Raycast combines voice dictation and screen awareness in new AI feature. 6 novembre 2026 Following the recent release of Screen Awareness, Raycast got an interesting update this week that lets users talk to AI about whatever is on their screen without having to explain the context. Here are the details. Last August, Raycast announced Screen Awareness, which lets users bring context from their active app or window directly into AI Chat, "so you don't have to copy text, attach screenshots, or explain what you're looking at," said Raycast. This week, Raycast took that functionality a step further with Dictate to AI, a new command that lets users speak their requests while automatically providing AI with context from the active app. Here is Raycast's Pedro Duarte showing how Dictate to AI works: here's how the new Dictate to AI command works https://t.co/vApN7nHAPV pic.twitter.com/Dmmexor8q1 Raycast notes that the release also includes: Raycast also noted other recent updates and additions, including that Raycast Notes now supports images and unlimited notes for free users, while the Mac app received several performance improvements, including faster search and lower memory usage. Meanwhile, Raycast for iOS got a new keyboard with AI-powered writing tools, along with improved Cloud Sync capabilities. Windows users also got some love, with Screen Awareness gaining new commands to send individual elements or entire windows to AI Chat. FTC: Ultimate Pocket use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: Lead the curve on tomorrow's iOS and Mac app h... Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s. He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.

Raycast 2.11: Dictate to AI combines Speech with app context. Philipp Briel 05. November 2026 · 8 min. read Raycast released version 2.11 for macOS and Windows on November 4, 2026. The most significant new feature is called "Dictate to AI": You speak a question or command, and Raycast sends it to the AI along with the context of the currently active app. On the Mac, Raycast also displays AI usage in the menu bar, and Windows users finally get Screen Awareness. However, you'll need a paid subscription to use the AI features. Key Points at a Glance * Raycast 2.11 has been available for macOS and Windows since November 4, 2026. * Dictate to AI combines your voice input with the context of the active app. You can disable the context. * A new Dictation AI extension brings transcripts into AI Chat and manages dictation styles. * Mac only: AI usage in the menu bar and a Contacts AI extension. * New on Windows: "Send Element to AI" and "Send Window to AI." * AI and dictation features are available starting with Raycast Pro for $10 per month. Dictate to AI: speak instead of copy and paste. Until now, asking AI a question about what's currently on the screen usually went like this: select text, copy, open AI Chat, paste, type your question. "Dictate to AI" streamlines this process. You trigger the command, start speaking, and Raycast passes your words - along with the context from the focused app - to the language model. According to Raycast, this gets you from speaking to getting an answer in seconds. You can specify whether Raycast sends the app context along with your words in the command settings. This is more than just a matter of convenience. If you're currently working on a confidential email or an internal document, enabling context means you'll also be sharing its contents with the AI service. Regarding the dictation feature itself, Raycast states in its manual that your voice isn't used to train AI models, audio isn't stored on Raycast's servers, and transcripts are stored locally on your device. Raycast recommends assigning a custom keyboard shortcut to the command - for example, Control + A on a Mac or Alt + A on Windows. One small caveat with the Mac suggestion: Control + A jumps to the beginning of the line in many macOS text fields and in the Terminal. If you use this regularly, you'll want to assign "Dictate to AI" to a different key combination. The idea isn't entirely new. Google has already added system-wide dictation via the Fn key to the Gemini app for macOS, and Meta AI's Mac app also includes a dictation feature for all applications. Raycast has the advantage that the launcher, extensions, and AI chat are all bundled into a single tool, and you can choose the model yourself. New dictation extension for AI Chat. To go along with this, there's a new AI extension for Raycast Dictation. It lets you reuse your transcripts directly in AI chats, manage your dictation styles, and get feedback on those styles. According to the changelog, the post-processing feature - which removes filler words and adds punctuation - is also supposed to deliver better results and run faster. Raycast for Mac: AI Usage in the Menu Bar and contacts via chat. Starting with version 2.3, Raycast tracks AI usage via monthly credits instead of fixed query limits. Starting with version 2.11, you can choose to view how much of your credit has been used directly in the menu