# How do voice chats work in ZeroTwo?

> Talk to ZeroTwo out loud, choose a voice, mute yourself, interrupt, and hand work off while you speak. Also covers read aloud and where dictation fits.

Source: https://help.zerotwo.ai/en/articles/20001274-how-do-voice-chats-work-in-zerotwo
Section: ZeroTwo > Voice
Last updated: 2026-10-05

Voice chat lets you have a spoken conversation with ZeroTwo. You talk, ZeroTwo answers out loud, and what you both say appears as text in the chat. It is available in the web app, the desktop app, and the iPhone, iPad and Android apps.

## Three ways to use your voice

| Feature | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Voice chat | A live spoken conversation. ZeroTwo listens and replies aloud. |
| Dictation | Turns your speech into text in the message box. See [Voice dictation in ZeroTwo: your questions answered](https://help.zerotwo.ai/en/articles/12168547-voice-dictation-in-zerotwo-your-questions-answered). |
| Read aloud | ZeroTwo speaks a written reply to you. |

## Start a voice chat

1. Open a chat, or start a new one, and leave the message box empty.
2. Select the send button. With nothing typed, it reads **Start voice conversation**.
3. Allow microphone access if your browser or device asks, then start talking.

If you start from a chat you already have open, the voice chat joins that chat. Otherwise ZeroTwo creates a new task, first called **New voice chat**, and renames it from what you said. In **Settings** > **Shortcuts**, **Toggle voice** starts or stops voice mode. Its default is Ctrl+Shift+V and you can change it.

## During the chat

- **Watch the orb.** It moves as you and ZeroTwo speak. Select it to expand or collapse it.
- **Read along.** Your words and ZeroTwo's replies appear in the chat as you talk.
- **Mute yourself.** The microphone button in the message box is **Mute microphone** during a call. The speaker button next to it is **Mute voice audio** and silences ZeroTwo without ending the call.
- **Type instead.** Text you type and send during a call joins the conversation.
- **Interrupt.** Start talking and ZeroTwo stops and listens. Stopping its speech does not cancel work it has already started.
- **End the call.** Select the send button again (now **End voice conversation**), or say something like "hang up" or "end the voice chat".

If you open another page during a call, a small **Active voice chat** panel stays on screen with **Return to voice task**, **Mute** or **Unmute**, and **End voice**.

## What ZeroTwo can do while you talk

ZeroTwo hands requests that need tools or careful thought to the same agent that works in your task. That agent can use its enabled tools, files, apps and research, within its permissions. ZeroTwo keeps spoken updates brief and does not read code or tables aloud unless you ask; the full results stay in the task for you to read. Ending the call does not cancel work already accepted. To cancel it, say "cancel the task".

## Choose a voice

1. Open **Settings** and choose **Voice**.
2. Under **Voice chat**, select the button on the **Voice** row, which shows the current voice.
3. In **Choose a voice**, select the orb to hear a preview, browse with the arrows or dots, then choose **Done**. **Cancel** keeps your old voice.

During a call you can open the same dialog from the **Voice settings** button at the top of the chat. A new voice applies from your next voice chat. There are 22 voices: Alloy, Ash, Ballad, Beacon, Bossa, Cedar, Cinder, Coral, Delta, Echo, Gleam, Marin, Meridian, Quartz, Ripple, Sage, Shimmer, Stone, Tempo, Verse, Vesper and Willow. If you have not chosen one, ZeroTwo uses Marin.

## Other settings on the Voice page

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Microphone | Used for voice chat and dictation. |
| Speaker | Used for voice chat on this device. If your browser cannot choose an output, the row says the output is controlled by your system. |
| Voice chat hotkey (desktop) | Start voice chat from anywhere on your desktop. It shows **Off** until you set a shortcut. |
| Screen context (desktop) | Lets ZeroTwo inspect the foreground app when you refer to what is on your screen. macOS asks for access the first time ZeroTwo needs it. |
| Read aloud voice | The voice used when ZeroTwo reads a message to you. Select **Play** to hear a sample. |

## Read a reply aloud

Under a Chat reply, select **Read aloud**. While it plays the button becomes **Pause**. Replies written by the Work or Code agent do not have this button. If you do not see it on a Chat reply, make sure **Read aloud** is ticked under **Settings** > **Appearance** > **Action buttons**.

## Limits and things to know

- ZeroTwo records how long a voice conversation lasts but does not add a per-minute credit charge for it. Work ZeroTwo does for you in the task is billed like your other usage. See [How do credits work in ZeroTwo?](https://help.zerotwo.ai/en/articles/12642688-how-do-credits-work-in-zerotwo)
- A parent can turn voice mode off for a teen account. See [How do parental controls work in ZeroTwo?](https://help.zerotwo.ai/en/articles/12315553-how-do-parental-controls-work-in-zerotwo)
- The iPhone, iPad and Android apps have their own call screen, with a text box that says **Ask ZeroTwo…**, buttons to mute your microphone and ZeroTwo's audio, **Choose a voice** and **End voice conversation**. The Android app adds an **Interrupt and listen** button.