Speaking and listening
Press the microphone and talk instead of typing; tick Read aloud and Bobbie speaks back. Which voice, how to change it, and what happens to the recording.
Updated 28 September 20261 min read
The short version. Press the microphone in the ask box and speak; release, and your words appear and are sent. Tick Read aloud and Bobbie's answers are spoken. Change the voice under Settings, Assistant.
Speaking to Bobbie
- Press the microphone beside Ask me anything. The first time, your browser asks permission; allow it.
- Speak. "What's on tomorrow for Maya?"
- Release, or press again. Your words appear in the box and go to Bobbie.
It works on the phone and on a computer, and in the chat panel as well as on Today. If you would rather send a voice note than dictate, WhatsApp is the place: see photos, PDFs and voice notes.
Bobbie speaking
Tick Read aloud under the ask box and every answer is spoken as well as shown. Handy in the kitchen, or in the car with the phone on the dashboard. Untick to stop.
Choosing the voice
Settings, Assistant, Voice. Press Hear it on each to try them, then Save voice. The choice applies to the whole household.
What is really happening
What you say is turned into text by OpenAI's transcription on our behalf and then handled like anything you type; Bobbie's spoken replies are made by the same provider. Neither the recording nor the text is used to train anything. Spoken replies are kept as audio for up to fourteen days so repeats are instant, then deleted.
Questions people ask
- Why does the browser ask for microphone permission?
- Because it needs it to hear you. Allow it once and it remembers. Bobbie only listens while the microphone button is held or lit; there is no wake word listening in the background unless you turn that on in Settings.
- Can I choose a different voice?
- Yes, in Settings, Assistant. Several voices are there to hear before you choose, and the choice is the household's.