AI transcription and summarization turns spoken audio in Spruce into readable text automatically. Voicemail transcription is available on both plans, while recorded calls and audio messages require the Communicator plan. Administrators can turn the feature on or off for the whole organization or per phone number, and your data is never used to train third-party models.
IN THIS ARTICLE
- Introduction to AI Transcription & Summarization
- How AI Transcription & Summarization Works
- How to Enable or Disable AI Transcription & Summarization
- Custom Instructions for AI Summarization
- Deleting and Restoring AI Transcripts & Summaries
- Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction to AI Transcription & Summarization
AI Transcription & Summarization helps your team save time by automatically turning spoken audio into readable text. When enabled, Spruce will use AI to automatically transcribe or summarize:
- Voicemails
- Recorded Calls (Communicator Plan Only)
- Audio Messages (Communicator Plan Only)
This makes it easier to review conversations, capture important details, and stay aligned as a team without needing to listen to every recording. Always review source content for accuracy. Automated transcriptions and summaries may contain errors or omissions. Patients cannot see AI transcripts or summaries. They are only visible to your team.
How AI Transcription & Summarization Works
AI Transcription
When AI transcription is turned on, Spruce will automatically convert spoken audio into text for:
- Voicemails
- Recorded calls (Communicator Plan Only)
- Audio messages (Communicator Plan Only)
Transcripts will appear directly in conversations, and will be truncated after a certain length. You will have the ability to view the full transcript in a separate view.
When viewing the full transcript, you will be able to:
- Listen to the audio file
- See the AI summary (if applicable)
- View, Copy, Rate, or Delete the transcript
Transcripts will recognize multiple speakers and can support 40+ languages- see here. Transcripts will always be displayed in the original language of the recording. Complete transcripts will also automatically sync to any connected EHRs.
If you'd like to learn more, please watch this video overview of AI transcription.
AI Summarization
Spruce will automatically turn spoken audio into short, easy-to-scan written summaries from:
- Voicemails (Communicator Plan Only)
- Recorded calls (Communicator Plan Only)
- Audio messages (Communicator Plan Only)
Summaries will appear directly in conversations, and will recognize multiple speakers and can support 40+ languages - see here. Summaries will be displayed in English by default, but custom instructions can be applied to display summaries in other languages.
When summaries are copied directly from a conversation, they will not include the transcript text. The transcript text can be copied from the Transcript detail view which can be accessed by tapping "View Transcript".
Admins will also have the ability to apply custom instructions to AI summaries to better tailor them to your workflow needs. Learn more here
When available, AI summarization will be OFF by default for all organizations. Admins will need to navigate to Settings > Organization Preferences > AI Transcription & Summarization to enable this feature.
How To Enable or Disable AI Transcription & Summarization
Turning AI Transcription & Summarization on/off at the Organization Level
Admins can enable or disable AI transcription and summarization features for their entire organization.
What this controls:
- Whether AI transcription and summarization is allowed across your organization
- Whether these features can be enabled on individual phone numbers
- Whether audio messages sent by teammates and patients are transcribed
To enable or disable AI Transcription and Summarization for your organization:
- Navigate to Settings > Organization Preferences > AI Transcription and Summarization
- Select which feature you’d like to manage (Voicemails, Recorded Calls, or Audio Messages).
- Choose the appropriate setting:
-
Summarize and Transcribe
- This will enable both transcription and summarization.
-
Transcribe
- This will enable transcription only. No summaries will be created.
-
Do Not Summarize or Transcribe
- If transcription and summarization is turned off at the organization level, it will be disabled everywhere immediately — even if it’s enabled on individual phone numbers. Existing summaries and transcripts will not be removed.
- If transcription and summarization is turned off at the organization level, it will be disabled everywhere immediately — even if it’s enabled on individual phone numbers. Existing summaries and transcripts will not be removed.
-
Summarize and Transcribe
Turning AI Transcription & Summarization on/off at the Phone Number Level
When AI transcription and summarization is turned on at the organization level, these features will be available to apply to phone numbers. Individual phone numbers can then enable or disable AI transcription and/or summarization for voicemails and recorded calls.
For Voicemails (Admins and Phone Number Owners):
- Navigate to Settings > Phone System > Phone Numbers and select a phone number
- Go to the “Voicemail” section
- Tap into or press Edit next to “AI Transcription and Summarization” to turn the feature on or off for that phone number.
For Recorded Calls (Admins Only):
- Navigate to Settings > Phone System > Phone Numbers and select a phone number
- Go to the “Call Recording” section
- Ensure Call Recording is turned on. If call recording is off, AI transcripts and summaries will not be created, even if enabled at the organization level. Learn more about Call Recording.
- Tap into or press Edit next to “AI Transcription and Summarization” to turn the feature on for that phone number.
AI Transcription & Summarization for Audio Messages
If AI transcription and summarization is turned on at the organization level, then all audio messages sent by teammates will be transcribed in conversations, including Internal Notes and Internal Team Chats. All audio messages received from patients will also be transcribed. Patients will never see AI transcripts or summaries.
Custom Instructions for AI Summarization
Custom instructions let you tailor how Spruce's AI writes summaries for a specific phone number. Instead of receiving a standard summary for voicemails and recorded calls, your team can get output formatted for your workflow — such as clinical notes, triage levels, or action item lists. Learn more about Custom Instructions and see examples.
