Talk to Arro
How you start talking depends on your microphone mode, set under Microphone.1
Start talking
In push to talk mode (the default), hold your push-to-talk key (Right Ctrl by default on Windows, Left
Command + Option on a Mac) while you speak. In always-on mode, start talking. The icon lights up while it
listens.
2
Speak your request
Talk naturally, for example “what does this error mean?”. Audimate replies out loud. To interrupt, start talking and
it stops to listen.
3
Mute when you need quiet
Click the mic button on the dynamic dock, or press Ctrl+Shift+M (the Control key on a
Mac too, not Command). Muting silences your mic everywhere, screen recordings included.
google.com as “google dot com”.
Arro can briefly acknowledge your request while it works.
If the answer is ready first, it starts with the answer. The reply goes straight to the answer or next step without
repeating the acknowledgement. Longer tasks still include useful progress updates.
What Arro does
Most of what you can ask for falls under one of three pillars.Work
Run a task in the background, or replay a workflow you saved.
Guide
Answer about your screen, point things out, or coach you step by step.
Create
Build a spreadsheet, report, presentation, picture, track of music, or an app.
See Computer use for using your open apps and stopping control.
Arro can also edit an image you name or open a file in your usual app.
Drawing on your screen
While talking to Arro, hold the left mouse button and draw to show what you mean. Circle a region, draw an arrow, cross something out, or make another freehand mark. Your strokes stay as you drew them. On your screen, they match your chosen Arro cursor color with a white outline. Arro receives the same strokes in red with a white outline.
While drawing is active, clicks and drags go to Arro, so drawing over text does not select it
in the app underneath. The dock remains usable.
The underlying app keeps keyboard focus unless you open a dock keyboard control.
Nearby strokes made within about a second join the same drawing. An arrow’s shaft and head can
therefore share one screenshot. A drawing elsewhere starts a separate image. Each image is captured
when its drawing starts and referenced at that point in your spoken request, so Arro can distinguish
“move this” from “over here”. Each request can include up to six images from drawing or pointing.
A drawing lasts up to 30 seconds. At the limit, Arro stops adding strokes and shows a notice.
Release the mouse button, then start another stroke to continue.
To cancel an unfinished stroke, press the right mouse button while still holding the left button.
Released strokes stay attached to your request. Escape does not erase them.
Drawings stay on your screen until Arro finishes responding. If the microphone closes without
sending a request, those drawings disappear. The drawing notice says “Left click to draw. Right click
to cancel.” It does not display your transcript.
If capture fails, Arro shows “Some drawings could not be attached. Your spoken request will still be sent.”
Arro receives your words without the failed drawings. Repeat your request with a fresh drawing.
Pointing at things
Point your cursor and say “this” or “here” to send Arro a screenshot with a small red circle at that spot. The circle appears only in the image Arro receives, with no indicator on your screen. Once you start drawing, further pointing words add no circles to that request, including pauses between strokes. Drawing and pointing captures are unavailable during screen recording, while typing a request, or while Arro is hidden. If you already have text selected, Arro can also receive that selection with your request. Text selected in a password or other sensitive field is never read. Arro can also look closely at one part of your screen to read something small, like fine print or one value in a dense table. Editing a picture already open on your screen works this way. To turn off drawing and pointing captures, open Arro → General in settings and switch off Draw on your screen while talking. Arro still works without it. The setting is saved per device.Microphone
Open the user menu and, under Arro, choose Microphone. The gear button on the dynamic dock opens the same settings. These apply to talking to Arro and to screen recordings alike, and they belong to this computer.
On a Mac, macOS has to allow the microphone before any of this works. The first time you talk to
Arro, a card appears in the dynamic dock with Allow, and Arro says
out loud that it needs the permission. The settings above cannot override the operating system. See
macOS permissions.
Continuous narration keeps the mic on for the whole recording, so you can talk hands-free while you
demonstrate. See Watch mode.
