The Reliable AI Note-Taker Checklist

When we started building Char, we knew what we were up against. Otter, Fireflies, Granola—the space was already crowded with well-funded players offering impressive features.

We could have tried to out-feature them. More integrations. Shinier interfaces. Flashier AI capabilities. Instead, we made reliability our north star.

IT teams were banning existing tools. Users worried about data privacy. Most options didn't work without internet. The market needed an AI notetaker that worked anywhere, reliably, offline.

We haven't built a perfect platform yet. But we've learned what makes an AI notetaker reliable, and what makes one fail.

If you're evaluating note-taking tools, here's what matters.

Measuring Reliability in AI Notetakers

In system design, reliability scales with the number of dependencies your tool needs to function. The fewer external services required, the more reliable it is.

Most AI notetakers today depend on multiple layers. Understanding those dependencies helps you decide which vulnerabilities you can live with and which ones break your workflow.

AI notetakers typically introduce dependencies in five places:

1. Network Dependency

Most AI notetakers require internet to function. Not just to sync notes, but to process them in real time. Transcription happens in the cloud. AI runs on remote servers. No internet means no tool.

This shows up in basements where WiFi doesn't reach. Client sites with restricted networks. Airports. Rural locations. Government facilities. Hospitals with compliance-driven restrictions.

These aren't edge cases. They're where important conversations actually happen. When your notetaker requires connectivity, it fails when you need it most.

See best AI notetakers for in-person meetings or meetings without stable internet.

2. Vendor Dependency

Cloud-based AI notetakers need specific services running. OpenAI's API. Azure's infrastructure. AWS endpoints. When those vendors go down, every tool built on them stops working.

OpenAI had outages in March 2023 and June 2024. Every dependent tool went offline until the vendor recovered. Your product quality didn't matter. Your users' payments didn't matter.

Vendor dependencies also mean inheriting their business decisions. Pricing changes. Service deprecations. Geographic restrictions. You're subject to their roadmap, not yours.

3. Platform Dependency

Many AI notetakers work as bots that join your meetings. They need Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet to grant access to the audio. This creates platform dependency.

Platforms change their rules. Zoom updates bot policies regularly. IT administrators block bots. Enterprise security teams restrict third-party integrations. When this happens, your notetaker stops working.

API deprecation is another failure mode. Platforms update their systems. Older integrations break. You're not in control of the timeline for fixes.

Bots also create user friction. They show up in participant lists. People ask what they are. Some clients won't allow them. Some conversations are too sensitive. The dependency is social, not just technical.

Check out bot-free AI notetakers that solve this problem.

4. Economic Dependency

Usage-based pricing scales your costs with your usage. Per-minute charges work until they don't.

SaaS pricing has increased dramatically across the industry. Tools affordable at 10 meetings per month become expensive at 50. Features move from basic tiers to enterprise plans. Free tiers get restricted.

Usage caps create the same problem. You get 100 minutes per month, then you're blocked. Or unlimited meetings but limited AI features. The tool works until you cross a threshold.

Cloud processing costs money. If a vendor's unit economics fail, they raise prices or shut down. You inherit this risk. You build workflows around a tool, then it becomes unaffordable or disappears.

5. Compliance Dependency

For doctors, lawyers, therapists, and financial advisors, using an AI notetaker isn't just about features. It's about compliance. HIPAA for healthcare. Attorney-client privilege for legal. SOC 2 for enterprise. GDPR for European operations.

Cloud-based tools create compliance dependencies because data leaves your device. It gets processed on someone else's servers. It might cross geographic boundaries. It might live in multi-tenant databases.

Can you prove where the data was processed? Can you guarantee it wasn't used for training? Can you delete it completely? With cloud tools, you're trusting the vendor's compliance, not ensuring your own.

Choosing an AI Notetaker

Start with architecture, not features.

Ask: What does this tool need to function? Does it need internet? Does it depend on external services? Does it require platform permissions? Does it charge based on usage? Does it send data off your device?

Each requirement is an architectural dependency. Each dependency is a trade-off. Decide which trade-offs matter for your use case.

How We're Building Char

We're designing Char around dependency thinking.

The tool works without anything external. No internet. No cloud services. No platform permissions. No usage limits. No data leaving your device. Users can add capabilities they want—cloud AI, integrations, exports—as optional layers, not requirements.

Local processing by default. Char runs everything on-device. Transcription uses Whisper models locally. Summarization uses our custom HyperLLM model optimized for on-device performance. Nothing leaves your machine for core functionality. Use Char in airplane mode, restricted networks, secure facilities, anywhere.

Deployment flexibility. Char is open-source, so you're not locked into our infrastructure. Run it on your device for edge deployment. Self-host on your own servers for complete control. Deploy to your private cloud if you need to scale. The architecture supports all three: on-device, on-premises, or private cloud.

Direct audio capture. Our platform captures system audio and microphone input directly at the OS level. No bots. No platform permissions. No dependency on Zoom or Teams policies. The tool records what's coming through your speakers and mic. This works for all meeting platforms and in-person conversations.

Forever free, unlimited. Core functionality is free forever. Unlimited transcription and summarization. No per-meeting charges. No per-minute charges. No artificial caps. You can connect your own language models and speech-to-text providers and use it as much as you need.

Compliance by architecture. Data stays local by default. HIPAA requirements? Patient data stays on your device. Attorney-client privilege? Conversations stay on your machine. GDPR data residency? You control where data lives. SOC 2 requirements? Self-host and manage your own security. The architecture gives you the foundation to meet your compliance needs.

Try Char yourself. Download Char for macOS.