The Best AI Note Taker for Therapists

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Prices and features from each vendor’s site, checked Oct 9, 2026. Prices change often.

Who this is for

This guide is for licensed therapists, counselors, social workers and psychologists in private practice, and for small group practices, who spend evenings catching up on progress notes. If you write notes in SOAP, DAP or BIRP format and type them up after each session, an AI note taker can draft them for you to review.

It is not a guide to AI chatbots that talk to clients. Every tool here listens to or reads about a session you lead, then writes documentation for you to check. That distinction matters legally. Illinois, for example, allows AI for administrative and supplementary support such as therapy notes, but bars AI from therapeutic communication with clients without a licensed professional Orrick on Illinois law ↗.

You will get the most from this guide if you already know which EHR you use and roughly how many sessions you document each week. Those two facts decide most of the choice.

Why you should trust us

We read each vendor's pricing page, security page and help center articles, and checked them on October 9, 2026. For the legal points, we used guidance from the US Department of Health and Human Services, analysis from law firms, and the APA's own survey data HHS business associates ↗ HHS sample BAA ↗ Orrick on Illinois law ↗ Kilpatrick wiretap laws ↗ APA survey ↗. Every price and claim in this guide is cited, so you can check it yourself.

We have not yet used these tools with real sessions. Hands on testing is in progress, and we will update this guide with results. We are not lawyers, and nothing here is legal advice. Before you start recording, talk to your malpractice insurer or a healthcare attorney about your state's rules.

How we picked

We started with tools built for mental health documentation and dropped general meeting recorders that do not offer a BAA for therapy use. Then we ranked the rest on what a solo or small practice therapist needs most.

Compliance came first. A tool that will not sign a BAA, or that keeps session audio indefinitely, was out regardless of price.

• A Business Associate Agreement offered to small practices, not only enterprise customers
• Clear audio handling, ideally deletion after the note is drafted
• Built in help with client consent
• Published prices, with a free plan, trial or money back guarantee
• Therapy note formats such as SOAP, DAP and BIRP, plus treatment plans
• Works alongside common therapy EHRs

What AI note takers can and can't do today

Today's tools can listen to a telehealth or in person session, or take your dictated summary, and produce a structured draft note in your chosen format Upheal pricing ↗ Mentalyc pricing ↗. Most also draft treatment plans and client summaries, and some suggest billing codes or track goals over time Mentalyc pricing ↗ Blueprint pricing ↗. That can save real time: the work shifts from writing a note to editing one.

They cannot take clinical responsibility. A draft can misattribute who said what, miss nonverbal context, or phrase something in a way you would never put in a record. APA's 2025 survey found 60% of psychologists worry about inaccurate output, and 67% about data breaches APA survey ↗. Read every note before you sign it.

They also do not replace your judgment on what belongs in the record. Some sessions, such as those involving abuse disclosures or legal matters, may call for typing the note yourself from memory rather than recording. Most tools let you dictate or type a summary instead of recording, which is a useful middle ground Upheal pricing ↗ Mentalyc pricing ↗.

Before you sign up: HIPAA, BAAs and consent

Under HIPAA, a company that handles protected health information on your behalf is a business associate, and you need written assurances, usually a Business Associate Agreement, before sharing that information with it HHS business associates ↗. HHS says a BAA should set out how the vendor may use the information, require safeguards, require breach reporting, and require return or destruction of the data when the contract ends HHS sample BAA ↗. A vendor saying it is HIPAA compliant is not the same as a signed BAA. Get the BAA.

Consumer AI chatbots are a common trap. OpenAI says it does not offer a BAA for ChatGPT Business, and only sales managed ChatGPT Enterprise or Edu accounts are eligible for one OpenAI BAA help ↗. Pasting session details into a personal chatbot account is not a HIPAA compliant workflow.

Client consent has two layers. The first is recording law. Federal law uses one party consent, but 13 states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington, require every party to consent to a recording Kilpatrick wiretap laws ↗. The second is AI specific law. Illinois's Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, signed as HB 1806, requires written, informed consent when AI records or transcribes a therapy session Orrick on Illinois law ↗ NASW Illinois ↗. That consent must name the tool and its purpose, must be a stand alone document rather than buried in general terms, and violations can bring civil penalties of up to $10,000 each Orrick on Illinois law ↗.

Even where the law is silent, treat consent as ongoing. SimplePractice's sample form lets clients decline transcription without affecting their care and withdraw consent in writing at any time SimplePractice consent guide ↗. That is a good model.

• Get a signed BAA, or confirm the BAA is part of the terms you accept
• Find out whether audio is deleted, and when
• Ask whether transcripts are kept, even in de-identified form, and for how long
• Use a separate written AI consent form that names the tool
• Let clients opt out without any effect on their care
• Check your state's recording and AI laws, and ask your malpractice insurer
• Export your notes before you cancel any plan

What to look forward to

Expect more states to follow Illinois with AI rules for mental health care, so consent workflows will matter more, not less Orrick on Illinois law ↗. Vendors are also moving from note drafting to fuller assistants: Upheal and Blueprint already offer AI chat for session prep, letters and insurance questions Upheal pricing ↗ Blueprint pricing ↗. EHRs are building their own note takers, as SimplePractice has, which may make add-on tools less necessary for some practices SimplePractice pricing ↗.

We are testing these tools now and will add hands on results, including how well each one handles couples sessions and how much editing each draft needs.

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