You can talk to a bot instead of typing, in any session. What you say becomes a normal message in the thread, so the bot’s tools, approvals and memory work exactly as they do when you type. The bot’s reply is read aloud while it appears on screen. Voice works the same on Allternit Desktop, on ai.allternit.com, and in the Allternit phone app (m.allternit.com).

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Quick voice

  1. In a session, with the message box empty, press the voice button (the waveform) next to Send.
  2. The message box turns into the voice bar. Start talking.
The bar shows:
  • The Allternit mark, which moves to show what’s happening: listening, thinking, or speaking.
  • A status line: “Listening”, “Thinking…”, or while the bot talks, “Talk any time. Start speaking to interrupt.”
  • Where voice runs: “Voice on this device” or “Voice on Allternit Cloud”.
  • Mute, Type instead (ends voice and puts you back in the message box), the full-screen button, and End voice.
While you talk, your words appear in a dashed bubble at the bottom of the thread (“Hearing you…”). When you finish, your message is sent and labeled Spoken in the thread. You don’t need to press anything when you’re done talking. Voice works out when you’ve finished your turn.

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Interrupting

Start talking while the bot is speaking and it stops, both the voice and the reply, just like pressing Stop. Then it listens to you. You can turn this off in Settings › Voice › Let me interrupt the bot by talking.

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Full-screen voice

Press the full-screen button on the voice bar, or the Talk button above a bot’s message box. The Allternit mark fills the screen, with:
  • A status label: LISTENING, THINKING or SPEAKING.
  • Live captions of what the bot is saying, or of what you’re saying while you talk.
  • The bot’s steps as small chips while it works, for example “Calendar: moved Site visit to 2:00 PM · Done”.
  • Captions on/off, Mute, and End. Camera and screen sharing are shown but not available yet.
  • Back to chat at the top returns to the thread with everything in place. Voice keeps going in the bar.
  • Talking with … shows which bot you’re talking to. In a bot’s thread you can pick another bot; its thread opens and you can start voice there.
On a phone the controls are larger and sit clear of the home indicator. If your device is set to reduce motion, the mark stays still and the status is shown in words.

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Settings › Voice

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Where voice runs

  • Automatic (recommended): uses this device when its voice engine is ready and keeps up with you, and Allternit Cloud otherwise.
  • This device: free on every plan. Your audio is processed on your computer and isn’t sent to Allternit.
  • Allternit Cloud: runs on Allternit’s servers. Easier on battery and on slower computers. Uses Cloud Voice minutes, and you need to be signed in.
On-device voice runs in Allternit Desktop. In a web browser or the phone app, voice runs on Allternit Cloud for now.

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Voice pack on this device

The first time you use on-device voice, Allternit Desktop downloads a voice pack (about 100 MB for the Light pack). This screen shows each pack’s size, whether it’s installed, and download progress. Get Accurate pack downloads a larger pack that understands speech better. If the voice engine isn’t installed yet, the screen says so.

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Voice

Pick how your bots sound. Press the play button next to a voice to hear a sample. Custom voices will need the speaker’s recorded, written permission on file; they aren’t available yet.

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Listening

  • Let me interrupt the bot by talking
  • Show live transcript: shows your words as you speak, in the thread and in full-screen captions.

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Cloud Voice this month

Plus includes 100 Cloud Voice minutes a month, then $0.08 a minute. See your usage under Settings › Usage.

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Privacy

  • On this device, audio is turned into text on your computer. Only the text of your message is sent, the same as if you’d typed it.
  • On Allternit Cloud, audio is sent to Allternit’s servers over an encrypted connection to run the conversation.
  • Either way, your spoken message is saved in the thread like any typed message.

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When something isn’t working

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Phone calls: Listen and Take over

When a bot answers a call on its phone number, the call shows in the number’s thread.
  • Listen lets you hear the call live without the caller hearing you.
  • Take over puts you on the call: your microphone is connected and the bot stops talking.
  • Hand back returns the call to the bot, which carries on with the conversation so far.
Allternit says at the start of every call that the caller is talking to an AI, and whether the call is recorded. For the call screen itself, see Calls and texts in threads.

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Pricing