Your Doctor's AI Scribe: Why Your Visit Is Being Recorded, and What Happens to the Audio
Your doctor may start a visit with a new question: "Is it okay if I use an AI scribe to help write my note?"
The tool may look like an app running on a phone or computer. It listens while you and your doctor talk, turns the conversation into text, and drafts the visit note. Your doctor should review that draft before adding the final version to your medical record.
This is becoming routine. In July 2026, Suki expanded its artificial intelligence (AI) scribe across all 40 Austin Regional Clinic locations in 15 Central Texas communities.[1] The same week, Ardent Health said its clinicians had used Ambience Healthcare during more than 1 million patient encounters. Clinicians who had adopted the tool used it in 87% of their outpatient visits.[2]
If you are searching for a physician in Austin, or visiting a large medical group almost anywhere in the country, there is a growing chance that a microphone will be part of the appointment.
The short answer is that the audio usually exists long enough to create a transcript and a draft note. What happens next depends on the vendor and the health care organization's contract. Some systems delete audio after a set period. Some process audio without keeping a permanent recording. The final medical note usually stays in your chart even after the audio and transcript are deleted.
What an AI Scribe Does During Your Visit
An ambient AI scribe works in five steps:
It captures the conversation. A microphone on a phone, tablet, computer, or exam-room device picks up what people say.
It converts speech into text. The system creates a transcript or another text representation of the conversation.
It drafts clinical documentation. The software organizes relevant details into sections such as symptoms, medical history, examination findings, assessment, and plan.
Your clinician reviews the draft. The doctor or other clinician edits errors, adds information the microphone could not capture, and approves the note.
The final note enters the electronic health record. That note can support future care, referrals, prescriptions, patient instructions, and billing.
The scribe is a documentation tool. It cannot perform a physical examination, and it should not make the final decision about what belongs in your chart. The clinician remains responsible for the note.
This is also different from an AI voice agent that answers a clinic's phone or schedules an appointment. Our article on Elation Health's acquisition of Aster explains that front-office use. An ambient scribe operates inside the medical visit.
Is the Visit Actually Recorded?
Often, yes. The word "recorded" still needs clarification.
Some products create and temporarily store an audio file. Others stream the sound to a server for transcription without treating the full audio as a permanent part of the record. A product may also create several different files from one visit:
Data created | What it is | What commonly happens |
|---|---|---|
Audio | The sound of the conversation | May be deleted after processing or kept temporarily under a retention schedule |
Transcript | A text version of what was said | May be temporary, or available to the clinician for review |
Draft note | The AI-organized clinical summary | Reviewed and edited by the clinician |
Final note | The clinician-approved record of the visit | Stored in the electronic health record under the provider's record-retention rules |
De-identified data | Information processed to remove patient identifiers | May be used for product improvement, quality work, or research if contracts and law permit |
The word "audio" also does not automatically mean video. Most ambient scribes use sound, but you can ask whether any camera, screen recording, or other sensor is active.
What Suki, Abridge, and Ambience Say About the Audio
Public policies show why patients should ask about the specific deployment.
Suki: Suki's developer-platform documentation says it permanently deletes the original audio and transcript after 30 days. It retains the final clinical note for the length of the customer's service contract. Suki says data used to train or improve its models is de-identified. Its documentation says it breaks audio into isolated chunks that cannot be reconstructed and removes protected health information from transcripts before such use.[3]
Abridge: UC Davis Health tells patients using its Abridge deployment that the conversation is recorded, the clinician reviews the AI summary, and all recordings are deleted after 30 days. It also says the clinician can pause the recording and that declining will not affect care at UC Davis Health.[4] That is a clear policy for one health system. Your hospital's Abridge contract and retention settings may differ.
