What You Need to Know
TranscribeAI identifies the right SOAP section automatically.
There is no need to navigate to a specific field before speaking — context determines placement.
Only relevant clinical details are captured.
TranscribeAI filters out unrelated conversation and ensures accurate punctuation, formatting, and placement.
Works across the full SOAP.
TranscribeAI captures presenting complaints, history, vitals, exam findings, treatment plans, discharge instructions, and more.
Available in both Comprehensive and Quick SOAP workflows.
Use it for full exams as well as brief rechecks, technician appointments, and follow-up visits.
Physical Exam templates do not generate automatically.
To include a PE in your SOAP, you must manually select a PE template and confirm it.
Before the Exam: Check mic permissions; confirm the audio wave animation is active.
During the Exam: Speak naturally; use cues like "On exam…" or "Plan is…" to help structure notes. (Check our Speaking Tips)
After the Exam: Stop and review the transcription; apply AI Insights before syncing.
Take a Look
Enabling TranscribeAI
TranscribeAI is managed from the AI Settings area in Admin, where practice administrators can enable AI features and control which team members can access AI settings.
To enable TranscribeAI:
Go to Admin > Clinic Settings > AI Settings.
Toggle Enable TranscribeAI on.
Adjust the Default to normal Physical Exam Template values setting:
On (default): All systems marked normal unless you note an abnormality.
Off: Each system must be filled manually.
Click Save.
Controlling Access to AI Settings
To control who can enable/disable AI Settings, update the AI Settings permission within user roles in Admin > Users > Roles > Edit Role > Permissions > Admin Tab - check AI Settings.
Data Protection & Privacy
Encryption: Audio and transcripts are encrypted during capture, processing, and storage.
Transcript storage: Text transcripts are saved in Shepherd and linked to the user who recorded.
Audio retention: Audio may be temporarily stored for troubleshooting, but is never part of the patient record.
How TranscribeAI Learns — and How It Doesn't
TranscribeAI does not learn in real-time from individual practice usage. To protect your data privacy, the AI model is neither trained nor tuned from your practices’ patient records or transcriptions in a way that personalizes outputs or shares learnings across customers.
That said, usage and patterns observed across all practices, edge cases surfaced through support, and feedback reported by users all directly shape where we tighten veterinary ontology, sharpen clinical accuracy, and expand coverage of species, conditions, and workflows.
Supported Devices
We recommend using a laptop in the exam room for the best success. (Mobile devices can time-out or rotate and you can lose your progress.)
Chrome is the recommended browser for best performance.
Microphone Setup
For best transcription results, we recommend using a wearable Bluetooth clip-on microphone with active noise isolation. A lapel-style or collar-clip Bluetooth mic keeps the recording source close to the speaker, minimizes ambient clinic noise, and leaves your hands completely free during the exam. Look for models with:
Noise isolation or noise-canceling capability
Wearable/clip-on form factor (lapel, collar, or coat pocket clip)
Bluetooth connectivity compatible with your workstation or tablet
Reliable range of at least 30 feet for movement around the exam room
This type of setup consistently produces the clearest transcriptions, especially in busy or multi-person clinic environments.
Depending on your device and browser's microphone settings, you may need to grant permission to use your microphone before using TranscribeAI within Shepherd. Once browser permission is granted, you'll see your approved audio devices listed and can test your audio volume before recording.
Speaking Tips
The quality of your transcription depends largely on what gets said out loud during the appointment. A few habits that make a big difference:
Narrate as you go — verbalize your observations and recommendations in the moment rather than relying on mental notes.
Avoid repeating historical vitals — stating a series of past weights or measurements (e.g., "Fluffy weighed 16 lbs, then 15.4 lbs, now 15 lbs") can create multiple vitals entries in the SOAP. Instead, state the current value and note the trend conversationally: "Fluffy is 15 lbs today and has been gradually losing weight over the past two visits."
Prompt with key words — use specific terms related to the SOAP so that your transcription information sorts appropriately. ("Historically…", "My differential is…", "Recommended treatment…")
Speak directly to the owner — client-facing explanations are rich with clinical context and transcribe well into discharge-ready language.
Include timing and frequency — be specific out loud ("every 4–6 weeks," "for one month") so those details land correctly in the SOAP.
Explain your reasoning — briefly stating why a treatment is being done helps TranscribeAI place it in the right context.
Summarize home care before leaving the room — a verbal recap gives the AI a clear, consolidated source for discharge instructions.
State follow-up instructions explicitly — don't assume they'll be inferred; say them clearly so they're captured.
Recording a Session
Open any Comprehensive SOAP or Quick SOAP.
Click the microphone icon in the lower right corner to start recording.
Grant browser microphone permissions if prompted.
TranscribeAI will begin listening automatically and the recording button will turn red to indicate an active session.
5. To pause at any point, click the Pause button. Click Resume to continue recording from where you left off.
6. When you are ready to end the recording, click the Stop button. A confirmation dialog will appear — review the messaging and either click 'Resume' to resume transcription or click 'Stop Recording' to proceed to transcript review.
7. The Review Window opens automatically (transcription may take seconds to minutes depending on the length of the session).
8. Review the Fields for accuracy and edit or add information as needed.
9. Choose the Physical Exam Template where you would like the transcription applied.
If you want the transcription to apply to a PE template, you must manually select it and click Confirm Template. It will not apply to a PE template automatically.
If using AI Insights to refine the transcription: after applying a prompt, click Sync to Fields, return to the Field Review tab to see the changes, then click Confirm & Save.
