The fastest way to search with Perplexity isn't to type your question — it's to ask it out loud. Set Clavio's wake word to “Perplexity” and just say “Perplexity, compare these two frameworks and tell me which one scales better.” Your question drops into the ask box and runs itself — nothing to press, hold, or click. Keep Clavio on Fast and the search gets exactly what you asked, the instant you finish. Then keep going: every follow-up runs the moment you stop talking, so a whole research thread becomes something you say, not type.
Talk to it by name: make the wake word “Perplexity”
Clavio lets you choose a wake word for each app, so for Perplexity you set it to the tool's own name — “Perplexity.” Now you're not opening a dictation tool; you're asking your search engine a question. You say “Perplexity, what changed in the latest spec and why does it matter,” it answers to its name, types your question into the ask box, and — with auto-send on — runs the search the moment you stop talking. No key to hold, no button, no reaching for the trackpad — just your voice and an answer.
Fast mode: your question reaches search exactly as asked
A search query isn't an email — it shouldn't be smoothed over or reworded, because rewording can quietly change what it finds. So for Perplexity, keep Clavio on Fast: it types your question exactly as you said it, with no rewriting and no processing pause, the second you stop. That's what you want for research — Perplexity answers the question you actually asked, at the speed of speech. Add the names you look things up by to Clavio's dictionary — companies, people, places, products, technical terms — and they land spelled right, so the search hits the right entity instead of a soundalike.
Ask the long, precise questions you'd never type
Perplexity rewards a good question — the more context and constraints you give it, the sharper the answer. But a three-clause research question is exactly the thing nobody wants to type, so most people ask half of what they mean. Speaking it is roughly three times faster than typing, so you can ask the whole thing: the background, the comparison, the specific ask, all in one breath. And research is never one question — it's a thread. Perplexity keeps the context, so you just say the next follow-up and it runs on its own. You dig deeper and deeper without ever touching the keyboard.
One voice for the whole research loop
The question is only the start. Once Perplexity hands you an answer with its sources, you do something with what you learned — jot the takeaways into a doc, summarise the findings for your team in Slack, write the email that acts on them. Speak the query and here you want it exact, so Clavio stays on Fast; write up the findings and you may want it polished, so Clavio switches to a natural tone for your doc or your email while Perplexity stays on Fast. Clavio remembers the tone for each app, so one wake word carries you from the first question to the finished write-up — and since it only answers to your voice, a colleague talking nearby never sets it off. That's what hands-free research actually feels like: you ask, you read, you ask again, and everything you decide gets written down.
Recommended Clavio settings for Perplexity
| Setting | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wake word (per app) | Make it “Perplexity” | Ask your search engine by name — “Perplexity, compare these two” — instead of a generic trigger, with no key to hold. |
| Polish level | Fast (off) | Types your question instantly, exactly as asked. No rewriting, no processing pause — rewording could change what the search finds. |
| Auto-send | On | Fully hands-free: the moment you stop talking, the question runs. You just speak — no key at all. |
| Personal dictionary | Add your terms | Keeps the names in your questions — companies, people, places, products — spelled right, so the search hits the right entity. |
| Follow-up questions | Just say the next one | Perplexity keeps the thread's context; each spoken follow-up runs on its own, so you dig deeper without touching the keyboard. |
Search hands-free with Clavio
Clavio is an AI dictation app for Mac. It sits in your menu bar and types finished text wherever your cursor is — the Perplexity ask box, your notes doc, Slack, email, the browser. You set a wake word per app (say “Perplexity” to ask a question), and choose the polish per app too: Fast with no cleanup so your query reaches search exactly as asked, or a natural tone when you write up what you found. A personal dictionary keeps the names you search for intact, and an on-device voiceprint means only your voice sets it off. Free to try: 3,000 words a month, no card, macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon. Pro is £12/month for unlimited.
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Common questions
Does Perplexity already have voice input?
It has a microphone button that turns your speech into a search on its own apps, and macOS has a built-in dictation key too. Clavio is different in two ways that matter day to day: you give it a wake word (say “Perplexity” — nothing to press or hold), and it keeps your exact wording on Fast so the search answers what you actually asked. It also works everywhere else your research lands — your notes, Slack, email — not just the ask box.
Can I dictate to Perplexity fully hands-free?
Yes. Give Perplexity the wake word “Perplexity,” turn auto-send on, and just say “Perplexity, what's the difference between these two” — the question is typed and the search runs the moment you stop talking. No key, no button — just your voice.
Will it reword my question or mangle names?
Not on Fast — it types your question exactly, no rewriting, which matters for search because a reworded query can find something different. To keep companies, people, places, and technical terms precise, add them to the dictionary and they'll be spelled right every time, so the search hits the entity you meant instead of a soundalike.
Can I ask long research questions and follow-ups by voice?
Yes — that's where dictation shines with Perplexity. Speaking a long, detailed question is far faster than typing it, so you can give the search all the context and constraints instead of a stripped-down half-question. And because Perplexity keeps the thread's context, you just say each follow-up and it runs on its own, so you dig through a whole research thread hands-free.
Can I use the same voice for my notes and write-up?
Yes — that's the main reason to use a system-wide app instead of the ask box alone. Clavio types into your notes doc, Slack, and email the same way it types into Perplexity, and remembers the tone per app: exact for the query, natural for the summary you write up afterwards. One wake word covers the whole loop, from the first question to the finished write-up.