Voice Modes
Bankai has five voice modes. Each mode determines how your spoken words are processed. You can lock into a specific mode for full control, or stay in Omni mode and let the AI decide automatically.
Omni Mode (Default)
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Omni is the default mode and the one most users stay in. Instead of switching between modes manually, you just talk and the AI classifies your intent automatically.
How Omni Decides
- Dictation intent --- If you start talking without the trigger word, Omni treats your speech as dictation. Your words are transcribed, formatted, and pasted at the cursor.
- Ask or Command intent --- If you start your phrase with the trigger word (default: "Bankai"), Omni recognizes that you want something beyond dictation. It routes your speech to the AI for a question answer or a navigation command.
- Chat intent --- If you include a phrase like "answer me out loud" or "tell me out loud," Omni activates the chat pathway and the AI responds with spoken audio.
Examples
| What you say | What Omni does |
|---|---|
| "The quarterly review is scheduled for next Thursday at 2pm" | Dictation --- text appears at cursor |
| "Bankai, what is the capital of Norway?" | Ask --- "Oslo" is pasted at cursor |
| "Bankai, go to the general channel" | Command --- navigates to #general |
| "Bankai, tell me out loud what our Q3 goals are" | Chat --- AI speaks the answer |
When to Use Omni
Omni is ideal when you switch between dictating and asking questions frequently. You stay in one mode, and the trigger word acts as the signal to change behavior.
Dictation Mode
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In Dictation mode, everything you say is transcribed and formatted as text. The AI applies punctuation, capitalization, and removes filler words (like "um," "uh," "you know"). The result is pasted wherever your cursor is positioned.
What Gets Formatted
- Punctuation --- periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points are inserted based on your natural pauses and intonation.
- Capitalization --- sentence beginnings and proper nouns are capitalized.
- Filler removal --- hesitation sounds and verbal crutches are stripped out.
- List detection --- if you dictate items in sequence, the AI may format them as a list.
Where Dictation Works
Dictation pastes text wherever your system cursor is active:
- Chat message input fields
- Document editors
- Board row fields
- Email compose windows
- Any text input inside Copera
When to Use Dictation
Use Dictation mode when you want pure transcription with no AI interpretation. Everything you say becomes text, nothing more. This is the fastest way to write long-form content --- emails, meeting notes, document paragraphs, chat messages.
Example
You hold the push-to-talk key and say:
"Hey team, just wanted to follow up on the design review from yesterday. I think we should go with option B because it better aligns with the user research findings. Let me know if you have any concerns."
Bankai transcribes and formats this as:
Hey team, just wanted to follow up on the design review from yesterday. I think we should go with option B because it better aligns with the user research findings. Let me know if you have any concerns.
No filler words, proper punctuation, ready to send.
Ask Mode
Color: Purple (#9C27B0) | Icon: Brain
In Ask mode, your speech is treated as a question. The AI processes it and the answer is pasted at your cursor position --- ready to use in whatever you are writing.
Follow-Up Questions
Ask mode supports conversational context. After your first question, you can ask follow-up questions and the AI remembers what you previously asked. This lets you refine answers or dig deeper without repeating context.
Where Answers Appear
Just like dictation, the AI answer is pasted at your current cursor position. This means you can:
- Ask a question while writing a document --- the answer appears inline.
- Ask for a calculation while editing a board --- the result drops in.
- Ask for a translation while composing a chat message --- the translated text is inserted.
When to Use Ask
Use Ask mode when you need information injected directly into your workflow. Instead of switching to a search engine or opening a new chat, you speak the question and the answer arrives exactly where you need it.
Examples
| What you ask | What Bankai answers |
|---|---|
| "What is 15% of 2,340?" | 351 |
| "Translate 'meeting at 3pm' to Portuguese" | Reuniao as 15h |
| "Write a one-sentence summary of the Agile manifesto" | The Agile manifesto prioritizes individuals, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change over processes, documentation, contracts, and plans. |
Commands Mode
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In Commands mode, your speech is interpreted as a navigation or action command. Bankai translates your words into a command palette action and executes it.
What You Can Command
- Navigate to channels --- "Go to the general channel," "Open the marketing channel"
- Open boards --- "Open the product roadmap board," "Go to the sprint board"
- Join meetings --- "Join the standup meeting," "Connect to the design review"
- Create items --- "Create a new document," "Start a new chat"
- General navigation --- "Go to my inbox," "Open drive," "Show notifications"
How It Works
When you speak a command, Bankai sends it to the command palette's matching engine. The command palette finds the best match across channels, boards, documents, and actions, then executes it. This is the same engine that powers the Ctrl+K / Cmd+K keyboard shortcut, but activated by voice.
When to Use Commands
Use Commands mode when you want hands-free navigation. If you are in a meeting and need to pull up a board, or you are reviewing a document and want to jump to a channel, speak the command instead of clicking through the sidebar.
Examples
| What you say | What happens |
|---|---|
| "Go to general channel" | Navigates to the #general text channel |
| "Open the marketing board" | Opens the Marketing board |
| "Join the standup" | Connects to the Standup meeting channel |
| "Open my inbox" | Navigates to the Inbox section |
Chat Mode
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Chat mode is a walkie-talkie conversation with AI. You speak, the AI responds out loud through your speakers. The conversation is saved as an Ask Copera AI chat that you can revisit anytime.
How Chat Works
- Hold the push-to-talk key and speak --- your message is sent to the AI.
- The AI responds with audio --- text-to-speech delivers the answer through your speakers or headphones.
- Continue the conversation --- hold the key again to ask a follow-up. The AI maintains full context.
- Your chat is saved --- the entire conversation appears in your Ask Copera AI history.
When to Use Chat
Chat mode is designed for hands-free interaction. Use it when:
- You are away from the keyboard --- walking, stretching, thinking.
- You want to brainstorm out loud --- the AI responds verbally, keeping the conversation flowing.
- You need quick answers without looking at the screen --- the AI speaks the response.
- You prefer a conversational rhythm over reading text.
Example Conversation
You: "What are the three most common project management methodologies?"
AI (spoken): "The three most common are Agile, Waterfall, and Scrum. Agile focuses on iterative development..."
You: "Which one works best for a team of five?"
AI (spoken): "For a small team of five, Agile with Scrum ceremonies tends to..."
The entire exchange is saved to your AI conversation history.
You can enable or disable text-to-speech independently in your Voice Settings. If you want Chat mode to respond with text only (no audio), turn off the Text-to-Speech toggle.