Voice and calls

Talk to your bots instead of typing, have them read replies aloud, or call them.

Set up a voice provider

Open Settings → Voice, pick a Provider and add its API key:

ElevenLabs, OpenAI and Fish Audio can speak and transcribe.
Cartesia speaks only.
Self-hosted uses your own OpenAI-compatible speech server, such as Kokoro or Whisper. Enter its Server URL, and set its Speech model and Transcription model under Models.
macOS uses the voices installed on the Mac running your server, with no key. It appears only when the server runs on a Mac.

Then choose Change next to Voice to pick a voice, and use Hear a sample to check it.

Voice settings apply to every space. A space can customize them in its settings.

Talk instead of typing

Hold the microphone in the composer and speak; release to send. Slide up to lock recording so you don't have to keep holding.

Hear replies

To hear one reply, choose Speak this reply on the message.
To hear every reply from a bot, choose its name at the top of the chat, open Activity, and turn on Read replies aloud. The Voice next to it overrides your default voice for that bot. On mobile, Read replies aloud is in the bot's Chat settings, under Advanced.

Call a bot

In a chat with one bot, leave the message box empty and choose Call (where Send usually sits). If no voice is set up yet, this opens Settings → Voice first.

Talk as you would on the phone. You can talk over the bot to cut it off. During a call you can Mute, open the Transcript, or minimize the call and keep using the app; Open call brings it back. To end it, choose Hang up, or say goodbye and the bot hangs up. Everything said on the call stays in the chat afterwards.

Live calls

With an OpenAI voice connection, calls are live: the bot answers at once in short spoken sentences, in the bot's Voice when the live voices include it.

When you ask for something that needs real work, such as checking your email, searching the web or using the computer, the bot starts it in the background, tells you it's on it, and tells you the result when it's done. The full result is posted in the chat.
If that work needs your approval, the bot asks you on the call; answer yes or no. Passwords and keys are never taken by voice: enter them on screen.
Work started on the call keeps going after you hang up and posts its result in the chat.
Live calls speak the app Language you chose in settings, even if you or the chat switch languages.

Without a live voice connection, calls work the regular way: the bot speaks its reply as it writes it, starting with the first sentence, so you hear what it is checking while it works.

If your server offers live calls without a key of your own, they use your plan's allowance and credits, like model use. When those run out, calls fall back to the regular way. See Account and billing.

Bots can call you

In the web and desktop apps, ask "call me at 5 to go over the day", or a bot may call when you've missed the same reminder several times. You'll see that the bot is calling you; choose Answer or Decline. A missed call shows Call back in the chat.

On mobile

Calls work the same way, and live calls play through the speaker. On Android, a call keeps going with the screen off.

To use your phone's own speech recognition and voices instead, with no key, set Source to This device in Settings → Voice. Calls then use the phone's voices and are not live. Pick a Device voice for each bot in its Chat settings, under Advanced.