Voice Control Guide — Hands-Free Mac Automation with Dottie
Dottie’s voice interface turns your Mac into a hands-free workstation. With 3 voice modes and 134 built-in tools, you can control your entire Mac without touching the keyboard. This guide covers setup, common commands, and tips for getting the most out of voice control.
Setting Up Voice
Voice is enabled by default. Press the global hotkey (Fn) to activate listening, speak your request, and Dottie processes it immediately. There are three voice modes:
- Push-to-Talk — Hold Fn, speak, release. Words appear at your cursor in any app.
- Chat — Click the mic in Dottie’s window. Your voice becomes a message to the AI with access to all 134 tools.
- Wake Word — Say “Hey Dottie” from anywhere. A floating overlay captures your speech hands-free.
The hotkey is configurable in Dottie’s settings. Most users keep the default, but power users often remap it to a key they can hit without looking.
Everyday Commands
Voice shines for tasks that would normally require multiple clicks or keystrokes. Dottie supports 134 tools across email, calendar, files, apps, and system control:
File Management
- “Move all screenshots from today to a folder called March Screenshots”
- “Find PDFs I downloaded this week”
- “Rename this file to quarterly-report-final”
App Control
- “Open Safari and go to GitHub”
- “Switch to Slack and message the engineering channel”
- “Close all Finder windows”
System Tasks
- “What’s using the most CPU right now?”
- “Empty the trash”
- “Turn on Do Not Disturb for two hours”
Communication
- “Send an email to John saying I’ll be late to the meeting”
- “Text my wife that I’m leaving work now”
- “Summarize my unread emails”
Tips for Better Recognition
- Speak naturally — Dottie understands conversational language, not rigid commands
- Be specific about targets — “the file on my Desktop” is better than “that file”
- Chain requests — “Open Terminal, navigate to my projects folder, and list what’s there”
When to Use Voice vs. Text
| Scenario | Best Input | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quick single tasks | Voice | Fastest — no typing, no window switching |
| Multi-step with review | Text | See output between steps, adjust as needed |
| Hands busy (cooking, exercising) | Voice (Wake Word) | Completely hands-free with “Hey Dottie” |
| Noisy environment | Text | More reliable than voice in loud settings |
| Dictation into apps | Voice (Push-to-Talk) | Words appear at cursor, works in any app |
Dottie supports both simultaneously — switch between them freely. For practical examples of voice-driven automation across file management, app control, and system tasks, see our guide on how to automate your Mac with AI.
Privacy
Voice processing happens through your configured model provider. If you’re using a local model via Ollama or MLX, audio transcription and processing stays entirely on your machine — zero network traffic. Cloud providers process audio on their servers but don’t retain it. You can verify local processing works by using Dottie with Wi-Fi turned off. For a full overview of Dottie’s architecture, privacy model, and all 134 tools, see What Is Dottie Desktop?.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Dottie's voice control work offline?
Yes — if you configure a local model via Ollama or MLX. Audio transcription and inference run entirely on your Mac with zero network traffic. Cloud-provider modes require internet.
What's the wake word for Dottie?
The default wake word is 'Hey Dottie.' You can disable wake-word mode entirely or rely on Push-to-Talk (Fn key) if you prefer non-always-listening use.
How accurate is Dottie's voice recognition on Mac?
Accuracy depends on your chosen model. Cloud providers like OpenAI Whisper deliver near-human transcription. Local models on Apple Silicon are slightly lower in accuracy but faster and fully private.
Can I remap the Dottie hotkey?
Yes. The default is Fn for Push-to-Talk, but any key can be remapped in Dottie's settings, including function keys, media keys, or modifier combinations.