How to control your computer using Voice Control in macOS 12 Monterey

You can turn overlays on and off at any time using the commands, “Show/hide numbers” or “Show/hide grid” (more on this in the How to use the Item Numbers/Numbered Grid Overlay sections, below). However, after making a selection, the overlay is turned off. If you’d like the overlay to always be on-screen, choose an overlay mode from the drop-down menu for Overlay.

7. When you say a command that doesn’t quite match the system command, Voice Control will show examples of what you can say. These examples appear above the Voice Control button.

This feature is enabled by default.  If you would like to turn it off, untick the checkbox for Show Hints.

8. If you would like to hear a sound to confirm that Voice Control has recognised a command, tick the checkbox for Play sound when command is recognised.

9. When you are happy with your settings, close System Preferences by clicking the Close button (red circle) in the top-left corner of the window or using the Cmd + W keyboard shortcut.

10. You navigate and interact with your computer by speaking commands such as:

To see the full list of commands that you can use with Voice Control, say “Show Commands”.

11. If you would like to pause Voice Control so that your computer stops listening for commands, say “Go to sleep” or select Sleep on the Voice Control button. To resume Voice Control, say “Wake up” or select Wake Up on the Voice Control button.

12. Using the Item Numbers overlay, you interact with what is on screen using numbers shown next to clickable items, such as menus, buttons, and links.

To show the Item Numbers overlay, say “Show numbers”. Say “Click {number}” to select that item. To hide the Item Numbers overly, say “Hide numbers”.

Note: Numbers will always appear next to the items in system menus without having to say the “Show numbers” command.

13. Using the Numbered Grid overlay, you can interact with areas of the screen that Voice Control doesn’t recognise as being clickable.

To show the Numbered Grid overly, say “Show grid”. To only show the grid over the window you are currently using, say “Show window grid”.

14. Say a grid number to subdivide that grid square into smaller squares. Repeat as many times as necessary until the item or exact area you want to select has its own number. To select the item or area, say “Click {number}”.

14. You can move items when using either of the overlay modes by saying, “Drag { x to y}”

15. When you are in an area where you can type text, for example, when writing an email, or document, Voice Control automatically switches to Dictation mode. In Dictation mode, the words you speak are entered as text.

To perform commands (and to ensure the command isn’t entered as text in your document), switch to Command Mode (say “Command Mode”).  In Command Mode, dictation is paused, and you will see a dark icon of a crossed-out cursor. To return to dictating, say “Dictation Mode”.

You can use Voice Control to format your dictated text using commands. For instance, say “Select {word or phrase}”, then “Bold that”.

Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings are managed by someone else (an IT department or administrator for example). If so, you will need to contact them to access these settings or for help.