How do you use Voice Access in Windows 11?

To use Voice Access, wake it with the phrase "Voice access wake up", then speak. Commands run when Voice Access is listening, and dictated words go into the text box you are in. You can put it back to sleep with "Voice access sleep", and you can see the commands by saying "What can I say". This works after you have turned Voice Access on, as the setup steps describe.

Start by waking Voice Access, then use the sleep and listening states

Voice Access always has a state, and the state decides whether your words become commands. In the listening state, it carries out the valid commands it recognizes. Say "Voice access wake up" or "Unmute" to make it listen, and "Voice access sleep" or "Mute" to put it back to sleep ¹. Pressing Alt+Shift+B does the same switch from the keyboard ².

The third state is microphone off. In that state Voice Access does not listen to any of your speech ³. To switch it back on, click the Microphone button or press Alt+Shift+C ⁴. Use microphone off when a room is noisy and you do not want stray words acted on. Do not confuse it with sleep: sleep waits for the wake phrase, while microphone off needs the Microphone button or Alt+Shift+C.

The wake word is the phrase that makes Voice Access listen. Microsoft's pages call it the voice access wake word, "Voice access wake up" ¹. See how to wake Voice Access for more on the phrase.

Read the transcription before you say the next command

While Voice Access listens, it shows what it heard on the bar. Microsoft says that while Voice access is listening, the words you speak appear as a transcription on the left side of the bar ⁵. Check that transcription before you give the next command, because a misheard word shows up there first.

Dictate text, and say Type or Dictate before a command word

Dictation writes what you say into the field you are in. Voice Access also treats some spoken commands as text when you need them as words. Microsoft says that saying Type or Dictate before a command inserts that command as text rather than running it ⁶. So if you need to write the words "delete that" into a document, say "Type delete that" rather than "Delete that".

Click things by number, and ask for the command list

You do not need to memorize the commands. Saying "What can I say" or "Show all commands" displays the commands you can use ⁷. To click something on screen without a mouse, say "Show numbers". Numbered labels appear over the items on screen, and you can click any of them by saying its number ⁸.

Commands fall into groups. Microsoft's command list covers apps and controls, overlays, the mouse and keyboard, selecting, editing and formatting text, and dictating punctuation and symbols. The full walkthrough is in the Voice Access commands guide.

Fix mistakes by voice with correct that

Repairing a sentence by voice is quicker than reaching for the keyboard. Saying "Correct that" corrects the selected text or the last dictated text ⁹. Microsoft's list also has commands to delete and select that text, which are covered in the commands guide. Long dictation still needs a careful read on screen, sentence by sentence.

It depends: wait time and voice typing can change the result

If Voice Access acts before you finish a phrase, adjust the wait time in its settings, which the settings question covers. The guide explains how Voice Access and Windows voice typing differ when both are installed.

Voice Access also needs a usable microphone. If it does not hear you, check the privacy setting described in how to allow microphone access on Windows before you change anything else.

What to do

1. Say "Voice access wake up", then say "What can I say" to see the commands the list covers.
2. Dictate one sentence, read the transcription on the bar, and correct it with "Correct that" if needed.
3. Practice "Show numbers" on a web page before you rely on it for clicks.
4. When you are finished, say "Voice access sleep", or use Alt+Shift+B, so that stray speech is not acted on.

For the shortcut in more detail, read the Voice Access keyboard shortcut question. If commands are not recognized at all, see why Windows Voice Access is not working. For custom phrases, see custom commands in Windows Voice Access.

Terms used here are explained in the glossary: Windows Voice Access, wake word and dictation. For the full set of Windows guides, start at the Windows dictation overview.