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Editing by voice

A follow-up recording edits the item you recorded it on. Say "actually, move that to Friday" on a task, and the task's deadline moves to Friday. You don't get a second note describing the change - the task itself changes.

This works on notes, tasks, and events.

Changes need Basic and up

Changing an existing task, event, or note by voice needs Basic and up. It also needs Auto-complete tasks to be on in Settings > Recording & AI (it's on by default). On Free, the recording is saved, its new information is added to the original note, and any new tasks and events you dictate are created and attached to that note, but nothing that already exists is changed. If you asked to change a date, reminder, status, or priority, your Inbox tells you with a Voice edits are a Basic feature message.

How to edit by voice​

  1. Open the note, task, or event you want to change
  2. Tap Add by voice, right under the summary or description. Recording starts right away
  3. Say what you want changed, then stop recording

Quicker: swipe the item's row to the right in the Notes, Tasks, or Events list, and recording starts right away. On an overdue task, the swipe shows two buttons: tap Add by voice.

Add by voice only takes voice. Text you type on the Record screen always becomes a new, separate note. To change a single field by hand, tap it on the detail screen instead.

See Follow-up recordings for the entry points and for everything the AI knows about the item you're updating.

What you can change​

On a task:

  • Title and description - "call this the Q3 budget review"
  • Deadline, set or cleared - "push this to next Friday"
  • Reminders: set one, add several, or clear them - "remind me at 5pm and again at 8pm", "stop reminding me about this"
  • Priority (high, medium, low) - "actually this is high priority"
  • Repeat, set or cleared - "stop repeating this"
  • Mark it done or reopen it - "I finished this"
  • Remove it (it moves to the Trash) - "cancel this"
  • Turn it into an idea note - "that's just an idea, not a task"

On an event:

  • Date and time, including from all day to a set time - "move this to 3pm"
  • Location, set or changed - "we're meeting at the coffee shop instead"
  • Title and description
  • Repeat, set or cleared
  • Reminders, set or cleared - "don't remind me about this"
  • Cancel or reopen it - "this meeting is off"

On a note:

  • Its title and summary - "the main point is that we're delaying the launch"
  • Its tasks: complete or cancel some or all of them, or change them as on a task
  • Its events: change or cancel them as on an event
  • Mark the whole note as an idea
Speak the change, not the whole item

You don't need to repeat everything. Say only what's different, the way you would tell a colleague: "move that to Friday", "this one's high priority now."

Some changes can't be made by voice: tags, attendees, removing a location or a priority, deleting a whole note, moving an item to another list or project, or turning a task into an event or the other way around. Your Inbox tells you with a Couldn't apply that change message.

New tasks and events you mention in a follow-up are still created and added to the original note, so you can edit and add in a single recording.

When nothing changes

TellDone only applies an edit when it is confident it understood you. If a follow-up is vague - "hmm, maybe later" - or could mean several things, TellDone changes nothing rather than risk changing the wrong thing. Record again and say the change plainly: "move the deadline to Friday."

Your lists stay clean​

A follow-up recording usually doesn't appear as a separate note in your notes list, although it still uses one note from your monthly allowance. An edited note or task moves to the top of its list, so you can see what your voice changed. An event stays at its date and time. On the original note's row, a fork icon shows that it has a follow-up.

For example, if you open a task and record "push this to next Friday":

  • No new note appears in your notes list
  • The task's deadline changes to Friday
  • The task moves to the top of your tasks list

When TellDone isn't sure​

If TellDone isn't sure it understood a task or event it pulled from your words, the row in your list shows a ? icon. Open it, and the card shows Double-check this one with Heard: and the exact words TellDone heard.

  • If it's right, tap Looks right. The banner no longer shows on this iPhone
  • If something is off, record a follow-up with Add by voice, or tap the field and fix it yourself

Reviewing and undoing an edit​

Every follow-up edit is logged in the item's Changes section, along with the edits you make by tapping a field yourself. Open the item to see what changed and when. Each entry is tagged Voice, Auto, or Manual, and you can undo any single entry.

See Change history and undo.

See also​

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