Deleting and Restoring AI Transcripts & Summaries
The ability to delete or restore AI transcripts or summaries is determined by your organization’s setting for Message Deletion. By default, Message Deletion allows Admins and the message sender to delete and restore messages (including transcripts and summaries), anytime.
Note: There is no way to remove all transcripts or summaries from a conversation at once, and Spruce does not support the ability to hide transcripts or summaries in conversations.
To Delete a Transcript or Summary:
- Press View Transcript on the voicemail, recorded call, or audio message within a conversation. This will open a detail view.
-
In the desktop app or in your web browser:
- Navigate to the Transcript section. Press the three-dot menu button next to the copy button. Press Delete Transcript. Confirm you would like to delete the transcript. Note: Only transcripts can be deleted. This will also delete the summary.
-
In the Spruce mobile apps:
- Scroll to the bottom of the Transcript page. Press Delete Transcript. Confirm you would like to delete the transcript.
- Once deleted, this will remove the transcript (and summary, if applicable) from the detail view and from the conversation. A system event will be posted noting that you removed the transcript from the conversation.
To Restore a Transcript or Summary:
-
In the desktop app or in your web browser:
- Navigate to the message details of the voicemail, recorded call, or audio message within a conversation.
- You can access message details by hovering over the message until you see the three dots button. Press this and select View Message Details.
- This will open a sidebar on the right side of your screen. Scroll to the bottom of this sidebar until you see Restore Transcript. If this button is disabled, it means that you are unable to restore the transcript due to your organization’s message deletion setting. Contact your organization's administrator for more information.
- Press Restore Transcript and confirm that you would like to restore the transcript.
-
In the Spruce mobile apps:
- Find the individual voicemail, recorded call or audio message for which you’d like to restore the transcript or summary. Applicable events will display (Transcript Deleted) text.
- Press and hold on the individual voicemail, recorded call, or audio message. This will open a menu.
- Press Restore Transcript and confirm that you would like to restore the transcript or summary.
- Once restored, the transcript (and summary, if applicable) will reappear in the detail view and in the conversation. A system event will be posted noting that you restored the transcript.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will patients see AI transcripts or summaries?
No, patients will not see AI transcripts or summaries.
Can I apply AI transcripts and summaries to older messages?
No, AI transcripts and summaries cannot be applied to older messages. When the feature is enabled, every new call, voicemail, or audio message will be transcribed or summarized from that moment forward.
What languages are supported?
AI transcripts and summaries can support 40+ languages, so you can triage and document patient messages from non-English speakers - see here. Transcripts will always display in the original language that is used in the recording. Summaries will be displayed in English by default, but custom instructions can be applied to display summaries in other languages.
Can I hide AI transcripts and summaries in conversations?
No, AI transcripts and summaries cannot be hidden in conversations. They can only be deleted.
Why can’t I turn on AI transcription or summaries for voicemails or recorded calls on a phone number?
If you are not an Admin, you will not be able to turn on these settings for a phone number. If you are an Admin, you first will need to enable AI transcription or Summarization for this feature in Settings > Organization Preferences > AI Transcription and Summarization.
Why can't I see AI transcripts or summaries for my calls?
Call recording must first be turned on for individual phone numbers (by an Admin). Once call recording is turned on for a phone number, AI transcription and summarization for recorded calls can then be turned on.
Why did my AI summary or transcript fail to generate?
There are a few reasons why a summary or transcript may fail to generate.
- If no transcript is created, no summary will be created.
- If there is no spoken audio, no transcript will be created.
- If a call is too short, no transcript will be created.
- There are times when the AI can time out and fail when transcribing a long phone call. This can occur due to AI limitations, and Spruce has no control over this.
There were 2 speakers on my call. Why didn’t the transcript recognize both speakers?
In order for AI transcripts to recognize 2 speakers, the call must be at least 30 seconds long and both speakers must speak for at least 10 seconds.
Will AI transcripts automatically sync to my integrated EHR? (Athena, Elation)
Yes, complete transcripts will automatically sync to your EHR.
What happens to transcripts and summaries if I downgrade my organization from the Communicator plan to the Basic plan?
If your organization downgrades to the Basic plan, AI transcription and summarization will be immediately turned off at the organization level and the phone number level for recorded calls and audio messages. No new recorded calls or audio messages will be transcribed or summarized. Existing summaries and transcriptions will not be removed from conversations.
If previously enabled, voicemail transcription and summarization will remain enabled at the organization level and for any applicable phone numbers.
Why does it look like only a partial transcript or summary was created for a call?
If there are multiple recordings on a call, only the first AI transcript or summary is displayed within the conversation. Tapping “View Transcript" will give you access to all of the transcript or summaries created for a call. Multiple recordings can be created by placing callers on hold or transferring a call.
What is the maximum duration supported for AI transcripts and summaries?
Spruce supports AI transcription and summarization for voicemails up to 1 hour in length and recorded calls up to 4 hours in length. Both will be fully transcribed and summarized automatically according to your configuration settings, provided they fall within these durations. For audio that exceeds these limits, transcription and summarization will apply to the first 1 hour of a voicemail or the first 4 hours of a call.