Siri for Windows: is there one, and what to use on a PC instead

If you switched from a Mac or an Apple phone, you probably miss saying "Hey Siri" and having the computer just do it. Then you search for "Siri for Windows" and find download pages that look official. They are not. Siri is made by Apple for Apple devices only, and there is no Windows version.

That does not mean a PC has to be silent. Windows has its own ways to listen to you, and there are assistants that run on Windows as well as on a Mac. This guide shows what exists, how to set up the built-in option, and how to choose.

Why there is no Siri for Windows

Apple lists where Siri works: its phones and tablets, AirPods, Mac, Apple Watch, HomePod, Apple TV, CarPlay and Apple Vision Pro. Windows is not on that list, and Apple does not offer Siri in the Microsoft Store or anywhere else for PCs.

Be careful with any site that offers a "Siri for PC" download. At best it is an unrelated app using the name; at worst it is something you do not want on your computer. If you already installed one, open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find it, and uninstall it.

Siri on your phone will not reach across to the PC either. It can do a lot on the phone and on other Apple devices, but it does not open apps or change settings on Windows.

What a Windows PC has instead

Windows 11 comes with two things that cover most of what people use Siri for:

• Voice access. Built into Windows 11, version 22H2 and later. You speak and the PC follows: open an app, click a button, scroll, dictate a message. It is the closest match to talking to your Mac, with one difference: you say each step.
• Microsoft Copilot. A chat assistant you can type or speak to. Microsoft says it can find, open and answer questions about files on your device and guide you to the right option in Windows Settings. You can start it with "Hey, Copilot" once you turn that on.

If you used Siri mostly to ask questions, Copilot is the nearest thing. If you used it to control the computer hands-free, voice access is.

How to turn on voice access in Windows 11

Voice access is built into Windows 11, version 22H2 and later. It lets you open apps, click, scroll and dictate text by speaking. It is a way of driving the computer with your voice: you say each step, and it carries that step out.

1. Open Settings › Accessibility › Speech. A quick way in is Win + I, then Accessibility in the list on the left.
2. Turn on the Voice access switch.
3. The first time, choose a language and let Windows download its speech files. This one download needs an internet connection; after it, voice access works without one.
4. Pick your microphone when it asks, and finish the short setup.
5. If you want it every time, tick the box to start voice access after you sign in.

Say "Voice access wake up" to have it listen and "Voice access sleep" to make it stop. Alt + Shift + B switches between the two from the keyboard. If it does not hear you, check Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone and make sure microphone access is on.

A good first test: say "Open Notepad", then dictate a sentence. If the words come out right, the microphone and the speech files are both working.

If you use a Mac and a PC

Many people live on both: a Mac at home and a Windows laptop at work, or the other way round. Siri stays on the Mac and voice access stays on Windows, so you end up learning two ways of asking for the same thing. That is fine if you only use one computer most of the time.

If you switch every day, an assistant that runs on both, and behaves the same on both, saves you from remembering which words work where. When you only need to find a setting, our free Windows and Mac settings finder shows where it lives on each system side by side.

One assistant on Windows and Mac: Key

If you want something that feels like asking Siri for a job, and works the same on your PC and your Mac, there is Key.

Key is a free personal assistant that lives on your computer, on Windows 10 and 11 and on any Mac with macOS 11 Big Sur or newer. You speak to it or type to it, and it opens your apps, finds your files and changes your settings, then tells you what it did. It works in the real windows you already use and presses the real buttons; there is nothing to connect first.

Half a sentence is enough: "Turn the brightness down", "Make the text bigger", "Where did that download go?", "Mute everything". Before it reports, it reads the result back, and when it could not check, it says so. It never deletes for good, never types a password, and stops before paying until you say yes.

It is free to download, with no card and no trial. More: what a desktop assistant can do and is it safe to let an assistant use your computer.

Questions people ask

Can I download Siri for Windows?

No. Apple makes Siri for its own devices only, such as its phones, tablets, Macs, Apple Watch and HomePod. There is no Windows version, and any download that says otherwise is not from Apple.

Can I use Siri on my phone to control my PC?

Not directly. Siri on an Apple phone works with that phone and other Apple devices; it does not open apps or change settings on a Windows PC.

What is the closest thing to Siri on Windows 11?

Windows 11 has voice access built in for controlling the PC by voice, and Microsoft Copilot for asking questions by typing or speaking.

How do I talk to my Windows PC?

Turn on voice access in Settings, Accessibility, Speech on Windows 11, version 22H2 or later. Then say commands such as Open Notepad, or dictate text.

Is there one voice assistant for both my Mac and my PC?

Siri is Mac only and voice access is Windows only, so for one assistant on both you need a third-party app that is made for both systems.

Related guide: Copilot alternative for Windows: what each assistant does, and how to choose