# Talk to Plexii: hold to talk

> Press and hold the Plexii button, or ⌘⇧Space on a Mac, and speak. Your words land in the Plexii box to check, or in the text field you were typing in.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-voice
Section: Plexii assistant > Talk to Plexii
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

You can talk to Plexii instead of typing. Press and hold the Plexii button, say what you want, and let go. PlexiDesk turns your speech into text and puts it in the Plexii box so you can glance at it, fix anything it misheard, and send it. Nothing happens until you press `Enter`.

The same gesture also works as dictation: if you were typing in a note, a document or any other text field, your words are typed in there instead.

## Before you start

- **Every plan** includes hold to talk.
- **Set up transcription first.** Turning speech into text uses your transcription choice in **Settings** > **AI**: **Cloud** needs your own OpenAI key, **Local** needs no key. See [Choose how speech is transcribed: Cloud or Local](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-voice-transcription).
- **Allow the microphone.** The first time, your computer asks whether PlexiDesk may use the microphone. Allow it. On a Mac you can change this later in **System Settings** > **Privacy & Security** > **Microphone**.

## Talk to Plexii

1. Press and hold the round Plexii button at the bottom right of the screen. Its tooltip reads **Plexii — click to open, hold to talk**.
2. After a moment a chip above the button reads **Listening — release to review**, and a ring shows around the button. Speak.
3. Let go. The chip changes to **Transcribing…** while your words are turned into text.
4. The Plexii panel opens with your words in the box. Check them, edit if you need to, then press `Enter` to send.

A quick click on the button still just opens the panel. You need to hold it for a moment to start listening.

If you slide off the button while holding it, PlexiDesk treats that as letting go and still keeps what you said.

### Use the keyboard

On a Mac, hold `⌘` `⇧` `Space` instead of the button, speak, then let go. Releasing any of the three keys stops listening. The shortcut also works while the Plexii panel is open, when the Plexii button is hidden.

On Windows, hold the Plexii button.

### Cancel

Press `Esc` while the chip reads **Listening — release to review**. Nothing is kept and nothing is transcribed. If you switch to another app while holding, listening is cancelled too.

## Dictate into a text field

If the last thing you were typing in is a text field that is still on screen, such as a sticky note, a document, a spreadsheet cell or a search box, your words are typed straight into it at the cursor, exactly as transcribed. The Plexii panel does not open.

To talk to Plexii instead, start with its name: say **"Plexii, …"** or **"Hey Plexii, …"**. PlexiDesk removes the name and puts the rest in the Plexii box, even though you were in a text field.

## What you will see

- **Listening — release to review** in a chip above the Plexii button while the microphone is on.
- **Transcribing…** after you let go.
- Your words in the Plexii box, or in the field you were typing in.

If something goes wrong, a message appears in the same place. Click it to dismiss it. The usual ones are:

| Message | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Microphone access is blocked.** | Allow PlexiDesk in **System Settings** > **Privacy & Security** > **Microphone**, then try again. |
| **No microphone found. Connect one and try again.** | Connect or switch on a microphone. |
| **No audio captured. Hold the mascot a moment longer while you speak.** | You let go too soon. Hold the button while you speak. |
| **Nothing heard — try again a little closer to the mic.** | The recording had no words in it. Speak a little louder or closer. |
| **No OpenAI key set.** | Add an OpenAI key, or switch transcription to **Local**. See [Choose how speech is transcribed: Cloud or Local](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-voice-transcription). |

## Hands-free and spoken replies

Two settings change how hold to talk behaves, in **Settings** > **Advanced** under **Voice command (mic button)**:

- **Hands-free** keeps listening after you let go and stops by itself when you stop talking.
- **Speak the AI's reply aloud** reads a short version of Plexii's reply to anything you said out loud. It is on unless you turn it off.

See [Voice command settings](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-voice-command).

## Tips

- **Say it, then tidy it.** Because nothing is sent until you press `Enter`, you can talk freely and fix a word or two before sending.
- **Use the wake word in documents.** In a document, "Hey Plexii, summarise this page" goes to Plexii rather than being typed into the page.
- **Starting to speak stops a spoken reply.** If Plexii is reading a reply aloud, hold the button and it stops.

## Common questions

**I held the button and it just opened the panel.** Hold a little longer before you speak. A short press counts as a click.

**My words were typed into a note instead of the Plexii box.** You were last typing in that note. Start with "Plexii," to send your words to Plexii instead.

**Does Plexii act on what I say straight away?** No. Your words wait in the box until you press `Enter`, and any change Plexii suggests still arrives as a card you approve. See [Review and apply Plexii's changes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-proposals).

**Which key do I need?** Turning speech into text uses your transcription choice: **Cloud** needs an OpenAI key, **Local** needs none. Plexii's answer then runs on your credits or your Anthropic key, just as if you had typed. See [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys).

**Can I use it on Windows?** Yes. Hold the Plexii button. The keyboard shortcut is for Mac.

## Related tasks

- [Choose how speech is transcribed: Cloud or Local](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-voice-transcription)
- [Voice command settings](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-voice-command)
- [Meet Plexii, your assistant](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-assistant)
- [Ask Plexii a question](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-ask)
- [Voice note widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-voice-note)