Help

Install Iris

Iris is coming soon to the Chrome Web Store. When it is there, open its page and choose Add to Chrome.

Chrome asks once for site access, so that Iris can act on pages by voice alone. Then Iris's setup opens on a screen of its own.

To find Iris quickly, pin it to Chrome's toolbar: choose the puzzle-piece icon, then the pin next to Iris.

The guided setup

The setup speaks to you and can be finished with the keyboard alone. Use the arrow keys to move between answers, each one read aloud, and Enter to choose.

1. Your language. Iris works in 39 languages. Each says its own name; a letter jumps to the next one starting with it.
2. Do you use a screen reader? If you do, Iris stops talking during the setup and gives its replies to your screen reader afterwards. If not, you choose Iris's voice and how fast it speaks.
3. How you give commands, and whether Iris should also listen all the time.
4. The microphone. Iris opens Chrome's settings for Iris: go to Microphone and choose Allow.
5. Whether Iris uses AI.

Escape stops the narration, R repeats a step, and Back goes to the step before. If you use a larger text size, set it in Chrome first (Settings, Appearance, Font size): the setup and the settings follow it.

Three ways to give a command

All three always work, so use whichever suits you at the time.

• Say "Hey Iris" and then what you want, when always listening is on. You can add a name of your own to wake Iris.
• Push to talk: press Alt+Shift+D, speak, and press it again. In a text box, your words are typed there. Anywhere else, they are a command.
• Push to type: press Alt+Shift+C (on a Mac, Option+Shift+T) and type a command. No microphone needed.

Keyboard shortcuts

On a Mac, use Option where it says Alt.

If a key clashes with your screen reader or another program, change it at chrome://extensions/shortcuts. Say "Hey Iris, help shortcuts" to hear them all.

Ten things to try first

1. "Hey Iris, where am I?"
2. "Hey Iris, what's on this page?"
3. "Hey Iris, read this page", then "stop reading"
4. "Hey Iris, open BBC News", then "read me the headlines" and "open the second one"
5. "Hey Iris, read my emails", "open email 1", "reply saying I'll be there at six"
6. "Hey Iris, search for train times to Leeds"
7. "Hey Iris, play Ella Fitzgerald", then "pause"
8. "Hey Iris, open Amazon headphones", "read the results", "what's the rating?"
9. "Hey Iris, click sign in"
10. "Hey Iris, stop" stops anything Iris is doing, and "confirm" approves something it asked you about

The full list is in Iris's settings, under What you can say, with a box to find a command.

Tasks with several steps

For something without a ready-made command, such as "I want to buy a T-shirt in size L under £20 with good reviews", Iris makes a plan, reads it to you and starts when you say yes. It tells you as each step is done. When a choice is yours, such as a size that has sold out, it asks you, and what you say next is the answer.

Iris never pays for or orders anything. It asks you to say "confirm" before anything that can't be undone, and "stop" ends a task at once.

Sites with extra voice support

Iris works on most websites from what the page itself shows. These sites also have commands made for them:

• Search: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo.
• Email and documents: Gmail ("read my emails", "reply saying I'll be there at six") and Google Docs ("read this document").
• Video and music: YouTube, YouTube Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.
• Shopping: Amazon, with ratings, reviews and your basket. Iris never places an order.
• News: BBC News and Google News.
• Museums from home: Google Arts & Culture.
• Reference: Wikipedia.
• Messages: WhatsApp Web. Iris writes the message, and you say "send".
• Chess: Lichess and Chess.com. You say your moves, and Iris tells you your opponent's.

Iris is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these sites.

Good sound: stop Iris hearing itself

• Best: headphones or one earphone. A headset with a microphone is ideal.
• Next best: a microphone away from the speakers, with the volume moderate.
• Avoid: a laptop's own microphone with its speakers turned up, or a TV nearby while always listening is on.

If Iris ever hears itself, say nothing: it stops within a few commands and tells you. Then move the microphone or turn the volume down.

Signing in and passwords

Iris never types a password you say: people nearby could hear it, and speech can be misheard. Instead:

• Save your passwords in Chrome's password manager, then say "sign in with a saved password".
• Use a passkey where a site offers one: a fingerprint, your face or your phone.
• Or type the password on your keyboard or braille keyboard; "next field" and "click sign in" still work by voice.

Iris also won't type card numbers or security codes. Use Chrome's saved payment methods, or type them yourself.

Keeping Iris off a site

On a site you'd rather Iris never touched, such as your bank, say "Hey Iris, stay off this site". Iris won't read or act on it until you say "you can use this site". Settings, Site access lists them.

If something isn't working

• Iris doesn't hear you: a ! on Iris's toolbar icon means it can't hear. Open Iris's menu to see why; usually the microphone was unplugged or blocked. Chrome's microphone setting is at chrome://settings/content/microphone.
• Iris misheard you: say "stop", then say it again a little more slowly, or type it instead with push to type.
• Iris says it needs Chrome's AI: some features use Chrome's built-in AI, which needs a recent computer. Iris tells you what it can do without it.
• Iris went quiet in the setup: press R to repeat the step.

Your privacy in short

Iris turns your speech into text on your computer. Your audio and what you say are never sent to us or anyone else. Iris has no account, analytics, advertising or tracking. Read the privacy policy for the detail.

Removing Iris

Open chrome://extensions, find Iris and choose Remove. Everything Iris kept on your computer goes with it.

Still stuck?

Email us at admin@tigillo.com. Tell us what you said or did, and what Iris did. We read every message.