI to write file notes?
Yes. ASIC Instrument 2024/508 does not say who or what must draft the record. For personal advice to retail clients it requires the licensee to keep records of the information relied on, the action taken to meet the best interests duty, and the advice and reasons, for seven years after the advice. ASIC said in Report 798 that the regulatory framework is technology neutral, so the existing obligations still apply. The adviser should review every note, and the licensee should approve the tool.
Is an AI file note compliant?
A note is compliant because of what it contains and how it was checked, whoever typed it. An AI draft that accurately records the client's circumstances, the options, the advice and the reasons, and that you have reviewed, can meet the same standard as a handwritten one. An unreviewed draft with a wrong figure or generic reasons does not, and using AI will not excuse that.
Do AI file notes need the call to be recorded?
No. Recording-based tools capture audio themselves. Transcript-based tools work from text that already exists, such as the transcript your phone system or Microsoft Teams produced, or a voice memo you dictate after an in-person meeting. With a dictated memo, nothing listens to the client conversation at all.
How accurate are AI file notes?
Accurate enough to save most of the writing time, and never accurate enough to file unread. The common errors are misheard numbers and names, swapped speakers, an option discussed being written as advice given, and gaps filled with plausible text. Check figures and dates against the source, fix the advice wording, add anything the transcript could not know, then lock the note.
Can I use ChatGPT to write client file notes?
Be careful. Pasting a client transcript into a free public chatbot sends personal and possibly privileged information to a service you have no confidentiality agreement with, and it may be stored offshore. If you want to use AI for client notes, use a business tool with written terms covering confidentiality, data location, retention and model training, and have your firm or licensee approve it first.