The short answer
Talking is often the quickest way to get a messy idea out of your head, and AI is good at turning messy speech into tidy text. Tap the microphone on your phone’s keyboard, say everything, then paste it into an AI chat with one clear instruction, such as “sort this into today, this week, and drop it”. On paid ChatGPT plans you can also upload a recorded voice note and ask for a one-page brief. Whatever comes back, read it before you act on it or send it on.
Why it is worth fixing
For many people, saying a thought is easier than typing it, especially on a phone. In a lab study comparing speech and keyboard entry on a touchscreen phone, speaking was much quicker than typing. The same study found speech left slightly more errors in the finished text, and it was a lab test with short messages, so treat it as a rough guide. That is why every routine below ends with a read-through.
You don’t need a new tool. Voice typing is built into the iPhone (Apple’s dictation guide) and into Google’s Gboard keyboard on Android (Google’s voice typing help), and any AI chat will take the text.
Step by step
Switch on the microphone on your keyboard
On an iPhone, open Settings, then General, then Keyboard, and turn on Enable Dictation; then tap the microphone on the on-screen keyboard. On Android with Gboard, tap the microphone at the top of the keyboard and speak when you see “Speak now”. You can say punctuation such as “new paragraph”, and tidy the text by hand afterwards.
The brain-dump: say it all, then sort it
When your head is full, open a note and talk about everything on your mind: calls to make, things you have promised, loose ends. Messy is fine. Paste it into an AI chat and ask: “Sort this into today, this week, and drop it. Keep my own words for each item.” The second sentence stops it rewording your jobs into something you didn’t mean.
The follow-up question that picks your first job
Straight after the sort, ask: “Which one thing on today’s list makes the rest easier?” Do that one first. Before anything leaves the list for good, read the “drop it” pile yourself: the AI can’t know which small promise matters most to a client or a candidate.
Turn a voice note into a one-page brief
Record a voice note describing a job you need done, as if you were briefing a colleague. On paid ChatGPT plans you can upload the audio file and ask: “Turn this into a one-page brief: the goal, the must-haves, the deadline and the open questions.” OpenAI says availability can vary by region and workspace settings. On a free plan, dictate the same thing straight into the chat box and use the same prompt.
Check the transcript before you send anything on
OpenAI warns that transcripts can contain errors and that accuracy varies by language. Check every name, figure and date against what was actually said. It helps to ask the AI to list anything it was unsure of, but read the whole thing yourself before it goes to a client or a candidate.
Recording someone else? Ask them first
Turning a call into notes is useful, but only with the other person’s agreement. Tell them before you start, say what the notes are for and who will see them, and delete the audio once you have what you need. Keep personal details out of any AI tool your business hasn’t approved for them.
Checklist
- The microphone on your phone’s keyboard is switched on, and you have tried it once
- The brain-dump prompt and the follow-up question are saved where you can find them
- You know whether your ChatGPT plan includes audio uploads, or you dictate instead
- Every name, figure and date in a transcript is checked before it goes anywhere
- Anyone you record has agreed first, and the audio is deleted once the notes are done
When it is worth getting help
These routines are for one person and need nothing more than a phone. It is worth getting help when the same spoken information has to land in the same place every time, such as call notes that belong in your CRM or briefs that should become a job record, because that is where someone copying text across starts to take real time.
Rec Int. builds automation for UK recruitment agencies, around the systems they already run, so nothing is ripped out and replaced.
Questions people ask
Do I need a paid AI plan for this?
No. Voice typing is built into the iPhone and into Google’s Gboard keyboard, and you can paste the text into a free AI chat. Uploading an audio file to ChatGPT needs a paid plan.
Is dictation accurate enough for work?
Often, but not always. Read everything back, and check names, figures and dates before you rely on them or send them on.
Sources
- Comparing Speech and Keyboard Text Entry for Short Messages in Two Languages on Touchscreen Phones arXiv (Ruan and others)
- ChatGPT release notes: audio uploads in ChatGPT OpenAI Help Center
- Dictate text on iPhone Apple Support
- Type with your voice Gboard Help (Google)
If you would like to talk through where spoken notes could feed your systems instead of being typed up again, book a discovery call.