You can turn an interview recording into notes without uploading it to a transcription service. OGAD (Off Grid AI Desktop) transcribes a saved audio file on your Mac. You can inspect the text first, then ask a local chat model to organize the answers, open questions, and follow-up tasks. Download both models before working offline.
Download OGAD | Desktop releases
Interview notes need more care than a short summary. You need to know which statements came from the interviewee, which were your questions, and which words you can quote. A fluent answer from an AI does not establish any of that by itself.
This workflow keeps the transcript available while you prepare the notes. It uses the free desktop app on an Apple Silicon Mac. You start with an existing audio recording; the separate Pro meeting recorder is not required.
What do you need to prepare local interview notes?
Use an Apple Silicon Mac, M1 or later, with macOS 13 or later. Install OGAD, download a local speech model, and select a local text model for the notes. Save the interview as a supported audio file on your Mac. Internet is needed for installation and model downloads.
The controls below are available in stable version 0.0.51. Check the desktop download page for the current build.
Your two model choices have different jobs:
| Model | Job |
|---|---|
| Local transcription model | Turns the audio into text |
| Local text model | Uses the transcript and your instructions to prepare notes |
For speech recognition, Whisper Base is a small starting choice at approximately 148 MB. Whisper Small, approximately 488 MB, is another option if the first result misses important words. Download size is not total working memory. Close unused models if your Mac has little memory available.
Keep the original recording. The transcript and AI notes are both derived from it, and you may need to listen again to resolve a name or speaker change.
Which interview files can you import?
Use a local MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, Opus, FLAC, or AIFF audio file. Check that it plays and contains the complete interview. If you recorded video, export its audio with a local tool first. Video attachments follow a different processing path in the app.
A filename such as customer-interview-07.m4a makes it easier to match your notes to the source. If you split a long recording, number the parts in order.
If the file is in a cloud drive, make sure its contents are downloaded before disconnecting. A cloud placeholder still needs a connection to retrieve the audio.
How do you get the transcript before asking for notes?
Select a local speech model, choose the spoken language, and attach the recording in Chat. OGAD processes the audio before you send a message. Click the attachment's text preview to open the returned transcript in a side panel. Read it there before asking a chat model to summarize it.
1. Select the transcription model
Open Models > Transcription. Download the model you want, then select Use this model. Open Settings for that active model and check Transcription > Current model.
Choose a local model for this workflow. A remote transcription service changes where your audio is processed.
2. Set the spoken language
In Transcription > Spoken language, choose the interview's language. A multilingual Whisper model also offers Auto-detect. English-only model variants cannot recognize other languages simply because you change this setting.
3. Attach the saved recording
Open Chat. Select the + control, then Attach files, and choose the audio file. Wait while its attachment card shows Processing....
Do one interview at a time for the first pass. This makes incorrect names or facts from another recording easier to notice.
4. Open and check the transcript
When text appears on the attachment card, click its preview to expand it. The side panel displays the file name and transcript.
Compare a few passages with the recording, including the last answer. Check names, dates, amounts, and words that change the meaning. Copy the text into a local document if you want to correct it before analysis. The preview itself is a reading view.
How do you turn the transcript into useful interview notes?
Select a downloaded local text model, then send a clear instruction with the transcript attached. Ask for separate sections for answers, uncertainty, and follow-up questions. Require supporting passages for important points. Review those passages against the transcript and audio before treating the notes as a record of what someone said.
If you corrected the transcript outside the app, remove the original pending audio attachment and attach the corrected .txt file instead. This makes the checked text the source for the notes.
Start a fresh chat for a new interview. Use a prompt such as:
Use only the attached interview transcript to prepare working notes.
Organize the notes by interview question or topic.
For each topic, include:
- What the interviewee said, paraphrased in plain language.
- The supporting passage from the transcript.
- What remains unclear or unanswered.
- A follow-up question, if one is needed.
Keep interviewer suggestions separate from interviewee statements.
Do not infer who spoke when the transcript does not identify them.
Mark proposed actions as suggestions unless someone clearly committed to them.
Do not add facts from outside the transcript.
This is an instruction to guide the answer, not a guarantee that every statement is correct. Check the result against the source before you use it.
For a product-research interview, you might want current behavior and concrete examples grouped together. For an expert interview, claims and supporting explanations may be more useful. Tell the model what you need from this particular conversation.
How do you keep quotes separate from paraphrases?
Use quotation marks only for words you have checked against the recording. An AI summary is a paraphrase even when it sounds like something the interviewee would say. A passage copied from an automatic transcript still needs an audio check before you treat it as an exact quote.
For example, compare these fictional statements:
| Statement | What it means |
|---|---|
| "We sometimes use a spreadsheet." | A possible direct quote, if those words are in the recording |
| The team manages its work in spreadsheets. | A broader paraphrase that may overstate the original |
The word "sometimes" matters. Removing it turns an occasional practice into a general one.
Ask for quote candidates separately:
Find short passages that could support the notes.
Copy each passage exactly from the transcript.
Do not polish grammar or combine words from different answers.
Label them as quote candidates for audio review.
If the speaker is unclear, leave the attribution unresolved.
Then listen to each candidate in the original recording. Add timestamps manually if you need them. This audio-attachment workflow returns plain text; it does not supply a timed subtitle file or reliable named-speaker labels.
What if the interview has several speakers?
The plain transcript may not tell you who spoke each line. Add speaker names only when you can verify them from the audio or your own interview record. Telling the model the participants' names does not establish which voice said each sentence.
Overlapping speech is especially difficult to check. Mark the passage as unclear and return to the recording. Do not ask the model to invent a complete answer from a partial exchange.
What if the interview is too long for one pass?
Handle transcription length and chat context separately. A speech model may return a long transcript that exceeds the text model's available context. The transcript, instructions, conversation history, and generated answer all need room. A short summary does not prove that the model considered the whole interview.
Work in ordered sections when needed:
- Divide the checked transcript at question or topic boundaries.
- Give each part a source label, such as
interview-07-part-01. - Prepare notes for each part in a fresh chat with the same instructions.
- Combine the reviewed notes, keeping source labels beside the claims.
Check the final section of the interview explicitly. If an answer stops mid-sentence or misses later questions, reduce the input or request a shorter response for that section.
If the audio import itself fails, split the recording into shorter audio files with a local editor and transcribe those parts separately. The attachment importer does not automatically divide long recordings into transcription jobs.
What should you check before using the notes?
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Attribution | Did an interviewer suggestion become an interviewee claim? |
| Strength of claim | Did "sometimes" become "always," or an example become a general rule? |
| Numbers | Do amounts, dates, and quantities match the recording? |
| Actions | Did a possible next step become a firm commitment? |
| Quotes | Are quoted words exact and assigned to the correct speaker? |
| Coverage | Do the notes include the final topics as well as the opening ones? |
Keep an unresolved-questions section. It is more useful to know that a point needs follow-up than to hide uncertainty behind a polished paragraph.
Can the complete workflow run without internet?
Yes, after you download the required models and source audio. Select local transcription and text models, then disconnect Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Import a short sample, open its transcript, and request a small set of notes. Both stages should finish without a cloud service in the path.
Remote model selections, connected tools, and later sharing can involve network access. Keep those separate from this local workflow. Saving a reviewed document to a cloud-synced folder is also a choice about that document, regardless of where transcription happened.
Start with one interview. Check the transcript, prepare notes by question, and verify each quote candidate against the recording before using it.
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