Ambience Healthcare: Ambience tells patients that it captures the conversation to create documentation, encrypts information in transmission and storage, and does not sell health information or use it for marketing.[5] Its broader privacy policy says customer contracts govern patient-data processing, retention varies by purpose, and properly de-identified patient information may be disclosed to service providers or academic researchers when contracts and law permit.[6] Its public materials do not give every patient one universal number of days for audio retention.
These policies can change, and a health system may negotiate its own settings. Ask the clinic, "How long does this practice keep the audio and transcript?" A general answer such as "It is HIPAA-compliant" does not answer the retention question.
What Your Consent Should Cover
The American Academy of Family Physicians advises practices to obtain verbal or written patient consent before using an AI scribe. It also recommends explaining whether the tool collects audio, how long the recording or transcript remains available, and that patients can decline. Legal requirements vary by location.[7]
A useful consent conversation should answer:
What is the name of the scribe company?
Is the visit captured as audio only, or is video involved?
When does recording begin and end?
How long are the audio, transcript, and draft note kept?
Who can listen to the audio or read the transcript?
Will any data be used to improve or train the product?
If data is used, how is it de-identified?
Can you decline, or ask the clinician to pause for part of the visit?
Will declining change your access to the clinician or the care you receive?
You do not have to ask all nine questions during a routine visit. One question covers the core issues: "What gets saved, for how long, and can I ask you to pause or turn it off?"
Consent should happen before the microphone starts. A notice in check-in paperwork may explain the program, but you can still ask the clinician whether the tool is active during that day's appointment.
Can You Refuse an AI Scribe?
Many health systems let patients decline. UC Davis Health, for example, says patients can say no to Abridge without affecting their care.[4] The American Academy of Family Physicians likewise advises clinicians to give patients a choice and recommends documenting consent at each visit.[7]
Policies and legal requirements vary, so ask the practice directly if the choice is unclear. You can say:
"I would prefer that the AI scribe not be used today. Please document the visit another way."
You can also agree to general use but request a pause before discussing sexual health, mental health, substance use, domestic violence, immigration, finances, or another sensitive subject. Remember that a paused system cannot place that part of the conversation into the draft. Your clinician may need to add the medically relevant details manually.
Declining the tool may mean your doctor types or dictates more during or after the appointment. It should not stop you from asking for the privacy you need to speak honestly.
What HIPAA Does and Does Not Tell You
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires covered health care organizations and their business associates to protect identifiable health information. In a properly managed AI-scribe program, the clinic should have a contract governing how the vendor processes patient information, along with access controls and security safeguards.
HIPAA does not create one standard retention period for every AI scribe. It does not mean the data can never be breached. It also does not tell you, by itself, whether a vendor may use de-identified information for product improvement. Those details depend on the provider's policy, the vendor contract, other federal and state laws, and the consent you receive.
This is why two products can both describe themselves as HIPAA-compliant while handling temporary audio differently.
The Benefit Patients May Notice
The reason doctors use these tools is straightforward: they want to spend less of the visit typing.
Ardent Health reports that clinicians using Ambience save more than three hours a week on documentation, based on electronic health record data.[2] A recent Stanford patient survey offers a patient view. Among 2,202 people who experienced an ambient AI scribe during an outpatient visit, 70.1% found it helpful and 73.6% wanted their provider to use it again. Clinicians in the study had to notify patients before recording, patients could decline, and clinicians reviewed the draft before the final note became available in the portal. Almost 60% of respondents were 70 or older, so the results may not represent every patient population.[8]
Those results do not make the technology risk-free. They show that many patients value a doctor who can look at them instead of a screen. That matters in a system where rushed visits and documentation demands already limit face-to-face time, as our guide to why primary care visits feel so short explains.
The tradeoff deserves a real choice. Better eye contact is useful only if you still feel able to disclose sensitive information and understand where the recording goes.
Check the Final Note After the Visit
An AI scribe can misunderstand a medication name, who in the room said something, whether a symptom is current or historical, or whether a possibility discussed by the doctor became a diagnosis. The clinician's review is the main safety check, but patients can add another.
