The Complete Guide to Using PLAUD NOTE: From Initial Setup to Recording and Minutes Creation

"I take notes frantically during every meeting, but when I read them back later, I don't know what was important..." "During business meetings, I want to focus on what the other person is saying, but I've felt awkward because I couldn't stop writing..."

Have you ever had an experience like that?

For those who feel they can't focus on their actual work because they spend time on meeting minutes or Zoom transcriptions every time, this guide will carefully explain how to use the "PLAUD NOTE", an ultra-compact IC card-style AI voice recorder, from initial setup to actual recording and AI summarization.

There are no difficult settings at all. By the time you finish reading, you will surely think, "I could use this too."

Overview of how to use PLAUD NOTE

The workflow using PLAUD NOTE is completed in three main steps: "Before the meeting, during the meeting, and after the meeting".

First, if you keep this overall picture in mind, the subsequent explanations will be much easier to understand.

Step 1. What to do before the meeting (App linking and permission confirmation)

By the day before the meeting, complete theBluetooth connection with the dedicated smartphone appand grant permissions for the microphone, notifications, etc.

You only need to set it up once, and from the next time on, you just need to turn on the device. The key is to set it up with plenty of time at the beginning so you don't end up being late for a meeting because "it took 5 minutes to prepare."

Step 2. What to do during the meeting (Select recording mode and start)

PLAUD NOTE has two types: "Normal Recording Mode" and "Call Recording Mode".

For face-to-face meetingsuse normal mode, and forZoom or phone business negotiationsjust switch to call mode.

After that, just press the button to start recording. You can stop taking notes and focus on the conversation while looking the other person in the eye.

Step 3. What to do after the meeting (Sync and check the summary)

When the meeting is over, justsync with the smartphone app. The AI will automatically generate a transcript and summary for you.

The time you spend digging through past notes asking, "What did we decide back then?" will become almost zero.

▶▶PLAUD NOTE Official Site:https://jp.plaud.ai/

How to use PLAUD NOTE: Initial setup and smartphone pairing

If you are worried that "initial setup sounds difficult," rest assured. If you follow the steps in order, from installing the smartphone app to registering the device, you will have almost no trouble.

・App registration and Bluetooth settings (dedicated app installation and pairing procedure)

First, download the official PLAUD app from the App Store or Google Play and create an account.

Next, press and hold the button on the side of the device to turn on the PLAUD NOTE, then select "PLAUD NOTE" from your smartphone's Bluetooth settings to pair it.

The procedure is the same for both iPhone and Android, so no special knowledge is required.

・Permission settings and connection verification (granting microphone and notification permissions)

Once pairing is complete, grant access permissions for the microphone and notifications from the app. Be careful, as skipping this step may cause recording or synchronization issues.

After granting permissions, check if the device is displayed on the app's home screen. If it is displayed, the connection is complete.

・Device connection and updates (serial registration and updating to the latest firmware)

When registering the device in the app, enter the serial number printed on the PLAUD NOTE device.

After registration, you may be prompted to update the firmware.

It might feel like a hassle, but keeping it updated improves the accuracy and stability of voice recognition, so go ahead and get it done quickly.

・Pre-recording checklist (battery, storage, and consent)

Before you start using it, please check these three things.

How to use PLAUD NOTE: Recording methods and transcription steps

Once the setup is complete, it is time to actually use it. This is the most enjoyable phase where you will realize why you are glad you used PLAUD NOTE.

✅ How to record face-to-face meetings (How to use normal recording mode and tips for placement on the desk)

For face-to-face meetings, use "Normal Recording Mode". Press the button on the device once to start recording, and the LED light will turn on to let you know it is recording.

The best place to put the device is near the center of the table. If you make sure it is as equidistant as possible from the speakers, you can record the voices of multiple people clearly and evenly.

Be careful, as placing it at the edge of the conference room or near a wall can make it difficult to pick up voices from distant seats.

Since your hands are free while recording, you can focus on the conversation while nodding or providing verbal feedback.

Just eliminating the failure of "missing what was said because I was taking notes" will change the quality of your meetings.

✅ How to record calls and business negotiations (How to switch to call recording mode)

For business negotiations on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or over the phone, use "Call Recording Mode".

Switch the recording mode to "Call" from the app menu before pressing the record button.

In this mode, if you attach the device to your smartphone's speaker, you can efficiently record both the other party's voice and your own. Because the PLAUD NOTE is card-shaped and thin, it won't get in the way at all even when attached to your smartphone.

・From transcription to AI summary (Steps to generate an AI summary with one tap after app synchronization)

Once recording is finished, open the app and sync with PLAUD NOTE. The recording data will be transferred to the app in a few seconds to a few minutes, and then all you have to do is tap the "AI Summary" button.

The recorded content will be automatically transcribed, and the AI will generate a summary that highlights the important points.

The time spent asking "What was actually decided in today's meeting?" will literally become zero.