Keybinds
The Keybinds page sets Arro’s global shortcuts. They work anywhere, even when Audimate is not the active window. Click Record on a row, then press the key or combination you want. Single keys and modifier combinations both work, including two modifiers held together (the macOS push-to-talk default is one). Key names follow the platform: what Windows calls Ctrl, Alt and Win, macOS calls Control, Option and Command.Action button
Double-tap this key and Arro does whatever fits the moment.
Computer use takes priority whenever Arro is controlling your screen. Only a quick double-tap triggers
the key, so using it normally in shortcuts does nothing. Clear the keybind to disable it.
On Windows, while the action button is set to a Shift key, Arro pauses the Sticky Keys shortcut
(pressing Shift five times) so it cannot interrupt you, and puts it back when you close Arro or
rebind to another key. If you already use Sticky Keys, Arro leaves your setting alone. macOS has
no equivalent shortcut, so there is nothing to pause there.
Type a prompt
Opens a text box on the dynamic dock with the cursor ready, so you can type to Arro instead of speaking. Press Enter to send, or Esc to put it away, which works even after you have clicked into another window. When the dock is expanded, a send button and an × appear too. Closing the box clears it, so it always opens fresh. Text you have typed sticks around while the box stays open, including while the dock collapses and expands. Arro does not listen to your mic while the box is open. While Arro is recording your screen, the box becomes a note field instead: what you send is added to the recording’s narration, the same as speaking while you record, and Arro does not reply.Personalize Arro
The General page tailors how Arro looks and sounds. Manage apps and expertise in Plugins.
Turning off Show Arro cursor hides every cursor form, including thinking and speaking.
Highlights, screen markers, and the dock stay visible. The choice is saved on this device.
Sound effects have their own volume, separate from Arro’s speaking voice. The
timer alarm is the one exception to switching them off: you asked
for it, so it rings anyway.
How hard Arro thinks
Open Arro settings → Models in the web or desktop app. Your models saves choices to your account across devices.- Arro is the model Arro thinks with while you work together, and the one that reads back the recordings you make.
- Background work is the model behind every job Arro runs without you watching: background tasks, workflow runs, and scheduled ones. Nobody is waiting on these, so a better model here thinks for longer rather than answering faster, and may use more of your monthly usage.
Both selectors start on Fast on every plan, and upgrading does not move them for you. They stay
on the page whatever plan you are on and tell you which plan opens them. If your workspace changes
plan, Arro applies the plan’s available settings and workspace policies. Your saved choice returns when both allow it.
Workspace policies
Owners and admins manage model access under Workspace settings → Policies. Models shows your personal choices, subject to these workspace policies. “The active workspace changed. Reopen settings in the intended workspace.” means a request outlived a workspace switch. Reopen the settings page in the intended workspace before trying again. After a workspace upgrades, your desktop home page shows a notice beneath the greeting. Review models opens your model preferences. Neither opening Models nor changing a preference dismisses the notice. Choose Dismiss to clear it for your account across devices. Teammates dismiss their own notices, and a later upgrade shows another notice. The picture dials on the same page are a separate ladder with their own plan levels, so Better there does not mean the same plan as Better here. See making pictures. Music quality sets how music is made; it has one option today.When Arro starts fresh
Arro’s conversation belongs to the account and workspace you are in. Signing out, or switching workspace, clears the conversation and any drawings, and starts a new conversation. It also closes open picture or music windows, so a track that is playing stops.Nothing you have already made is lost. Every picture and
track Arro makes is written to your Documents folder the moment it is finished, so it is
a file on your computer before the switch and still a file on your computer after it. You will find them all in
Creations. Only work still in progress is abandoned.
Turn it off
The Enable Arro toggle at the top of the General page turns Arro on or off, hiding the Arro icon immediately. This belongs to this computer, so switching Arro off here leaves it on elsewhere.Usage
Voice sessions draw from your workspace’s monthly usage, the same usage chat and automation draw on. Audio is metered at a higher rate than text, so a long spoken conversation uses more of the month than a text-only chat. Making or editing a picture also uses more than a typical chat message, and a track of music uses more again.Related
The dynamic dock
Where Arro lives: background tasks, coaching, and timers in one place.
Desktop app
Computer use, allowed sites and folders, and approval modes.
Plan limits
What each plan includes, and what draws on monthly usage.