Questions to ask an AI note taker vendor: training, consent and cost, with the answers to look for
On this page
- What should you ask about model training and opt-outs?
- What should you ask about consent and the candidate's experience?
- What should you ask about fit for interviews?
- What should you ask about cost and budget?
- What should you ask about the contract and leaving?
- How do you check the answers?
- Questions people ask
Ask three groups of questions before a real candidate is on a trial call. First, what happens to the interview data: whether it trains anyone's models, who can switch that off, and how long it is kept. Second, how the tool tells candidates and what happens when one says no. Third, what it will cost at your volume: seat or usage pricing, minimum seats, term and renewal. Get each answer in writing with the page or clause that proves it, because vendors differ on exactly these points: as of November 2026, Granola trains on anonymized data unless you opt out in Settings, while Otter's organization-wide training opt-out is an Enterprise feature arranged through an account manager.
The questions below are for the sales call or demo, with the answer to look for and the red flag for each. The long written version for your security team is the AI note taker security questionnaire, and the hands-on tests are in the AI note taker evaluation checklist.
What should you ask about model training and opt-outs?
Candidates never agreed to the vendor's terms, so training on their interviews is the question to settle first.
| Ask | A good answer | Red flag | Proof to request |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Do you, or any AI provider you use, train or improve models on our recordings, transcripts or notes? | "No, and our contracts with providers forbid it," or "Yes, de-identified, and here is the switch" | "We anonymize everything" with no detail, or "only to improve the service" | The privacy policy section and the clause in the DPA |
| 2. Who can switch training off: each user, an admin for everyone, or only your sales team? | An organization-level setting an admin controls | Each recruiter must remember a personal toggle | The help-center article with the setting's location |
| 3. Is audio or video stored as a file, and for how long are transcripts kept? | A clear default, plus a retention setting you control | "Indefinitely" with no way to set a period on your plan | Retention documentation and plan comparison |
| 4. Can we delete one candidate's data everywhere, including backups and providers, and how fast? | Yes, with a stated time for backups and subprocessors | Deletion only by closing the whole account | The deletion procedure in writing |
| 5. Which subprocessors receive interview data, and in which countries? | A public, dated subprocessor list with locations | "We use leading AI providers" | The list and how you are told about changes |
Real answers show why question 2 matters. Granola's security page says it "trains on your anonymized data", that users can opt out in Settings, that Enterprise users have training turned off by default, and that notes and transcripts are stored indefinitely by default unless deleted, with custom retention periods on Enterprise plans (Granola security). Otter lists an "AI model training opt-out" for the organization on its Enterprise page, started by contacting your account manager (Otter Enterprise). Both checked November 2026. Thirteen vendors' positions are compared in do AI note takers train on your interview recordings, and storage location in where AI note takers store interview data.
What should you ask about consent and the candidate's experience?
| Ask | A good answer | Red flag | Proof to request |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. What does the candidate see or receive before, during and after the call? | A precise list: participant name, banners, emails, recap links | "Nothing they would notice" | A test call where you play the candidate |
| 7. When a candidate says no, what exactly stops: recording, transcription, the AI summary? | One action stops capture and the interview carries on | The only way to decline is to leave the meeting | The pause or stop control in the trial |
| 8. Can we set notice wording by jurisdiction and record that notice was given? | Editable notice text and a timestamped log | "Consent is your responsibility" and no feature at all | Admin settings and an exported log |
| 9. Does anything go to attendees automatically, such as a transcript, summary or sign-up invitation? | Off by default, or admin-controlled | Recaps sent to every invitee, candidates included | Notification settings documentation |
| 10. Does the tool score, rank or recommend candidates, and has that output had a bias audit? | A clear description of what is scored, plus the audit summary if it screens New York City candidates | "It's just notes" when the demo showed scores | Product documentation and the published audit summary |
Question 7 is where platforms differ most. Zoom asks participants to consent when they join a recorded meeting or when recording starts, and a participant who declines does so by choosing Cancel or Leave and leaving the meeting (Zoom support, checked November 2026). That is a meeting-wide rule, so in an interview you need your own way to continue without recording. How other hiring platforms handle consent is compared in interview recording consent features compared. Question 10 decides which AI notice laws apply, covered in do you have to tell candidates you use AI.
What should you ask about fit for interviews?
- How does it capture a phone screen? A meeting bot cannot join an ordinary phone call, so ask whether the tool records the computer's audio, needs a calling app, or does not support phone screens at all.
