For users with mobility impairments, or those who simply prefer working hands-free, macOS includes an incredibly powerful accessibility feature called Voice Control. Unlike Siri, which is designed for quick web searches or simple commands, Voice Control allows you to completely navigate the operating system, dictate complex text, click buttons, and interact with menus using nothing but your voice.
When active, Voice Control essentially maps every clickable element on your screen to a spoken command, making a mouse and keyboard entirely optional.
How to Enable Voice Control
Before you can start talking to your Mac, you must activate the feature and allow it to download a small speech recognition file for offline processing.
- Click the Apple logo () in the top-left corner of your screen.
- Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older versions of macOS).
- Scroll down the left sidebar and click on Accessibility.
- Under the “Motor” section, click on Voice Control.
- Toggle the switch at the top to turn Voice Control On.
The first time you enable this, your Mac may take a few moments to download the necessary files. Once it is ready, a small microphone icon will appear on your screen, indicating that it is actively listening.
Basic Navigation Commands
Voice Control uses natural language processing, meaning many commands are highly intuitive. Here are some of the fundamental commands to get you started:
- “Open [App Name]” – e.g., “Open Safari” or “Open System Settings”.
- “Quit [App Name]” – Closes the currently active application.
- “Click [Item Name]” – e.g., “Click File” to open the File menu, or “Click Send” to hit a send button on an email.
- “Scroll down” / “Scroll up” – Scrolls the currently active window.
- “Go to sleep” – Pauses Voice Control so it stops interpreting your casual conversation as commands. (The microphone icon will turn grey).
- “Wake up” – Reactivates Voice Control.
Using Number Grids for Complex Navigation
Sometimes, you need to click on something that does not have a clear name, such as a random image on a webpage or a complex map. For these situations, Voice Control uses a brilliant feature called the Number Grid.
- Say “Show grid”.
- Your screen will instantly be divided into a grid of numbered squares.
- Say the number of the square where you want to click (e.g., “14”).
- If the area is still too broad, the grid will shrink and subdivide that specific square into smaller numbered boxes.
- Once the desired item is contained within a small square, say the new number.
- To simulate a mouse click, say “Click [number]”.
- To hide the grid, say “Hide grid”.
Using Item Numbers for Menus
If you are looking at a busy screen with dozens of icons (like a crowded desktop or a complex toolbar in Photoshop), you can ask Voice Control to assign a temporary number to every clickable item.
- Say “Show numbers”.
- A small number tag will appear next to every single icon, link, and menu item on your screen.
- Simply say the number you want to interact with (e.g., “Click 42”).
- The numbers will disappear after the click. You can say “Hide numbers” to dismiss them manually.
Dictation and Text Editing
Voice Control is also a full-fledged dictation tool. Whenever your cursor is inside a text field (like a Word document or an email), you can simply start speaking naturally to type.
- Speak punctuation explicitly (e.g., “Hello comma how are you question mark”).
- “Delete that” – Deletes the last phrase you dictated.
- “Select [word]” – Highlights a specific word you just typed.
- “Replace [word] with [new word]” – Fixes dictation errors instantly.
- “Capitalize that” – Capitalizes the word you just selected.
How to Learn More Commands
Because Voice Control is so comprehensive, it is impossible to memorize every command immediately. Fortunately, Apple built a cheat sheet directly into the tool.
At any time while Voice Control is active, simply say “Show commands”. A searchable window will appear on your screen categorizing every possible command you can use, from basic navigation to advanced text editing.