Correcting and Refining a Recording

Can I correct myself while I'm still talking?

Yes, and this happens more naturally than you might expect. If you say something like "actually, change that to..." partway through a recording, InstantOwl's AI is generally able to sort it out. This is not a dedicated "corrections" feature with special detection logic. It works because the prompt that generates your output is written to expect rambling, out-of-order thinking, including topics you circle back to, and it is told to favor what you said most recently when your statements conflict.

In practice: talk the way you actually think. If you misspeak or change your mind, just say the correct version next. You do not need a special phrase or command.

What if I need to fix something after I already submitted?

For a precise, reliable fix to a recording you already have, do not try to re-record the whole thing from scratch. Instead, use a follow-up recording:

1. Open the recording's page and find This idea.
2. Tap Add recording to record a short follow-up. You'll see "Updating…" while it merges.
3. Say exactly what you want changed. This can be:
   • Something to add ("also mention the Q3 deadline").
   • Something to delete ("cut the part about the vendor call").
   • Something to clarify ("when I said Tuesday, I meant next Tuesday").
   • A straight correction ("actually, cut the part about X and replace it with Y").
4. InstantOwl merges the follow-up into the existing output. Where the follow-up conflicts with the original, your later statement wins.

This is the reliable mechanism for targeted corrections, because it is a dedicated merge step built to reconcile add, delete, clarify, and correct instructions against what is already there. It is a better fit than hoping a mid-recording aside gets caught, especially for anything you need to be certain landed.

What does the "Instructions for AI" box do?

Before you tap Submit on any new recording, you'll see an optional Instructions for AI box on the review screen. This is typed guidance, separate from anything you said out loud, that gets passed along as extra context when your output is generated. Examples from the placeholder text: "Pull all mentions of pricing," "Turn this into a blog post," or "Summarize only action items for engineering."

Use this for instructions about the output itself (format, focus, audience), not as a substitute for the follow-up recording flow above when you need to change specific content.

How do I fix a word InstantOwl keeps mishearing?

If a name, term, or phrase gets transcribed wrong the same way every time, that's a job for your Personalized Dictionary, not a one-off correction:

1. Go to Settings and find Personalized Dictionary.
2. Tap Add term and enter the correction.
3. On any recording where the misspelling already happened, use Apply dictionary to fix the existing transcript.

This is the right tool for recurring transcription errors (a product name InstantOwl keeps hearing wrong, for example), while follow-up recordings are the right tool for changing what the output actually says.

Once your transcript and output are accurate, you can reshape the result into a different format any time. See output formats for the full list, and recording basics for how the initial capture and review screen work.