A SOAP notes AI writes the four SOAP sections from the session itself, without you typing them. Subjective takes what the person reports, Objective what you observe and state out loud, Assessment your reasoning, Plan what comes next. The draft is ready seconds after the session ends, and you edit and sign it.
An AI SOAP note generator turns a patient encounter into a structured SOAP note without you writing it. ClinicFrame does this from the visit itself: it listens, transcribes the visit in real time, and the moment the session ends it writes the note, typically within ten to twenty seconds, organized into the four SOAP sections.
What goes in each SOAP section?
| Section | What it captures |
|---|---|
| Subjective | Symptoms, history, and concerns in the patient's own account |
| Objective | Exam findings, vitals, and observations you verbalize during the visit |
| Assessment | Your working diagnosis and clinical impressions |
| Plan | Medications, referrals, follow-ups, and patient instructions |
What does an AI SOAP note look like?
This is the shape of a note ClinicFrame returns for a short follow-up visit. The visit is synthetic and the note is an illustration of structure, not clinical guidance; every real draft is reviewed and signed by the clinician.
| S | Returns for a three-month follow-up of hypertension. Reports taking lisinopril 10 mg daily without missed doses, no dizziness or headaches. Home readings average 132/84. |
| O | BP 130/82 seated, HR 72, weight unchanged from last visit. Lungs clear. No peripheral edema. |
| A | Hypertension, improved control on current therapy. |
| P | Continue lisinopril 10 mg daily. Reinforce sodium reduction and 30 minutes of walking five days a week. Basic metabolic panel today. Follow up in six months, sooner if home readings exceed 140/90. |
Everything in Subjective came from what the patient said; everything in Objective came from findings stated out loud during the exam. For a longer walkthrough see the SOAP note example, and for a blank structure to adapt, the SOAP note template.
How does the AI decide what goes where?
The note is built from the transcript and its speaker labels: what the patient reports flows toward Subjective, what you state as findings flows toward Objective, and so on. This is why clean speaker labels and a clear visit matter, and why verbalizing key exam findings out loud gives the Objective section more to work with. See how to evaluate AI medical scribe accuracy.
How do you keep the note in your own voice?
- Set SOAP as your default so every session starts in that structure; SOAP ships as one of the built-in clinical note templates.
- Build a custom SOAP if yours carries extra sections, with instructions per section; see custom templates.
- Edit freely. The note is a draft until you sign off. Change any line, then copy it into your EHR or export a PDF.
- Regenerate in another format anytime with New format.
SOAP in therapy and psychiatry
SOAP travels well into mental health, though it is not always the closest fit. In therapy the same session often reads better as BIRP, which tracks behavior, intervention, response and plan, or as DAP, which folds observation and data into one section. Psychiatry tends to stay with SOAP because medication management fits the Objective and Plan sections cleanly. If you are choosing between them, compare them side by side in DAP vs BIRP vs SOAP.
For how this works across a mental health practice, including what happens to session audio, see the AI scribe for therapy and psychiatry.