Open the visit note in your patient portal when it becomes available. Check:
medication names and doses
allergies
the reason for the visit
new diagnoses
tests, referrals, and follow-up instructions
statements attributed to you
HIPAA gives patients, with limited exceptions, the right to inspect and receive copies of medical and billing records held by covered providers. If information is inaccurate or incomplete, you can request an amendment. If the provider denies the request, you can submit a statement of disagreement for the record.[9]
The final note is generally more important for future care than the temporary audio. It is what another doctor may read months later. Abridge and other well-funded scribe companies are building faster documentation systems, but you and your clinician still have to make sure the saved record reflects what happened.
A 20-Second Script Before You Consent
If your doctor asks to use an AI scribe, this one response covers the essentials:
"I may be comfortable with that. What company provides it, how long are the audio and transcript kept, is any of my data used to improve the system, and can you pause or stop it if I ask?"
You can consent after hearing the answer, decline for the full visit, or ask for a pause during one part. That is a practical way to get the attention benefit without treating privacy as an afterthought.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my doctor recording my visit?
Your doctor is probably using an ambient AI scribe to turn the conversation into a draft medical note. The goal is to reduce typing and let the clinician focus more attention on you. The clinician should review and edit the draft before saving the final note.
How long is AI-scribe audio kept?
It varies by vendor and health system. Suki's public developer documentation and UC Davis Health's Abridge patient policy both describe 30-day audio retention.[3][4] Other deployments may delete audio sooner, retain it under a different schedule, or process sound without keeping a permanent recording. Ask your clinic for its policy.
Can I say no to an AI scribe at the doctor?
Many programs allow patients to decline, and professional guidance recommends giving patients a choice.[4][7] Policies and recording laws vary by location. Tell the clinician before recording starts if you do not want the tool used.
Is an AI medical scribe HIPAA-compliant?
Major health-system vendors say they support HIPAA-compliant deployments, but that phrase does not answer every privacy question. Ask about the clinic's vendor, audio retention, access, security, de-identification, and use of data for product improvement.
Can I ask the doctor to pause the recording?
Often, yes. UC Davis Health specifically tells patients that clinicians can pause Abridge.[4] Ask before discussing a sensitive topic. The clinician may need to add medically relevant information to the note manually while the system is paused.
Does the AI scribe decide my diagnosis?
The scribe drafts documentation from the conversation. Your clinician remains responsible for evaluating you, making medical decisions, correcting the draft, and approving the final note.
Find a Doctor Who Has Time to Listen
AI may help a doctor spend less time at the keyboard. Practice design determines whether you receive enough time, access, and continuity in the first place. NextMD helps patients compare physician-led concierge and direct primary care practices. Search by location to find a doctor near you.
Sources
Hagen, J. (2026). Suki Extends Partnership With Austin Regional Clinic. MobiHealthNews. Read the July 23 deployment report
Ardent Health. (2026). Ardent Health Surpasses 1 Million Patient Encounters Supported by Ambient AI. Read the Ardent Health announcement
Suki AI. (2026). Security & Compliance: Data Retention and Patient Privacy. Read the Suki developer documentation
UC Davis Health. (2026). Clinical Note-Taking Technology: Abridge Patient Information. Read the UC Davis Health patient guide
Ambience Healthcare. (2026). Ambience for Patients. Read the Ambience patient guide
Ambience Healthcare. (2026). Privacy Policy. Read the Ambience privacy policy
Ho, J. (2025). 20 Tips for Using an AI Virtual Scribe to Document Office Visits. American Academy of Family Physicians, Family Practice Management. Read the AAFP guidance
Shah, S. J., et al. (2026). Patient Perspectives on Clinicians' Use of Ambient AI Scribes. JAMIA Open, 9(3), ooag104. Read the study
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2025). Your Medical Records. Read the HIPAA patient guidance