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New feature: Voice Control – Take control with the freedom to choose with Voice Control

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Most of us never think about it. We reach for the mouse, land the cursor on a button, click, and move on. But for millions of people, that small sequence is the hardest part of using the web.

The Recite Me Assistive Toolbar has always been about choice and giving people the tools to read, hear and see digital content the way that works for them. For many people, using their voice rather than a mouse or keypad is the easiest way of navigating digital content. This is something we’ve been working to embed in our Assistive Toolbar.

Say hello to Voice Control, a new feature that lets people open and operate the Toolbar entirely by voice. No mouse. No keyboard. Just speak.

Who we built this for

A landmark Microsoft-commissioned study found that one in four working-age adults has a dexterity difficulty – where making hand and finger movements are challenging –  that can make a standard mouse or keyboard hard to use. Around 7% have a difficulty severe enough that they need another way to navigate digital content. Research suggests roughly a third of people with a mobility impairment already navigate the web using something other than a mouse.

Behind those numbers are real, everyday realities:

A tremor from Parkinson’s or essential tremor that turns a small button into a moving target.
Arthritis, MS or chronic pain that makes gripping and clicking tiring or painful.
Recovery from a stroke, a limb difference, or an injury where one hand simply isn’t an option.
Fatigue and cognitive load where remembering where everything is takes more energy than the task itself.

And plenty of people who’d benefit have no diagnosis at all. A broken wrist. A baby on one arm. A phone in one hand on the move. Accessibility isn’t only about permanent disability. It’s about meeting people wherever they are, in whatever moment they’re in.

“I’ve spent my whole life adapting technology to work the way I do, not the other way around. Some people can’t use a mouse. Some can’t type without pain. Some just find speaking easier, and they shouldn’t have to explain why. Voice Control gives them one more way in, and the freedom to choose it. That’s what inclusion actually looks like: options, not assumptions.”
Ross Linnett, Founder & CEO, Recite Me

Another option, not a replacement

Voice Control is built specifically for the Toolbar. It isn’t designed to replace the assistive technology people already rely on to control their whole device: the screen readers, dictation software and switch systems that do a bigger job. It works alongside them.

Every feature we build follows the same principle, give people more ways to interact, never fewer. Buttons, keyboard, voice, or a combination of all three. The right choice is whichever one works for the person in front of the screen. Voice Control simply adds one more door into the Toolbar, for the people who need it and the people who just prefer it.

How it works

As with every Recite Me feature, the user is in full control. Voice Control is theirs to switch on or off whenever they want. Once it’s on, there are two simple ways to use it:

  • Feature names: just say the name of the feature you want, and Voice Control performs the action.
  • Control by numbers: a number appears beside each item on the Toolbar. Say “click”, “select” or “press” followed by the number, and it’s done.


A full list of commands is always available on screen, so there’s nothing to memorise and no wrong way to start.

Control always stays with the user

Voice Control never takes over. It doesn’t make changes on anyone’s behalf, and it doesn’t assume what a person needs.

Greater choice. Greater independence. And now, greater control. With nothing more than your voice.

See Voice Control in action: book a demo at reciteme.com/au/demo

Have Questions or Feedback?

Contact us today! Our team is always eager to engage with the web accessibility community, learn from your experiences, and continually improve our products to support as many people as possible.

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