How do you talk to Copilot with your voice on Windows?

To talk to Copilot on Windows, press Win+C or the Copilot key. If the Microsoft Copilot app is installed on your desktop, that starts a voice chat in quick view ¹. You then speak, and Copilot answers. The controls Microsoft describes are on-screen buttons, not a list of spoken commands, so you mute or end the chat by selecting them.

Talking to Copilot is a conversation, not typing. If your words belong in a document or an email, use a different tool. The full guide to Copilot's voice features explains which tool does which job.

Start a voice chat with Win+C or the Copilot key

These steps start a voice chat from the keyboard. They need the Microsoft Copilot app on your Windows desktop.

1. Press Win+C or the Copilot key.
2. Speak, and Copilot answers.
3. To mute or end the chat, select Mute/pause or End voice chat ².

Because the controls are buttons on the screen, you can use them with a mouse or a touch screen. Microsoft's pages do not describe spoken commands for these controls.

Start from Copilot Chat with the Voice icon

Inside Copilot Chat, Microsoft's steps for a voice conversation begin by selecting the Voice icon in the message composer ³. The first time you use voice in Copilot Chat, you may be asked to allow microphone access ⁴. Allow it, because voice input needs the microphone. If you said no earlier, change the microphone setting in your browser or in Windows.

Use this route when you are already in Copilot Chat, and you do not need the Win+C shortcut.

Start by saying Hey Copilot, if you turn it on

You can also start a voice chat by saying "Hey Copilot". The wake word is off by default, and you must switch it on in the Copilot app's settings ⁵. Microsoft says the PC detects the wake word on the device, using a service that keeps a 10-second audio buffer in memory, which is never recorded or stored ⁶.

If you prefer not to have a wake word listening at all, leave it off and use Win+C or the Voice icon.

Voice chats end on their own

A voice chat does not run forever. Microsoft says it ends automatically after one minute of inactivity, with a warning after 30 seconds ⁷. If the chat stops, start it again with Win+C or the Voice icon.

Talking to Copilot is not dictation

Dictation and a voice chat are different. Dictation writes your spoken prompt into the chat prompt box, where you read it and send it. A voice chat is a conversation, and Copilot answers out loud. The question on whether Copilot can take dictation covers the prompt box in detail. For text in other apps, use Windows voice typing.

What to check before you rely on it

Two things decide whether the spoken conversation works for you. The first is the microphone. Windows must allow apps to use it under Privacy & security, App permissions, Microphone ⁸. The second is your account type. Microsoft's table of Copilot voice features lists dictation under work or school accounts ⁹, so check which account you are signed in with. The question on why dictation is not working in Copilot works through both.

For a tool that controls the whole PC by voice rather than talking to an assistant, read about Voice Access and the question on what Voice Access is. The term for voice commands explains how spoken commands differ from a conversation.