---
title: "Voice & Media"
description: "Use hands-free Voice Mode, configure local transcription and speech, and turn audio or video files into searchable material."
version: "Noema 3.1+"
platforms: ["iPhone", "iPad", "Mac", "Vision Pro"]
reviewed: "July 20, 2026"
canonical: "https://noemaai.com/docs/voice-and-media"
---

# Voice & Media

Speech recognition, spoken responses, Voice Mode, and media transcription.

## Choose a transcription engine

| Engine | Data path |
| --- | --- |
| Apple Speech | May use Apple services unless on-device recognition is available and required. |
| WhisperKit | Runs a downloaded Whisper model locally with Apple-optimized inference. |
| whisper.cpp | Runs compatible Whisper models locally through the native runtime. |
| Audio-language model | Sends the required media to a configured remote audio endpoint. |

> Open Settings → Speech & ASR. Off-grid Mode requires an on-device transcription path.

## Voice Mode

The transcript and generated response remain in the current conversation.

1. Noema listens for speech and the selected ASR engine produces a transcript.
2. The active chat model generates a response.
3. The selected voice engine speaks the answer.
4. The session returns to listening until you end Voice Mode.

## Voice output

- Neural Voice uses Noema’s optional local neural voice model on supported Apple-silicon devices with sufficient memory.
- System Voice uses operating-system speech synthesis and exposes speaking-rate control.
- If Neural Voice is unavailable or its model is missing, Noema falls back to System Voice.

## Audio and video imports

Supported media includes M4A, MP3, WAV, AAC, AIFF, CAF, MOV, MP4, and M4V. Noema transcribes spoken content so the result can be reviewed in chat or indexed in a local dataset.

## Troubleshooting

- Check microphone and speech-recognition permissions.
- Confirm local Whisper or Neural Voice model downloads are complete.
- Keep enough free storage and memory for long media.
- Review names, numbers, and specialized terminology in every transcript.
- Off-grid Mode blocks remote speech and audio endpoints.

## Related documentation
- [Datasets & RAG](https://noemaai.com/docs/dataset-integration)
- [Privacy & Network Activity](https://noemaai.com/docs/privacy-and-network-activity)
- [Support](https://noemaai.com/docs/support)