# Chat with a recording

> Ask questions about one recording in AI chat: how answers stay grounded in the transcript, multiple chats, chat history, and dictating a question.

Updated: 2026-08-16 · Canonical: https://usecanto.com/help/ai/chat-with-a-recording/

Every recording has an AI chat that answers questions about that conversation. Answers are grounded in the transcript — the chat won't speculate beyond what was said, and the interface says exactly that: "Answers are grounded in this transcript."

## How do I start a chat?

Open a recording and switch to its **Chat** tab. Type into the composer — the placeholder reads **Ask about this conversation…** — or pick a starter:

- **Summarize this conversation**
- **What decisions were made?**
- **List the action items**

Answers stream in as they're written. Chat becomes available once the AI has finished indexing the recording; until then you'll see **Preparing AI for this recording…**.

## What does the chat know?

The full transcript of this recording, with speaker labels and timestamps, plus its notes. When it genuinely helps, the assistant may also pull in a relevant excerpt from another of your recordings — it cites the other recording's title inline so the origin is clear, and never presents outside content as part of this conversation.

Chat answers follow your app language, like everything else the AI writes.

## Can I have more than one chat per recording?

Yes. **New chat** starts a fresh thread, and **Chat history** lists previous ones so you can pick any thread back up — history is saved with the recording, not the device, so it follows you across iOS, Android, and the web. A recording with no threads yet shows **No previous chats yet.**

## Can I dictate a question?

Yes. The composer has a dictation button (**Start dictation**) — speak your question, stop, and the transcribed text lands in the input for you to send. See [Dictate instead of typing](https://usecanto.com/help/recording/dictation/).

## What else feeds into the chat?

On the web you can send a specific transcript line into the composer as a quote — see [Reply to a transcript line in chat](https://usecanto.com/help/ai/reply-in-chat/). To ask across all recordings at once, use the global Ask instead: [Ask questions across all your recordings](https://usecanto.com/help/ai/ask-across-recordings/).

## What does chat cost?

Each message uses your AI chat allowance — the free plan includes 500 / mo across recording chat, folder chat, and global Ask. Pro removes the limit; see [What do Free, Pro, and Team include?](https://usecanto.com/help/billing/plans/) Chatting with a recording someone shared with you doesn't count against your allowance.

## Troubleshooting

### "Couldn't send that message. Please try again."

Usually a connection hiccup — resend. If every message fails and you're on the free plan, you may have hit your monthly chat allowance; see [What happens when I hit a limit?](https://usecanto.com/help/billing/what-happens-at-limit/)

### The chat won't answer something that was said

The chat can only use what the transcript captured. Check the line in the **Transcript** tab — if the words were mistranscribed, [edit the transcript](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/edit-a-transcript/) and ask again in a new chat.

Related articles:

- [Ask questions across all your recordings](https://usecanto.com/help/ai/ask-across-recordings/)
- [Chat with everything in a Space](https://usecanto.com/help/ai/folder-chat/)
- [Reply to a transcript line in chat](https://usecanto.com/help/ai/reply-in-chat/)
- [Use Canto for dictation and voice notes](https://usecanto.com/help/recording/dictation/)