What’s new in Voice Access

Auto Restart for Voice Access

In Windows 11, we have introduced auto restart for voice access. For people with limited mobility, this feature makes sure that voice access will restart automatically in the event of an issue, allowing them to resume using voice access as soon as possible. To reactivate voice access, users won't need to depend on other assistive technology or help from third parties. We are making it simpler to report crashes that cause voice access to restart automatically so that the team may investigate into them and work on fixes.

New Voice Access Command for Windows Search

We are introducing a new command for searching directly with Windows search. Users can now say the following commands to search for their desired application or file in Windows (“Entity” is replaced with whatever application or file you want to search.)

• Search "Entity",

• Search Windows for "Entity",

• Search for "Entity"

Voice shortcuts

You can now create your own commands using the voice shortcuts feature in voice access. These commands can be customized for single actions, such as opening a link, or multiple actions performed in sequence.

1. To start, activate voice access and say the command "Open voice shortcuts."

2. On the Voice shortcuts page, say Create new command button to initiate the command creation.

3. On the Create new shortcut page, dictate the name for the command, choose one or multiple actions, and enter the necessary information. For details, go to Use voice to create voice access shortcuts.

Voice access support on multiple displays

You can now use all voice access features across multiple displays. Previously, some features like number and grid overlays were limited to the primary display. The grid overlay feature has been improved to allow you to interact with the display you’re using and smoothly switch to another display when required. You can also use the drag & drop feature to move the files, apps, and documents between multiple displays.

• To switch to another display, invoke the grid overlay and say the command “<Monitor>.” Use the alphabet or NATO-phonetic identifier for the display you want to focus on. For example, saying "B" or "Bravo" would both be valid.

• You can also use the quick command "Mouse grid <monitor> <number> <number>" to move your mouse to a specific point on a monitor. For example, say “Mousegrid A 114” to direct your pointer to a specific point on monitor A. To learn more about this feature, go to Use voice access on a multi-display setup.

Voice access in global languages

Voice access is now available in additional languages, including German, Spanish–Spain, Spanish–Mexico, French–France and French–Canada. 

When voice access is turned on for the first time, you will encounter a prompt to download a speech model to enable on-device recognition of voice data. If voice access doesn’t find a speech model matching your display language, you can still choose to proceed ahead to use voice access in English–US. 

You can always switch to a different language by navigating to Settings>Language on the voice access bar. 

Dictate text with voice access for Narrator users

Narrator, the built-in screen-reading application in Windows, now integrates with voice access. Use voice access to dictate text and listen to what you’ve dictated. You can also give commands to the Narrator using your voice, like “Turn on Narrator” or “Read selection.”

To access the full list of Narrator commands supported with voice access, click the Help icon on the voice access bar and select “View all commands,” then choose “Narrator commands.”