bar. You can enable this display under Raycast Settings | AI | Show AI Usage in Menu Bar. As early as version 2.10, Raycast had redesigned the usage indicators so that they display orange and red warnings shortly before reaching the limit. Another new feature is the Contacts AI extension. In AI Chat, you can use it to search for, create, edit, and delete contacts without opening the Contacts app. For developers and teams, there are two minor updates: When forking an extension, you can carry over settings, history, and shortcuts, and the original extension can be disabled immediately if desired. This also works on Windows. On the Mac, your organizations also appear in the Root Search, allowing you to jump directly to their settings. Raycast for Windows: Screen Awareness arrives. With version 2.11, Windows users gain access to two commands that have been available on Mac since version 2.7, released on October 9, 2026. With "Send Element to AI," you hover your mouse over an element on the screen - such as a paragraph, an image, or a button - and send it to the AI Chat with a click. "Send Window to AI" sends the entire window as context. "Dictate to AI" and the new Dictation extension are also included in the Windows version. In addition, there are Windows-specific fixes. Raycast has fixed a gradual resource leak that grew over time, and automatic updates should now install reliably. If an update fails, Raycast will restart automatically. If you prefer to dictate without an additional tool, check out our guide on how to use Speech to Text in Windows 11 with built-in features. Another AI alternative for the desktop is the Gemini app for Windows. Raycast 2.11 at a Glance: what's New on Mac and Windows? | New Features | macOS | Windows | | Dictate to AI | Yes | Yes | | Dictation AI Extension | Yes | Yes | | Recommended keyboard shortcut | Control + A | Alt + A | | AI usage in the menu bar | Yes | No | | Contacts AI Extension | Yes | no | | Send Element to AI / Send Window to AI | since version 2.7 | New in 2.11 | | Fork extensions with settings | Yes | Yes | | Organizations in the Root Search | yes | no | | Proxy Auto-Configuration (PAC) | Yes | Yes | Additional improvements and bug fixes. Beyond the major features, Raycast has made improvements in many areas. The most important points: * AI Chat: Chats can be renamed before the first response is ready. Raycast handles unavailable models more gracefully. * Notes (Mac): Completed tasks now move below the pending ones in their group. The pinned Notes window remains visible when switching between Spaces. * Proxy: Raycast supports PAC scripts when "Use System Proxy Settings" is enabled. Changed proxy settings take effect without a restart. * MCP: Connections to older HTTP servers, such as Sketch's, are working again. * Search Screenshots: HEIC and HEIF images are no longer skipped during indexing, and new screenshots appear reliably. * Clipboard History: When there are 20 or more pinned entries, the selection no longer jumps to the beginning. * Extensions (Mac): Raycast no longer freezes when opening extensions such as Downloads Manager. How much does Raycast with AI and dictation cost? Raycast itself remains free for personal users. However, Raycast AI and Dictation - and thus Dictate to AI - are only available in the paid plans. Both features were free during the beta and were moved to the Pro subscription with the launch of Raycast 2.0 in August 2026. New accounts can try Pro for free, and students receive a 50 percent discount on Pro. | Plan | Monthly | Annual | AI Credits per Month | Top Models | | Free | 0 $ | $0 | No AI | No | | Pro | $10 | $96 | 500 | No | | Pro+ | $20 | $192 | 3,000 | yes | | Max | $50 | $480 | 7,500 | Yes | Prices in U.S. dollars according to Raycast's pricing page, as of November 5, 2026. Queries to Raycast's own models consume credits, and each model has its own rate. Unused credits do not expire until after 60 days. If you already have a subscription to Claude or ChatGPT, starting with version 2.3, you can link it to any paid Raycast plan and use the models through that plan. Conclusion: Raycast shortens the path to AI answers. "Dictate to AI" isn't a spectacular feature, but it's a very practical one. It eliminates the need to copy, paste, and open a chat window - and it's precisely this extra step that's the most annoying in everyday use. Raycast has been releasing a feature update practically every week since early October; version 2.11 is already the third update in two weeks, following 2.9 and 2.10. The competition isn't standing still, though. Gemini and Meta AI can already be controlled by voice on the Mac, and Apple is currently opening up Siri AI to third-party apps. Raycast's selling point remains the combination of a launcher, extensions, and free model selection. You pay a subscription fee for this, and with app context enabled, more of your screen ends up in the cloud than when you type a question. If you're already paying for Raycast Pro, you should try Dictate to AI for a week and enable the new credit counter in the menu bar right away.