- How does it tell the interviewer from the candidate? Separate audio channels are more reliable than guessing from voices; for panels, ask how it labels several interviewers. See speaker identification in panel interviews.
- How do notes reach our ATS, and which fields? "Integrates with" can mean a full sync, a link, or a paste. Ask for a screen recording of a note arriving in your own ATS.
- Does it work on a client's or candidate's meeting link when you are not the host?
What should you ask about cost and budget?
- Is it priced per seat, per hour or per recording, and what counts as a seat? Hiring managers who interview twice a month can cost the same as a full-time recruiter on seat pricing.
- What is the minimum: seats, contract term, annual prepayment?
- What is not in the plan price? ATS integrations, SSO, retention controls, admin consoles and training opt-outs often sit on higher tiers; Otter's organization opt-out, for example, is on its Enterprise page.
- What happens at renewal? Ask for the renewal price cap and the notice period for cancelling.
Worked example with invented prices. Ten recruiters and fifteen hiring managers on a tool at $30 per seat per month cost $9,000 a year. If only the recruiters need seats and the managers share a usage pack, at an invented $10 per hour for 30 hours a month, the year costs $3,600 for seats plus $3,600 for hours, $7,200 in total. The cheaper option depends on how much the occasional users really interview, which is why question 15 comes before any discount. Published prices for named tools are in AI interview note taker pricing, and a budget worked out for a mid-sized company is in how much to budget for an AI notetaker for a recruiting team.
What should you ask about the contract and leaving?
- Will you sign our data processing agreement, or send yours? See what it should cover in DPA for recruiting software.
- Which audit reports can we read, such as a SOC 2 Type II report or ISO 27001 certificate, and under what terms?
- Can we export everything in a usable format, and what happens to our data, and how quickly, when we cancel?
- What happens to a recruiter's interviews when they leave? Company control of accounts matters more in recruiting than in most teams.
How do you check the answers?
- Match every spoken answer to a document. A help-center page, a policy section or a contract clause, with its date. "The rep said so" is not evidence.
- Watch for plan qualifiers. "Yes, on Enterprise" is a different answer from "yes".
- Test the candidate's side yourself on a trial call: join as the candidate, decline, and see what happens.
- Re-check at renewal. Training, retention and pricing pages change; date the copy you rely on.
For comparison, here is how a vendor can answer these publicly. We make Interview Signal, an interview note taker; everything above about other products comes from their own sites, linked and dated. Its answers: no bot joins the call; audio goes to a speech-to-text provider in short chunks and is not retained; transcripts, notes and submittals stay on the recruiter's computer; it has a read-aloud consent line, notice text by jurisdiction and one-click pause; pricing is published on the pricing page, from 20 free minutes to pay-as-you-go hours and team seats with a three-seat minimum; and it has no ATS integration, so notes are pasted by hand. Details are on the security page.
Questions people ask
What should I ask an AI note taker vendor about training on our interview data?
Ask whether the vendor or any of its AI providers uses recordings, transcripts or notes to train or improve models, whether that data is de-identified first, and who can switch it off: each user, an admin for the whole organization, or only the vendor's sales team. Ask for the answer as a privacy policy section or contract clause, because vendors differ: as of November 2026 Granola trains on anonymized data unless you opt out in Settings, while Otter offers an organization-wide training opt-out on Enterprise through an account manager.
What consent features should an AI note taker have for job interviews?
A way to tell candidates before the call and again at the start, notice wording you can adapt by jurisdiction, a record that notice was given, a pause or stop that takes one action, and no automatic recap or transcript sent to the candidate unless you choose it. Ask what the candidate's no actually stops: in Zoom, for example, a participant who declines the recording prompt leaves the meeting, which is a poor option in an interview.
How should a recruiting team compare AI note taker prices?
Price your real usage, not the list price. Ask whether the tool charges per seat, per hour or per recording, what counts as a seat, the minimum number of seats and the term, which features such as ATS integration, SSO or a training opt-out sit only on higher plans, and what happens at renewal. Then work out a year's cost for your recruiters and for the hiring managers who interview only occasionally.
Do I need a security questionnaire if I have already asked the vendor these questions?
Yes, for anything beyond a small trial. The sales call tells you whether a tool is worth evaluating; a written security questionnaire, the data processing agreement, the subprocessor list and any audit report are what you rely on when real candidates' interviews flow through the product. Ask the call questions first, then send the written questions before any real candidate is on a trial call.