Describe the actual recording you plan to make
AI note-taking can mean recording the appointment or recording your own summary afterward. Those are different experiences for the patient. An explanation should match the one you use, rather than leave the impression that every conversation is automatically recorded.
It is also useful to separate the software company from the practice. A patient may hear AI and assume their words are being sent to a website. With an offline tool, you can explain that the work happens on your computer and the provider does not receive the clinical conversation.
Two examples you can adapt
For a recorded appointment: "I use software on my computer to help draft the visit note. With your agreement, it records our conversation and makes the transcript and draft here. The software company does not receive the recording or note. I edit the draft before adding it to your record."
For a summary after the appointment: "I use software to help write the note from a summary I dictate afterward. I am not recording our appointment for that. The summary is processed on my computer, and the software company does not receive it."
The second explanation can be useful when dictation is the change you are making to your own paperwork. It tells the patient what happens without suggesting that a new recording is being made throughout the consultation.
Be specific about what remains afterward
In Astralcyte, the recording is removed once a complete transcript exists. The transcript stays in the encrypted vault by default. You can keep it, delete it after approving the note, or decide for each session.
If you keep transcripts, a plain explanation is: "The recording is removed after it has been transcribed. The transcript stays with my encrypted records, along with the note." If you delete transcripts after approval, describe that choice instead. The security policy and patient handout give the product details behind the explanation.
Matching the words to the actual setting matters more than using a broad term such as temporary. A patient may reasonably understand temporary audio and a retained written transcript as different things.
Answer the question about other services directly
For an online appointment, the meeting service still carries the call. Your EHR may also hold the final note. You can explain those familiar services separately from the note-taking software: Astralcyte does the transcription and drafting on your device without receiving the clinical content at its own servers.
This gives you a clear account of why you chose the tool. It helps with the writing, while the software provider does not acquire another copy of the patient conversation. The final wording can fit your practice's existing discussion of recording and records.