How to Use Voice Control on Mac

Step by step

1. 2 min

   Turn Voice Control on

   Open System Settings > Accessibility, scroll to the Motor section, and click Voice Control. Switch Voice Control on. The first time you do this the Mac downloads its speech files, which takes a few minutes and needs a network connection.

   Note: After that download it runs on the machine itself. Nothing you say leaves the Mac, which was not true of speech recognition for a long time.
2. 1 min

   Click things by their name

   Say Click followed by the visible label of the control, as in Click Send or Click Cancel. Say Open followed by an application name to launch it. A floating window shows the microphone level and the last command the Mac understood.

   Note: It matches what is written on the screen. If a button carries an icon and no words, this method has nothing to work with.
3. 1 min

   Use the numbers overlay

   Say Show numbers. Every clickable item on screen gets a number tag laid over it. Say that number to click it. Say Hide numbers to clear the overlay. This is the reliable route to toolbar icons, menu bar items, and anything without a readable label.

   Note: The numbers redraw whenever the window changes. Read the tag you want just before you say it, not before you switch windows.
4. 1 min

   Use the grid for everything else

   Say Show grid to lay a numbered grid over the whole screen, or Show window grid to cover only the front window. Say a number and that cell subdivides into a smaller numbered grid. Say Click and the number to click the center of a cell.

   Note: The grid is how you reach things that are not controls at all: a spot inside a photo, a point on a map, empty canvas.
5. 1 min

   Mix dictation with commands

   Click into a text field and speak normally to dictate. Voice Control decides between text and commands as it listens, so editing phrases still work mid-sentence. Say Go to sleep when you want it to stop listening, and Wake up to bring it back.

   Note: Sleep does not switch it off. The microphone is still listening for two words, and only those two, until you say them.
6. 3 min

   Read the actual command list

   Back in System Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control, click Commands. A window lists every command by category, each with a checkbox to enable or disable it. Click the plus button to add your own spoken phrase and bind it to an action.

   Note: Read that list rather than trusting anyone reciting commands from memory, mine included. The wording shifts between macOS releases.