A voice note is easy to create and surprisingly hard to use later. The valuable part may be one decision in a forty-minute meeting, a deadline mentioned halfway through a walk, or the reason behind an idea you no longer remember. Contexto is designed to preserve that context, not just produce a wall of text.
Choose the capture mode before you speak
Start with the mode that matches the moment: quick thought, meeting, brainstorm, journal, lecture, interview, or a custom template. The mode tells Contexto what kind of structure matters. A meeting should emphasize decisions and owners; a brainstorm should keep possibilities open instead of converting every idea into a task.
Mark the moments you already know matter
While recording, add an Important, Action, Idea, Question, or Decision marker. A marker is not an AI guess. It is your signal that a nearby moment deserves extra attention, and it gives you a direct path back to the original audio later.
Review the evidence, not only the summary
When an AI Brief is ready, scan the summary and structured items, then open the source citation for anything consequential. Names, dates, ownership, and commitments deserve verification. Correct the transcript or derived item when needed; your edit should outrank an inference.
The useful promise of AI notes is not perfect recall. It is faster verification with the source still attached.
Promote only durable context
Not every sentence belongs in long-term memory. Keep decisions, stable preferences, project facts, and real commitments. Edit, merge, archive, or reject uncertain memories. A smaller set of trusted context produces better retrieval than an indiscriminate archive.
Ask narrow questions first
Questions such as “What did I promise Mark in yesterday's product call?” or “Which pricing questions remain unresolved?” are easier to ground than a vague request for everything. Follow the citations, open the relevant note, and continue the conversation from evidence.
Confirm actions before they leave Contexto
Review suggested tasks and dates before adding anything to Reminders or Calendar. Contexto proposes; you decide. The same rule applies to generated documents: read the output, correct it, then export it in the format that fits the work.
Choose where AI runs
Keep Cloud AI off to use Apple Intelligence locally on a supported iPhone. Turn Cloud AI on only when you choose to send relevant note text through Contexto's service to OpenAI and use prepaid pack allowance. Recordings and on-device transcription stay on the iPhone in either mode.