Since a draft of the minutes is created almost automatically, you just need to check, edit, and share it. Minutes creation that used to take 30 minutes will now be finished in 5 to 10 minutes.

▶▶PLAUD NOTE Official Website:https://jp.plaud.ai/

How to use PLAUD NOTE: Utilization in Zoom, face-to-face, and sales negotiations

PLAUD NOTE is not just a tool that "can record for now." With a little ingenuity in how you use it, the quality of your daily work will change significantly.

・When using in Zoom meetings (Points to note for clearly picking up PC audio in online meetings)

When utilizing PLAUD NOTE in Zoom meetings, the key is whether you can properly pick up the audio coming from the PC speakers. It is recommended to place the device near the speaker or use the call recording mode on your smartphone.

Also, set the PC speaker volume to neither too loud nor too quiet, but at a level close to a normal conversation, to ensure recording without distortion or insufficient volume.

If you are participating in a meeting while wearing earphones, switching to output sound from the speakers will stabilize the recording quality.

・When using in face-to-face meetings (tips on the distance between multiple voices and where to place the device)

For face-to-face meetings in a conference room with 4 to 6 people, placing the device near the center of the table allows you to record multiple voices in a balanced way.

However, if there is a difference in voice volume depending on the speaker, placing it slightly closer to the person with the quieter voice often results in clearer recordings of everyone's statements.

Simply adding a quick word to meeting participants like, "I'll be using this to record today," often leaves a good impression, with many people even saying, "That's a great idea."

It's also a nice point that it doesn't disturb the atmosphere of the meeting because it's the size of an IC card and unobtrusive.

・Sales/Freelance Utilization (How to automatically summarize business meeting notes for immediate responses)

For sales professionals and freelancers, the "thank-you email + sharing minutes" after a business meeting is an important moment for building trust.

But when multiple meetings overlap, the time to organize notes often gets pushed back.

PLAUD NOTE allows you to focus 100% on the other person's words without taking notes during the meeting, and AI summaries are automatically generated when you sync with the app after the meeting.

By simply adding a brief thank-you note based on that, you will be able to send a follow-up email on the same day as the meeting. You can become a sales representative or freelancer who is seen as "quick to respond" and "thoughtful."

▶▶PLAUD NOTE Official Website: https://jp.plaud.ai/

How to use PLAUD NOTE: Points to note and how to choose to avoid failure

While PLAUD NOTE is convenient, there are a few points that are good to know for peace of mind. Checking these before purchasing can prevent the "it wasn't what I expected" scenario.

・Tips to prevent recording errors (visually checking the start lamp and how to confirm that audio is being captured)

The most common failure is "thinking you pressed the record button when you didn't." Once you start recording, be sure to visually confirm that the LED lamp is lit.

Also, it is a good habit to make a short sound during the first few seconds of the meeting and check if the waveform is moving on the app side for peace of mind.

It is truly disastrous to find out after a long meeting that "it wasn't recorded..."

・Guidelines for free and paid plans (approximate costs and points to note when exceeding the 300-minute monthly free limit)

The AI transcription and summarization features of PLAUD NOTE allow for up to 300 minutes of free transcription per month.

If you use it for meetings of about an hour, 2 to 3 times a week, it will total approximately 480 to 720 minutes per month, so it is calculated that heavy users will need a paid plan.

The paid plan is a monthly subscription, and there are plans available based on usage frequency and purpose.

It is a natural flow to try it out within the free limit first, and if you feel that you cannot live without it, consider upgrading to a paid plan.

👉Click here for details on PLAUD NOTE's monthly pricing plans

・Differences from services like Notta (Differences and benefits between smartphone app-based tools and dedicated device-based tools like PLAUD NOTE)

Some people might think, "Isn't Notta or a transcription app enough?" Certainly, smartphone app-based transcription tools are easy and convenient.

However, there is a big difference. Since smartphone app-based tools use your smartphone as a recorder, you are faced with problems such as receiving notifications during meetings, battery drain, and difficulty using your smartphone. Also, the quality of audio pickup depends on the smartphone's microphone performance.

Because PLAUD NOTE is a dedicated device independent of your smartphone, you can use your smartphone normally during meetings, and the audio quality is stable due to its design specialized for sound pickup.

The biggest strength of a dedicated device is that you can naturally use it by saying, "I'll leave the recording to PLAUD NOTE and focus on checking documents and taking notes on my smartphone."

Frequently Asked Questions about "How to use Plaud Note"

We have compiled frequently asked questions and their answers from those considering purchasing Plaud Note and those who are already using it.

Q1. Is a separate paid plan (Plus) for ChatGPT required?

A. No, it is not necessary. Since Plaud Note's transcription and summarization features are processed through a dedicated AI plan (with free and paid tiers) provided by PLAUD, there is no need for you to personally subscribe to a monthly ChatGPT subscription.

Once you purchase the device and register the app, you can immediately enjoy the benefits of advanced AI summarization.

Q2. Can I transcribe or translate foreign languages during business negotiations with people from overseas?

