How to customize Voice Control commands on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

With Voice Control, you can review the full list of commands, turn specific commands on or off, and even create custom commands.

Voice Control is available in these languages: English (United States), English (Canada), German (Germany), English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), English (India), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (United States), French (France), Japanese (Japan), Chinese (China Mainland), Chinese (Hong Kong)

View a list of commands

  1. Go to Settings.

  2. Select Accessibility, then select Voice Control.

  3. Select Customize Commands, then go through the list of commands.

    An iPhone showing the menu for Basic Navigation commands.

Commands are divided into groups based on their functionality, such as Basic Navigation and Overlays. Each group has a list of commands with the status listed next to it.

Turn a command on or off

  1. Select the command group that you want, such as Basic Navigation.

  2. Select the command, such as Open App Switcher.

  3. Turn the command on or off.

    An iPhone showing the command settings for Open App Switcher. Enabled and Confirmation Required are turned on, and there's a list of phrases you can say to use this command.

Turn on Confirmation Required to confirm each action before it's performed.

Create a custom command

You can create custom commands to perform various actions on your device, such as inserting text or performing a series of recorded commands.

  1. Go to Settings and select Accessibility.

  2. Select Voice Control, then select Customize Commands.

  3. Select Create New Command, then enter a phrase for your command.

    An iPhone showing the New Command settings, where you can enter a custom phrase.

  4. Give your command an action by choosing Action and selecting one of these options:

    An iPhone showing the Action menu for a new command, where you can select an action to perform when you speak the command.

    • Insert text: Lets you quickly insert custom text. This is a good option for information like email addresses or passwords since the text that's entered doesn't have to match what is spoken.

    • Run Custom Gesture: Lets you record your custom gestures. This is useful for games or other apps that require unique motions.

    • Run Shortcut: Provides you a list of Siri Shortcuts that can be activated by Voice Control.

    • Playback Recorded Commands: Lets you record a series of commands that can be played back with a single command.

  5. Go back to the New Command menu and select Application. Then choose to make the command available on any app or only within specified apps.

  6. Select Back, then select Save to finish creating your custom command.

Delete a custom command

  1. Go to Settings and select Accessibility.

  2. Select Voice Control, then select Customize Commands.

  3. Select Custom.

  4. Select the command that you want to delete, then select Edit.

  5. Select Delete Command, then select Delete Command again to confirm.

Published Date: