Voice Walks

Last reviewed May 2026 · Voice Walks

Voice walks turn your spoken observations on a job site into a structured punch list — without any typing. Walk the site, talk through what you see, and let Lotwright's AI extract and organize the action items.

What is a voice walk?

A voice walk is an audio recording you make while physically walking a job site. You speak naturally — pointing out incomplete work, quality issues, or things that need follow-up. Lotwright sends the recording to Whisper (AI transcription) and then to Claude (AI extraction) to produce a clean, categorized punch list.

The whole process takes about 1–2 minutes after you stop recording. You review the AI's output, edit any items, and confirm. The punch list is then attached to the job.

Two-party consent states

If your job is in a state that requires all parties to consent before being recorded (California, Illinois, Florida, and 10 others), Lotwright shows a consent reminder before you can start recording. This is for your legal protection.

The reminder asks you to confirm that you have obtained consent from anyone on-site who might be recorded. If you're walking alone, you can proceed immediately. If trade partners or buyers are present, verbally let them know you're recording.

Record a walk

1. Open a job and tap the Voice Walks tab.
2. Tap Start Walk. Grant microphone permission if prompted — this only happens once.
3. Confirm the consent banner if shown.
4. Speak naturally as you walk. You don't need to be formal — "living room ceiling fan box is missing" works just as well as a careful description.
5. Tap End Walk when you're done. You can also tap Pause if you need to stop and resume later in the same session.
6. The recording uploads automatically. You'll see a processing indicator.

Review punch items

After processing (1–2 minutes), the AI Review screen shows the extracted punch items. Each item shows:

• The action required
• The location (room, area)
• The suggested trade (based on the item type)

Review each item. You can edit the description, change the trade, or delete items that were extracted incorrectly. When satisfied, tap Confirm & Save. The items are added to the job's punch list and visible to the assigned trades in their portal.

Tips for better results

• Speak clearly and at a normal pace. You don't need to slow down — just avoid mumbling.
• State the location first. "Kitchen: cabinet drawer doesn't close flush" extracts better than just "drawer problem."
• Don't worry about background noise. Whisper handles construction-site noise well — saws, nail guns, wind.
• One item at a time. "Missing three outlet covers in the hallway" produces one item; rambling about five things in one breath produces lower-quality extraction.
• 30-second to 20-minute sweet spot. Very short walks produce little context; walks over 20 minutes may take longer to process. 60-minute cap applies.

If your walk is interrupted

If you get a phone call, switch apps, or close the browser during a recording, Lotwright saves your progress automatically. When you return to the walk, you'll see an option to resume or end the walk with what was recorded so far. Your audio is never lost mid-session.