Short answer: To do a voice search in Perplexity, put your cursor in the Perplexity search box, then dictate your question. On iPhone, tap the microphone button on the Voice Keyboard Pro keyboard and speak; on Mac, hold your hotkey and talk while the Perplexity tab or app is focused. Your spoken words appear as text in the search field, and you press enter to run the query.
Perplexity is built for asking real questions in plain language, which makes it a natural fit for voice search. Speaking a question is often faster and more complete than typing one, especially when the query is long or full of names and technical terms. The catch is that Perplexity itself does not include a universal voice input on every surface, so the most reliable way to talk to it is with a dedicated dictation tool that works in any text field. Below is exactly how to use your voice to ask Perplexity on both iPhone and Mac, plus how to keep the results accurate.
Why use voice to search Perplexity
Perplexity answers conversational, multi-part questions well. Things like "compare the battery life of the three phones I'm looking at and cite recent reviews" are tedious to type but easy to say. Voice input lets you front-load all that context in one breath, so Perplexity has more to work with and you get a better answer on the first try.
Voice is also the right tool when your hands are busy, when you're reading something on a second screen, or when the question contains words you'd rather not spell out. Once dictation lands the text accurately in the search box, the rest of the Perplexity experience is unchanged.
How to use voice search in Perplexity on iPhone
On iPhone, the cleanest approach is a keyboard with a built-in microphone so you can dictate inside the Perplexity app or perplexity.ai in Safari, exactly where you type. With the Voice Keyboard Pro iPhone keyboard installed and enabled, every text field becomes voice-ready.
- Open the Perplexity app, or go to perplexity.ai in your browser.
- Tap the search box so the keyboard appears.
- If Voice Keyboard Pro is not already active, tap the globe key to switch to it.
- Tap the microphone button on the keyboard and ask your question out loud.
- Tap the microphone again to stop. The transcribed question fills the search field.
- Review the text, then tap the send or return arrow to run the search.
Because the dictation happens at the keyboard layer, it works the same way in the Perplexity app, in Safari, and anywhere else you might want to paste a query. You are never locked into one app's voice feature.
Speaking a follow-up or refining a query
Perplexity searches are conversational, so you'll often want to refine. Just tap into the follow-up box and dictate again. If you need to fix one word in a long question before sending, Voice Edit lets you speak the change instead of fiddling with the cursor. You can say something like "change Berlin to Munich" and the keyboard applies it in place, which is far easier than tapping between tiny words on a phone.
How to use voice search in Perplexity on Mac
On Mac, Perplexity runs in your browser or in its desktop app, and the most flexible way to dictate is a system-wide voice tool that types wherever your cursor is. The Voice Keyboard Pro Mac app lives in the menu bar and works in any application, so you can dictate into Perplexity the same way you would into Mail or a code editor.
- Open Perplexity in your browser tab or the desktop app.
- Click the search box so the text cursor is active.
- Hold down your Voice Keyboard Pro hotkey and ask your full question.
- Release the hotkey. Accurate text appears in the search box, usually in under a second.
- Glance over it, then press Enter to run the search.
The hold-to-talk pattern is ideal for search because there's no mode to toggle and no separate window to manage. You stay on the Perplexity page the entire time, speak your query, and submit it. For longer research prompts, this saves real time over typing, and there's nothing to download or configure beyond granting microphone access.
Asking detailed research questions
Perplexity rewards specificity. With voice, you can naturally include constraints, sources, and formatting requests in a single spoken query, for example: "Summarize the main arguments for and against this approach, focus on peer-reviewed sources from the last two years, and give me a short bulleted list." Speaking that is much faster than typing it, and the dictation lands it cleanly so Perplexity gets the full intent.
Getting names, jargon, and acronyms right
Search queries are full of proper nouns: product names, companies, people, technical terms, and acronyms. Generic dictation tends to mangle these, which forces you to stop and correct before you can even run the search. Voice Keyboard Pro includes Smart Vocabulary, a personal dictionary with replacement rules that learns the specific terms you use most. Add the product names and jargon you research often, and they'll come out correct every time, so your Perplexity queries don't get derailed by a misheard brand or model number.
Transcription runs on fast cloud infrastructure using advanced, Whisper-class AI, so accuracy and speed are the same on a new Mac and an older one, and identical between your iPhone and your laptop. That consistency matters when you're moving a research thread from your phone to your desk.
Searching Perplexity in another language
If you read or research across languages, the iPhone keyboard's two-way live translation works while you dictate across 24 languages. You can speak in your native language and have the query land in another, then read Perplexity's answer back through translation. It's a practical way to run a voice search in a language you understand better than you type.
A note on privacy
Because your questions can reveal what you're working on, it's worth knowing what happens to your audio. With Voice Keyboard Pro, the servers store only operational pings, such as the fact that a transcription occurred, for billing and reliability. No audio and no transcript content is stored, and your dictation history stays on your device. Your Perplexity queries are yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Perplexity have its own voice search?
Perplexity offers voice features on some of its surfaces, but they are not available everywhere and behavior changes over time. Using a dictation tool that works in any text field is the most consistent way to talk to Perplexity, because it puts your spoken words directly into the search box no matter which app or browser you're using.
Can I use voice search in Perplexity on both my iPhone and Mac?
Yes. Voice Keyboard Pro covers both platforms with one subscription. Dictate into the Perplexity app on iPhone using the keyboard's microphone button, and dictate into Perplexity in your Mac browser by holding a hotkey. The transcription quality is identical on both.
What if my question has a brand name or acronym Perplexity needs?
Add those terms to Smart Vocabulary, the built-in personal dictionary. Once a name or acronym is saved, it transcribes correctly every time, so your search query stays accurate and you don't have to retype it before pressing enter.
Is dictating my Perplexity question private?
Yes. No audio and no transcript content is stored on the servers; only operational pings for billing and reliability are kept, and your dictation history remains on your device.
Is there a free way to try this?
There's a free tier with daily limits and no time limit, so you can run voice searches in Perplexity right away. Pro is $4.99/month or $34.99/year and covers both Mac and iPhone. You can grab the Mac app from the download page or get the iPhone keyboard from the App Store.
The Bottom Line
Voice search in Perplexity comes down to one thing: getting your spoken question accurately into the search box. On iPhone, tap the keyboard mic and speak; on Mac, hold a hotkey and talk. With accurate transcription, Smart Vocabulary for the names and jargon you use, and privacy that keeps your queries on your device, asking Perplexity with your voice becomes faster and more natural than typing, on whichever device you happen to be holding.