If not using AI Insights: click Sync to Fields to apply the transcription to fields, then click Confirm & Save.
10. Once you're done, click Confirm & Save to apply transcription information to the SOAP.
Reviewing & Syncing Content
The verification window is where you review, refine, and apply transcribed content to the SOAP before saving.
Review transcribed suggestions in the verification window.
TranscribeAI separates entries with dividing lines if multiple sessions are used.
Use the yellow circular arrow to toggle between suggested and manual entries.
Add clinic shortcuts or manual notes before saving.
Sync selected content into SOAP fields, then save.
AI Insights
AI Insights lets you refine transcriptions with built-in or custom prompts. Built-in options include:
Summarize — condenses the transcription into a concise summary.
Translate to Spanish — translates your English transcription into Spanish.
Summarize for Client — generates a client-facing summary suitable for discharge instructions.
You can also enter custom prompts such as:
"Format this in bullet points."
"Expand the assessment into full sentences."
"Write go-home wound care instructions in numbered steps."
AI Insights changes are not applied automatically. After using AI Insights, you must complete all three steps to save changes to the SOAP:
Click Sync to Fields to apply the AI Insights output to the field review.
Return to the Field Review tab to see what changed.
Click Confirm & Save to save the changes to the SOAP.
Viewing Transcription History
Transcription history can be reviewed in two places:
In the SOAP: Review transcript text or SOAP field summaries during verification.
In your User Profile: Go to My Profile > Transcripts to view all transcripts linked to your user.
Avoiding Data Loss
To avoid data loss, finalize and save all recordings as soon as possible rather than leaving them open.
Multiple Sessions: You can complete multiple recording sessions within a single SOAP. Each session is user-specific and must be initiated by the recording user. At the end of each session, you'll be prompted to confirm which SOAP fields should be updated with the captured text.
Audio Interruption Warnings: If TranscribeAI detects that audio is not being transcribed or that a microphone interruption has occurred, a warning will appear during the session. Address the issue before continuing to avoid gaps in your transcript.
Navigation Warnings: If you navigate away from the SOAP or session without verifying changes, you risk losing transcription suggestions. Shepherd will prompt you to confirm if you try to leave mid-session.
Logout Protection: Shepherd protects active sessions from automatic logout while the application is in use. However, this protection does not apply if the device goes to sleep — a sleeping device can trigger a session timeout regardless of activity in Shepherd.
Local Recovery Data: Shepherd automatically removes stale local transcript recovery data older than seven days. If local recovery data cannot be saved due to browser storage limitations, you will be notified.
Avoid Editing the SOAP While a Session Is Active
Once a TranscribeAI session has started, other team members should not make changes to that SOAP until the recording user has finished reviewing and confirmed their changes.
TranscribeAI captures a snapshot of the SOAP at the time the session begins. If another user — for example, a technician entering notes in the treatment area — updates a field on the same SOAP while a session is still active, those changes may be overwritten when the recording user confirms and saves the TranscribeAI output. This is expected behavior: TranscribeAI does not have visibility into edits made to the record after the session started.
To prevent this, let your team know when a TranscribeAI session is in progress. Any additional notes or updates to that SOAP should wait until after the session has been confirmed and saved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can multiple users record at once?
Multiple users can record simultaneously, but each session is user-specific. Each user must initiate their own recording session, and sessions run in separate SOAPs.
Does TranscribeAI store audio?
TranscribeAI does not store audio. Only the text transcript is saved in Shepherd.
Can I use it for multi-pet visits?
TranscribeAI does not currently support multi-pet visits within a single session. Each SOAP requires its own separate recording session.
What if I navigate away before syncing?
Navigating away from the SOAP before syncing puts your work at risk. Always stop, review, sync, and save before leaving the SOAP.
Does it assign diagnoses or create invoices automatically?
TranscribeAI does not assign diagnoses or create invoices automatically. It may capture spoken treatments or assessments during a session, but you must manually assign diagnostic codes and invoice items.
Can I edit content later?
Once synced, TranscribeAI content becomes part of the SOAP and can be edited like any other entry. Keep in mind that AI Insights is only available during the active session — it cannot be accessed after the session ends.
Workaround
What if my transcript isn't populating into the SOAP automatically?
If transcribed content isn't syncing into SOAP fields as expected, use the following workaround:
Copy your transcript — copy the full transcript text you want to use.
Return to the SOAP — navigate back to the SOAP page.
Start a blank TAI session — begin a new session and either mute your microphone or remain completely silent for at least 2 seconds. No audio or text can be captured during this step — even brief sounds or filler words can prevent the workaround from functioning. The session must remain entirely empty.
Open AI Insights — navigate to the AI Insights tab.
Paste the transcript — paste the full transcript exactly as-is. Do not remove timestamps or add any prompts or formatting.
Submit — click the Arrow button to submit. Do not click "Confirm and Save" yet.
Wait for processing — allow time for the transcript to process. Longer transcripts (20+ minutes) may take several minutes. Keep your device awake and avoid logging out during this step.
Return to Field Review — navigate to the "Field Review" tab. The count may still show (0) at this point — this does not necessarily mean the transcript failed.
Sync to Fields — from the Field Review tab, either select a PE template and click "Sync to Fields," or click "Sync to Fields" directly. The extracted information should now populate into the fields.
Save the SOAP — once fields are populated, click "Confirm and Save."
Workaround Video Walkthrough