Voice and the wake word

Needs: Iris on a Mac (or Windows PC), or an iPad. On iPhone and Android you use voice notes instead (see the end of this page).

Say her name #

Iris listens for her name, "Iris". You can put it anywhere in the sentence:

  • "Iris, what time is it?"
  • "What time is it, Iris?"
  • "Hey Iris, play some music."

When she hears her name, she answers or gets to work.

Follow-ups need no name #

After she answers, you have about 30 seconds to carry on without saying her name. "Iris, set a timer for 10 minutes." ... "Actually make it 12."

Stopping her #

Say "stop" while she is talking, and she stops mid-sentence. "Cancel" works too. You never have to wait for her to finish.

Talking over music #

When music is playing, she can still hear you. When you say her name, the music goes quieter so she can listen. "Iris, pause", "Iris, skip this" and "Iris, stop" work straight away while a song plays.

When she mishears #

Iris uses a speech-to-text service to turn your voice into words. It is set up for English, including Indian English. Indian names are fine. Whole sentences in Hindi or other languages may not come through well.

Her name is short and easy to mishear. It can come through as "virus" or "eyes". During setup she learns how your voice sounds when you say her name. If she stops responding to her name:

  1. Click the Iris icon in the menu bar.
  2. Choose Setup and microphone check...
  3. Do the "Teach her your voice" step again.

This is also the quickest way to find out why she seems deaf.

Things that help #

  • Speak at a normal distance from your Mac. She cannot hear you from across a room.
  • Say the whole request in one go: "Iris, remind me to call the bank tomorrow at 10."
  • If you would rather type, press Command + Shift + C and type to her in the chat.

Muting the microphone #

To stop Iris listening completely, press Command + Shift + M, or click the Iris icon in the menu bar and choose Mute microphone. The microphone button in the chat window does the same. She hears nothing until you turn it back on.

How chatty she is #

Iris sometimes speaks up on her own, for example to greet you, or when she notices something. To change how often, open the Control Panel (Command + Shift + P) and change How often she speaks up: Never, Rarely, Normal or Often. You can also change Voice to Calm, Normal or Lively.

When she runs out for the day #

Each account has a daily allowance. When it runs out, she tells you, for example "I'm out of voice for today, but I can still show you things on screen". It resets at 5:30 am India time.

On iPad #

Iris lives on the iPad screen and listens for her name the same way. Say "Iris" and ask. Follow-ups need no name for 30 seconds. She answers out loud.

On iPhone and Android #

Tap the mic button in the chat to record a voice note, then send it. Iris writes out what you said and replies in the chat. There is no hands-free wake word on phones.

What to test #

  • Her name at the start, middle and end of a sentence.
  • Follow-ups inside and outside the 30 seconds.
  • "Stop" while she is talking, and while music is playing.
  • Times she acted when you were not talking to her, or ignored you when you were. Note the time and what you said.