A. Yes, it is possible. It supports over 57 languages worldwide, and if you select the language being spoken in the settings, you can perform highly accurate transcriptions for languages like English and Chinese.

Furthermore, if you specify Japanese as the language for the summary template, you can even perform advanced tasks such as "summarizing content spoken in English into Japanese," making it useful in global business scenes.

Q3. If my smartphone runs out of battery while recording, is the data safe?

A. Yes, that is fine. Since recording data is first saved to the internal memory of the Plaud Note device itself, recording will continue even if your smartphone runs out of power, and the data will not be lost.

Your smartphone acts merely as a "remote control for giving instructions" and a "monitor for viewing results," so as long as the device itself is charged, you can record important meetings until the very end.

Q4. I'm worried that the setup seems difficult...

A. Please rest assured. It is fine. As explained in this article, the initial setup is completed in just 3 steps. No particularly difficult operations are required, and once you have set it up, you can start and stop recording with just a single button on the device.

If you have any questions, the official PLAUD support center is well-equipped and will provide courteous assistance.

Q5. Isn't about 30,000 yen expensive? Isn't a smartphone app enough?

A. Certainly, it may seem expensive at first glance, but the Plaud Note is not just a voice recorder; it is like hiring an "AI secretary."

For example, let's assume it takes 30 minutes to create minutes for a one-hour meeting. If you attend 20 meetings a month, you are spending 10 hours every month on creating minutes.

An investment of about 30,000 yen in the Plaud Note will free you from this "minutes hell," and it is calculated that you will recoup the cost in a few months.

Considering the benefits that smartphone apps cannot achieve, such as "call recording" and the ability to "use your smartphone freely," its value is immeasurable.

Q6: Can I share one PLAUD NOTE across multiple smartphones or tablets?

A: Yes, it is possible. If you log in with the same PLAUD account, you can check and edit data recorded on an iPhone later on the large screen of an iPad.

However, you can only connect to the device via Bluetooth with one unit at a time. It is very convenient to use your smartphone for recording while out and about, and then review the summary thoroughly on your tablet after returning home.

Q7: Is there any data guarantee if the device breaks or is lost?

A: Once data has been transferred to the app and synced to the cloud, it is saved on PLAUD's servers, so even if you lose the device, the data itself will not be lost.

If you get a new device and log in with the same account, you can view all your past minutes. However, please note that "data before transfer" stored inside the device cannot be restored.

Q8: How should I distinguish between using Wi-Fi connection and Bluetooth connection?

A: For short memos of a few minutes, the convenient "Bluetooth transfer" is sufficient. However, when sending large-capacity data such as meetings exceeding one hour, please switch to "Wi-Fi high-speed transfer."

You can import to your smartphone several times faster than with Bluetooth. You can easily switch by following the instructions on the app screen, which significantly reduces the stress of waiting time.

Q9: Can I perform transcription or summarization in places without the internet?

A: Recording itself is possible offline, but an internet connection is required for transcription and summarization. This is because after the recording data is transferred to your smartphone, it is sent to Plaud's cloud AI (ChatGPT, etc.) for processing.

In areas with poor signal, the process may get stuck on "Processing," so please perform these tasks in a stable Wi-Fi or 4G/5G environment.

Q10. How long does the battery last? How do I charge it?

A. A full charge allows for up to 30 hours of continuous recording. You can use it all day for meetings or business trips without worrying about running out of battery.

Charging is done by simply snapping on the dedicated magnetic cable. You can check the remaining battery level in 1% increments via the smartphone app, and you can also tell at a glance from the color of the LED light on the device (green = sufficient, red = needs charging).

* If you are unable to charge it, most issues can be easily resolved by cleaning the contact points or resetting the device by holding down the button for 15 seconds.

Q11: Will I run out of space for recording data and be unable to record?

A. The device has approximately 64GB (about 480 hours) of built-in storage, but it can also automatically back up to the dedicated "Plaud Cloud."

Once synced with the app, data is saved to the cloud, so you hardly need to worry about the device's capacity. You can also check the current remaining space at any time from the app's settings screen.

Summary: From "Someone Who Takes Notes" to "Someone Who Can Focus on the Conversation"

PLAUD NOTE is not just a voice recorder.

It is a tool that significantly reduces the effort of creating minutes and transforms you into someone who can "focus 100% on the other person's words" during meetings, business negotiations, and discussions.

Both the initial setup and recording operations are simple, so even AI beginners can start using it without hesitation.

Try it out with the free tier first and experience its convenience for yourself.

Instead of thinking, "I should have bought it back then," you will likely think, "I wish I had started using it sooner."

▶▶PLAUD NOTE Official Website:https://jp.plaud.ai/

👇 Click here for the article on choosing a PLAUD NOTE model and comparing new and old models
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▶Complete Guide to Using PLAUD NotePin | Initial Setup and Practical Application

▶Complete Explanation of How to Use the PLAUD NOTE App |