CHU RECOMMENDS: PLAUD – THE ABSOLUTE COOLEST AI RECORDING DEVICE YET!

OK, I admit it.  I am obsessed with this thing called Plaud.

Last week, I did a trial run of the AI-powered recording device Plaud.  It blew me away.  Here’s what it is and (at least some) of what it can do:

• About the size of a credit card length and width. About as thick as 3 credit cards.
• Appears to be very well made – out of metal, doesn’t feel like cheap plastic. Buttons function well.
• Comes in a magnetic carrying case that attaches it to the back of your phone – even works over my QUAD iPhone 16 Pro case I use for cycling.
• Records your calls and meetings. Change between the 2 modes by moving the small button switch on the top up for calls and down for recording what’s in the room, including multi-person meetings, Zoom calls, etc.  When it is attached to your phone, you can use speaker phone, ear buds, or just listen to the call next to your ear.
• Plaud transcribes your calls with extremely high accuracy, in my experience over the past week. I don’t always have the best diction, but so far, Plaud has interpreted my occasional “mumbles” flawlessly.
• BUT THESE ARE TEENY WEENIE FEATURES COMPARED TO THE MAIN EVENT – Plaud uses AI to brilliantly convert your calls, meetings, etc. into highly accurate, incredibly well-formatted summary notes. I tested Plaud the first day I had it, using it to record and summarize two calls:
  • The first was a call with an executive from a solar panel company. During the call, we discussed the HOA Board’s challenges to install solar panels on my townhouse.  I also made a referral to the executive for a friend whose home is a much better candidate for solar power.  One feature of Plaud summaries I appreciate and am amazed by is its ability to capture the subject matter/ purpose of the call or meeting in the summary title (this is a screenshot of the actual notes):

• • The second was a 45-minute meeting with an executive from The Possible Zone (TPZ). TPZ is one of my favorite clients that offers after-school and summer programming to provide hands-on teaching and experience instilling entrepreneurial spirit and capabilities for underserved inner-city high school students. The discussion centered on a new project that Underwood Partners is working on for TPZ.  And again, Plaud did an excellent job both transcribing and especially summarizing the meeting.
• Plaud’s AI transcription & summarization capabilities have been developed on GPT-4.1, o3-mini, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, and Gemini 2.5 Pro tools. It supports 112 languages.
• The Plaud app and website offer professional templates tailored for various use cases. Transcriptions and summaries are easily shared with yourself or others.

An Important Caveat:

As I wrote in my article Overwhelmed by AI Ubiquity?  You’re Not Too Late To Get Started – Here’s How,  you cannot use AI as a “set and forget” tool.  As amazing as current AI capabilities are (and they get better every day), AI is far from infallible.  This applies to Plaud summaries as well.  Reading over the excellent summary of my TPZ call, I found one major error.  During the call, I asked the TPZ executive for feedback on our work to date.  One of the things she recommended was to always give the CEO a “read ahead” before presentations, even if they are in draft form.  Plaud inaccurately reported in the meeting summary that the CEO did not want to receive materials in advance of meetings.  Several AI experts have written that AI is usually 50-80% correct.  In my experience, AI – especially Google’s Gemini – is closer to 80%, but as this example demonstrates, AI can make BIG TIME mistakes.  Always, always, always check AI’s work and sources.

My Only Recommendation for Improving Plaud

I am sure this is an indictment of my personality and ego, but I am usually frustrated when asked for feedback on something and nothing comes to mind.  Fortunately, that is not the case with Plaud.  My only suggestion for making Plaud easier to use is to enable the device to be charged with the nearly ubiquitous USB-C cable.  Yes, unfortunately, Plaud comes with its own unique charging cable. Ugh!  It’s a small magnetic device that connects to the back of Plaud and can be easily used with the magnetic case on.  But it is yet another separate “single-use” charging cord I need to have in my office, backpack, car, etc., and will undoubtedly be lost!  I hate whoever recommended this “blades and razors strategy” to Plaud, slightly tarnishing an otherwise flawless customer experience!

How Much $$$ and Where to Buy

The Plaud device costs $160, and you can purchase it directly from the company at www.Plaud.ai or from Amazon.

Plaud provides transcription and storage services with a “freemium” model.  Plaud comes with 30-hour continuous recording, 60 days of standby, and 64GB of storage.  For the cost of the device, Plaud provides unlimited cloud storage and 300 hours of transcription and summary services per month.  For an additional $100/ year, the Plaud Pro-Plan provides 1,200 minutes of transcriptions and summaries monthly, or $150/ year provides unlimited transcriptions and summaries plus additional goodies.

HAVE FUN AND PREPARE TO BE OBSESSED!