Turn on and activate Siri on Mac
Siri is an intelligent assistant that’s built into your Mac to help you get things done. To get started, learn the basics—like how to turn Siri on and get its attention.
Note: Siri is designed to protect your information and to let you choose what you share. To learn more, see the Siri, Dictation & Privacy website and the Improve Siri and Dictation & Privacy website.
Turn on Siri
Siri needs to be turned on before you can use it to get information. If you didn’t set up Siri when you first set up your Mac, do the following:
Go to the System Settings app
on your Mac.
Click Siri in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Click Turn on Siri, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Tip: Click Try Siri AI (Beta)* to get Siri AI, the new version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence in macOS 27 or later. See Get started with Siri AI.
To further customize Siri settings (such as how to activate either “Hey Siri” or “Siri” and how Siri sounds) see Customize Siri.
Activate Siri
After you turn on Siri, you need to activate it, then ask a question or make a request.
Note: You must be connected to the internet to use Siri.
Do one of the following:
Press and hold
in the row of function keys on your keyboard. If this key isn’t available, use the keyboard shortcut specified in Siri settings.
Click
or
(if using Siri AI) in the menu bar. If it’s not shown, see Add Siri to the menu bar.
Say “Hey Siri” or “Siri” (if this option is available and turned on in Siri settings). To turn “Hey Siri” or “Siri” on, see Turn on “Hey Siri” or “Siri”.
To check whether “Hey Siri” or “Siri” is available for your device, language, and region, see the macOS Feature Availability website.
If you have Siri AI, you can also activate Siri by doing one of the following:
Press Command-Space bar on your keyboard to ask Siri a question in Spotlight.
Control-click on something you selected on your screen, then choose Ask Siri (or another option that appears).
Press Command-Shift-Space bar to select a window or Command-Shift-6 to select a portion of your screen.
Ask Siri a question or make a request.
See Get started with Siri AI and Use Siri to find information and get things done.
If you have Location Services turned on, the location of your device is determined at the time of the request. You can change this option in System Settings—see Control access to the location of your Mac.
Turn off Siri
Go to the System Settings app
Click Siri in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Click Turn Off Siri.
If you have Siri AI, but want to use the previous version of Siri, click Turn On Siri, then select Use Siri Classic.
If you’re the family organizer for a Family Sharing group, you can set up parental controls on your child’s device and restrict access to Siri & Dictation. See Change Siri Restrictions settings in Screen Time.