How to Choose an AI Scribe That Actually Fits Your Clinical Workflow

Why are clinicians turning to AI scribes?

Many speech pathologists and clinicians are exploring AI scribes to reduce the cognitive load of documentation. For some, especially neurodivergent clinicians, juggling rapport, prompting, and live note-taking can be exhausting. AI scribes don’t replace clinical thinking, but they can reduce friction so attention stays on the client.

Is there a “best” AI scribe for speech pathologists?

There isn’t one best AI scribe for everyone. What works well depends on how you work, when you write notes, what you want included, and what parts of documentation you find most demanding. Crowdsourced recommendations can be helpful, but they rarely account for individual workflows.

What should you look at before choosing an AI scribe?

A more useful approach is to evaluate fit rather than popularity.

Key questions include:

• Do you document during sessions or after?

• Do you want your sessions transcribed live, recorded, or a mix?

• Do you work mostly on mobile or desktop?

• What note format do you like? (SOAP, DAP, Narrative...)

• What consent and privacy requirements apply in your setting?

Starting with these questions helps narrow options quickly.

Why do some clinicians have poor experiences with AI scribes?

Most negative experiences come from skipping evaluation and setup. When a scribe feels unsafe, inaccurate, or cumbersome, it’s often missing setup steps or the wrong match for you. A short trial with clear wish lists and boundaries is usually enough to know whether a tool will genuinely reduce admin load.

How should you trial an AI scribe safely?

Trial for session notes, select a few clients across a range of practice areas.  Keep consent and data handling front of mind and review outputs critically with your clinical judgment. The goal is not automation for its own sake, but support that aligns with how you already work.

Want help choosing without trial-and-error?

If you want a structured way to compare AI scribes based on your workflow, I share practical frameworks and a guided Scribe Finder Bot inside my AI in Practice Course 

👉 Join the email list to receive weekly, clinician-tested AI workflows and practical examples for real clinical work. https://www.speechpathologyresources.com.au/weekly-ai-tips