How to Use Voice Access in Windows 11 to Control Your PC

Voice Access is a powerful accessibility and productivity feature introduced in Windows 11. Unlike the legacy Windows Speech Recognition tool, Voice Access uses a modern, on-device speech recognition engine. It allows you to control your entire PC, dictate text, open applications, and simulate mouse clicks and keyboard presses entirely with your voice — all without requiring an active internet connection after the initial setup.

Whether you have mobility limitations, suffer from RSI, or simply want to dictate long emails while walking around your office, Voice Access provides comprehensive control over the Windows 11 environment.

How to Enable and Set Up Voice Access

Voice Access is built into Windows 11 (version 22H2 and newer), but it must be enabled and downloaded before first use.

1. Open Settings (press Win + I).
2. Navigate to Accessibility > Speech.
3. Under the Voice access section, toggle the switch to On.
4. The Voice Access bar will appear at the top of your screen. If this is your first time using it, you will be prompted to download a speech model (this takes a few minutes depending on your connection).
5. Once downloaded, select your preferred microphone from the Voice Access UI.

To make Voice Access start automatically when you log in, check the box for Start voice access before you sign in to your PC in the Accessibility settings.

Basic Navigation and Control

To start using Voice Access, simply say “Voice access wake up” or click the microphone icon on the top bar.

Here are the fundamental commands for navigating Windows:

• “Open [app name]” — Launches an application (e.g., “Open Edge”, “Open Word”).
• “Close window” — Closes the active window.
• “Minimise window” / “Maximise window” — Adjusts the current window state.
• “Switch to [app name]” — Brings a running application to the foreground.
• “Show Desktop” — Minimises all windows.
• “Scroll down” / “Scroll up” — Scrolls the active page or document.

To pause listening, say “Mute” or “Voice access sleep”.

Clicking on UI Elements

Voice Access uses two primary methods to help you click buttons, links, and menus without a mouse.

Method 1: Name the Element

If a button has a visible text label, you can simply say “Click [name]”. For example, saying “Click Start” opens the Start Menu. Saying “Click File” opens the File menu in an application.

Method 2: Show Numbers (The Grid System)

If an icon doesn’t have a clear name, or if there are multiple buttons with the same name, use the number overlay system.

1. Say “Show numbers”. Windows will place small numbered tags over every clickable element on the screen.
2. Say the number corresponding to the item you want to click (e.g., “Click 42”).
3. To clear the numbers, say “Hide numbers”.

Method 3: Show Grid (For Precise Mouse Movement)

For areas that don’t have distinct clickable UI elements (like a blank canvas in Paint or a specific spot on a map), use the grid overlay.

1. Say “Show grid”. A 3×3 grid appears over the screen, with each section numbered 1 to 9.
2. Say a number to zoom into that specific section (e.g., “3”). The grid shrinks to cover only that area, divided into 9 smaller sections.
3. Repeat until the target is isolated.
4. Say “Click [number]” to execute a mouse click at that precise location.

Dictating Text

Voice Access excels at text dictation. Whenever your cursor is in a text field (like a Word document, email, or search bar), simply start speaking. The system automatically transcribes your speech.

You can also dictate punctuation naturally:

• “Hello world comma how are you question mark“
• “New line” or “New paragraph“

Correcting Text

If Voice Access mishears a word, you can correct it entirely by voice:

1. Say “Correct [word]”. A numbered list of alternative words will appear.
2. Say the number of the correct word.
3. If the word isn’t listed, say “Spell that”, and a spelling window will open allowing you to dictate the word letter by letter (e.g., “Alpha, Bravo, Charlie”).

Selecting and Deleting Text

• “Select [word]” — Highlights a specific word.
• “Select previous [number] words” — Highlights the preceding text.
• “Delete that” — Deletes the last thing you dictated.
• “Delete [word]” — Deletes a specific word.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

You can execute any keyboard shortcut by voice. Simply say “Press” followed by the keys.

• “Press Control C” — Copies text.
• “Press Control V” — Pastes text.
• “Press Windows key Left arrow” — Snaps the window to the left.
• “Press Escape” — Sends the Esc key.

Learning More Commands

Voice Access has hundreds of commands. If you are ever unsure what to say, you can ask for help directly:

• Say “What can I say?” to open the comprehensive Voice Access command dictionary. This menu categorises commands for text editing, navigation, and window management.

Voice Access is a massive improvement over older Windows dictation tools. Because it processes speech locally on your device, it is fast, private, and works offline. With a bit of practice, you can navigate the entire Windows 11 OS and draft long documents without ever touching a physical keyboard or mouse.