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FluidVoice gives you three distinct ways to put your voice to work. Direct Dictation gets raw speech on screen as fast as possible. Edit Mode sends your dictation through an AI layer that can rewrite your selected text, or add text to your textbox based on the instruction you speak. Command Mode turns your voice into a macOS automation agent: speak an instruction, and FluidVoice executes it. Switch between modes in an instant using dedicated hotkeys, so you can match your input method to whatever you’re working on. You can also find the option to switch between modes on the overlay itself. To view a clear comparison between the modes, check out the Comparison box at the bottom of the page.

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Direct Dictation

Direct Dictation is the fastest path from voice to text. FluidVoice transcribes your speech using the local model you’ve selected in Voice Engine page, and types the result straight into whichever textbox your cursor is in — no AI post-processing, no rewriting, no delay beyond the transcription itself.Use Direct Dictation when speed matters more than polish: coding, prompting, quick notes, chat messages, terminal commands, or any situation where you want exact control over what lands on screen.Example — dictating a quick note:You say:
“add milk eggs and bread to the shopping list”
FluidVoice types:
The raw transcript lands exactly as spoken.

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How to activate

Press your primary dictation hotkey (set during onboarding, or in Settings → Global Hotkey). The live preview overlay appears while you speak. Release the hotkey (or press it again, depending on your hotkey mode) to finish and type the result.
Direct Dictation is the default mode when AI Enhancement is set to Off. Enable Fluid Intelligence or a cloud provider in Settings → AI Enhancement to switch to AI-assisted Write Mode automatically.

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Switching Between Modes

You can easily switch between different modes by selecting the mode you want on the FluidVoice overlay itself. If you want custom hotkeys to activate each mode separately, or you want a custom hotkey for a secondary dictation shortcut, the steps below walk you through the process.
1

Set up your custom hotkeys

Open Settings → Global Hotkey. Assign separate hotkeys for your primary dictation shortcut, Edit Mode, and your Command Mode. You can also configure a secondary dictation shortcut that uses a different prompt profile.
2

Use the correct hotkey for the task

Press your **primary dictation hotkey (default right ⌥) to start a Direct Dictation. Press your Command Mode hotkey (default right ⌘) ** to start a Command Mode session. Press your Edit hotkey (default ⌥R) after selecting text to rewrite it.
3

Watch the overlay

The live preview overlay shows which mode is active and displays your transcription in real time as you speak. Release the hotkey to finish.

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Mode Comparison

Edit Mode, and Command Mode require AI enhancement enabled, and an AI provider selected. Right now, Fluid Intelligence only works with Direct Dictation Mode, and not with Edit Mode, and Command Mode.

Direct Dictation

Raw speech-to-text. No AI, no rewriting. Maximum speed, full control over output. Best for code, chat, quick notes.

Edit Mode

AI-polished dictation. Cleans filler words, fixes grammar, adapts tone. Also rewrites selected text on command.

Command Mode

Voice-driven Mac automation. Launches apps, runs Shortcuts, manages files, creates reminders — all from natural speech.