Short answer: click into a rem, press ⌃+⌥+R (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+R (Windows/Linux), talk through the concept the way you would explain it to a study partner, and AICHE inserts the text. Add ::, ;;, or {{ }} afterward to turn rems into flashcards.
The Problem
RemNote's strength is that study notes and flashcards live in the same outline. The cost is that you write a lot. Every concept needs a definition, every descriptor needs a sentence, every cloze needs a full surrounding sentence so the card has context on review day. If you are learning at the pace lectures and papers throw material at you, the outline falls behind the thinking.
The other tax is structural. You stop mid-sentence to indent. You break flow to decide whether something is a child rem or a sibling. The moment you start formatting, you stop explaining.
What Changes
Talk first, mark up second. Speak the full explanation into the rem under your cursor at speaking speed (~150 WPM versus ~40 WPM typing). AICHE transcribes, cleans filler, and inserts. Once the prose is on the page, add the RemNote syntax: :: for a concept, ;; for a descriptor, {{ }} around the words you want occluded for a cloze.
The order matters. Dictating the explanation first means you say it the way you understand it, not the way the outline forces you to phrase it. Then you cut it into testable pieces.
How It Works
- Open RemNote (desktop app or browser).
- Click into the rem where the content belongs.
- Press ⌃+⌥+R on Mac or Ctrl+Alt+R on Windows/Linux.
- Speak the explanation. Include the question form if you know it.
- Press the hotkey again to stop. AICHE inserts the cleaned text at the cursor.
- Add the flashcard syntax:
::for a Concept card,;;for a Descriptor,{{ }}for a cloze,>>for a basic forward card.
Dictating the Concept/Descriptor Framework
Before (typed fragment): "mitochondria ATP"
After dictation + markup: "Mitochondrion :: organelle that produces ATP through oxidative phosphorylation" with child rem "membrane structure ;; double membrane with folded inner cristae"
Click the parent rem, press the hotkey, speak the full concept sentence. Stop. Add :: between term and definition. Indent, speak the descriptor, stop, add ;;. RemNote builds Concept and Descriptor cards; FSRS scheduling stays in RemNote, not AICHE.
Cloze Cards Without Re-Typing the Sentence
Cloze deletions need the full sentence around the gap so the card makes sense on review. Speaking the sentence is faster than typing it, and the cloze markup goes on after.
Click into a new rem. Dictate: "Binary search runs in O of log n time because each iteration halves the search space." Stop. Highlight "O of log n" and press { (or wrap it manually with {{ }}). The full sentence becomes the prompt; the bracketed phrase becomes the gap.
If you have three facts in one sentence, you can wrap each independently. RemNote schedules each cloze on its own interval.
Lecture and Reading Capture
The classic RemNote workflow is annotate a PDF, then turn highlights into flashcards. Voice fits in two places.
First, marginalia. After highlighting a paragraph, click into the linked rem and dictate the gloss in your own words. The retention gain from spaced repetition is mostly about what you wrote, not what the author wrote. Your phrasing is what you will recognize on review day.
Second, lecture catch-up. While you watch a recorded lecture at 1.5x, pause when the lecturer makes a point worth keeping, click into a rem, and dictate the point and the question form together. You stay closer to real time than you would typing. AICHE has no audio of the lecture, just your voice describing it.
Working With FSRS and the Exam Scheduler
RemNote runs Anki-SM2 by default and offers FSRS as an opt-in algorithm that adapts intervals from your review history. Both algorithms get more accurate the more cards you have, because the scheduler has more data to fit to your forgetting curve. Voice-dictated rems lower the cost of adding cards, so the algorithm has more to work with.
The Exam Scheduler compresses or stretches intervals to land mastery on a target date. A bigger card pool gives the scheduler more flexibility to drop low-priority reviews. None of this is AICHE doing anything to RemNote; it is the second-order effect of typing being a smaller bottleneck.
What You Get
- Unlimited voice transcription with AI cleanup - filler words removed, punctuation added, sentences left in your phrasing.
- Custom vocabulary - drop in terminology from your field (anatomy terms, algorithm names, foreign-language vocab, drug names) so they spell correctly the first time.
- Multilingual voice input - dictate notes in your native language; optionally auto-translate to English on the way out.
- Smart Insert - text lands at the cursor in the active rem, no copy-paste step.
- Zero-retention audio - audio streamed for cloud transcription, processed, and discarded immediately after processing, within 1 second. No persistent audio copy.
Plans start at $3.99/mo (annual) with a 7-day free trial, no credit card. See pricing.
Common Questions
Q: Does AICHE create the flashcards automatically?
A: No. AICHE inserts plain text at the cursor. You add the RemNote syntax (::, ;;, {{ }}, >>) to turn rems into cards. RemNote's own AI flashcard generator can do that step from your notes if you want it automated end-to-end.
Q: Will it work in the RemNote browser version or only the desktop app?
A: Both. AICHE inserts into whichever text field has the cursor. The RemNote desktop app and the browser tab both accept Smart Insert.
Q: I take notes in German/Mandarin/Spanish. Can I dictate in that language?
A: Yes. Enable the language in AICHE settings. Dictate in your native language and the rem text stays in that language. If you want bilingual decks, turn on auto-translation to insert an English version in a sibling rem.
Q: How do I handle technical terms RemNote autocompletes?
A: Dictate the term, then accept the autocomplete after. AICHE inserts the spelled-out word; RemNote's reference autocomplete is keyboard-driven and runs on the text you just inserted.
Q: What about cloze syntax - can I say "open brace open brace"?
A: You can, but the cleaner pattern is to dictate the full sentence, then select the phrase you want to occlude and press { in RemNote. It is one keystroke and avoids any transcription ambiguity around braces.
Q: Does this work with RemNote's mobile app?
A: This page is the desktop hotkey workflow in RemNote's desktop or browser editor on macOS, Windows, or Linux. AICHE also records on iPhone, iPad, and Android (Every Platform); copy into RemNote mobile if you use it for review.
Result: the friction tax of writing a definition, a descriptor, and a cloze for every new concept drops to a few seconds of talking plus a couple of punctuation marks. The outline grows at the pace you are actually learning instead of lagging behind it.
Try it now: open RemNote, click into a fresh rem on something you studied this week, press your hotkey, and explain the concept out loud the way you would to a friend. Add :: between the term and the definition. You just made a flashcard by talking.