Skip to Content

How to Set a Keyboard Shortcut to Activate Siri on Mac

by

Since macOS Sierra, Apple has included Siri on the Mac, enabling desktop users to ask the virtual assistant general queries and give it spoken commands.

macbook pro hey siri
‌Siri‌ for Mac can do most of the same things ‌Siri‌ can do on iOS. It can give you sports scores, tell you about the weather, schedule an event in your calendar, remind you what you need to get done today or even find movie times. It can also help you with common desktop tasks, like searching for images or changing your Mac's display settings.

‌Siri‌ on Mac can be invoked by clicking the ‌Siri‌ icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen. If it's easier, you can also use a keyboard shortcut so that your fingers don't need to leave the keys. You can customize the keyboard shortcut assigned to ‌Siri‌ in the following way.

  1. Click the Apple () symbol in the menu bar at the top-left corner of the screen and select System Preferences....
    apple menu system preferences

  2. Click the Siri icon in the preferences panel.
    siri system preferences

  3. Click the Keyboard Shortcut dropdown menu. The default options are Hold Command Space, Hold Option Space, and Press (fn) Function Space. You can also define your own custom shortcut by clicking Customize... and then pressing the keys you wish to use.
    siri preference pane keyboard shortcut

Be sure to check out the other options for ‌Siri‌ in the System Preferences pane, including language, voice, voice feedback, and mic input. For more information on how to use ‌Siri‌ in macOS, click here.

Popular Stories

MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

First MacBook Neo Benchmarks Are In: Here's How It Compares to the M1 MacBook Air

Thursday March 5, 2026 4:07 pm PST by
Benchmarks for the new MacBook Neo surfaced today, and unsurprisingly, CPU performance is almost identical to the iPhone 16 Pro. The MacBook Neo uses the same 6-core A18 Pro chip that was first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro, but it has one fewer GPU core. The MacBook Neo earned a single-core score of 3461 and a multi-core score of 8668, along with a Metal score of 31286. Here's how the...
imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils Seven New Products

Friday March 6, 2026 11:48 am PST by
Apple this week unveiled seven products, including an iPhone 17e, an iPad Air with the M4 chip, updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, a new Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and an all-new MacBook Neo that starts at just $599. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as the iPhone 16e, but it gains Apple's A19 chip, MagSafe for magnetic wireless charging and magnetic...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Apple Planning 'MacBook Ultra' With Touchscreen and Higher Price

Sunday March 8, 2026 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch an all-new "MacBook Ultra" model this year, featuring an OLED display, touchscreen, and a higher price point, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Gurman revealed the information in his latest "Power On" newsletter. While Apple has been widely expected to launch new M6-series MacBook Pro models with OLED displays, touchscreen functionality, and a new, thinner design...