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How to use Bevail

Short answers for setup, daily use, and common problems. Can't find your answer? Email support@bevail.com.

Getting started

Bevail needs macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. It runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Install

  1. Download Bevail from the download page.
  2. Open the downloaded DMG file.
  3. Drag Bevail to your Applications folder.
  4. Open Bevail from Applications.

Bevail lives in the menu bar. Click its icon to see the Bevail menu.

Setup

On first launch, the Welcome to Bevail window shows three steps:

  1. Let Bevail hear you. Click Allow microphone, then allow access when macOS asks.
  2. Let Bevail type for you. Click Open System Settings. Turn on Bevail under Privacy & Security › Accessibility.
  3. Try it. Click the box, press your dictation shortcut, and speak. Press the shortcut again to stop.

Then click Start dictating. You can also turn on Start Bevail when you log in.

Why Bevail needs Accessibility

Accessibility permission lets Bevail type your words into other apps. Without it, Bevail cannot put text where your cursor is. Bevail also needs it for shortcuts that use the fn key, and to read selected text when you attach it to Chat.

Dictating

  1. Click in any place where you can type: an email, a document, a chat box.
  2. Press ⌥ Space (the default Dictate shortcut).
  3. Speak normally.
  4. Press ⌥ Space again to stop.

A small panel at the bottom of the screen shows your words as you speak. When you stop, Bevail types the text where your cursor is. To discard a dictation, press esc while Bevail is listening.

You can also click Start dictation in the Bevail menu.

Tap or hold

Choose how shortcuts work in Settings › General › Activation:

  • Tap to start, tap to stop (default). Press once to start. Press again to stop.
  • Hold to talk. Hold the shortcut while you speak. Let go to stop.

Change a shortcut

  1. Open Settings › General. Look under Shortcuts.
  2. Click the shortcut next to Dictate, Translate, or Chat.
  3. Press the new key combination. Press esc to cancel.

Bevail tells you if a shortcut is Already used for another mode. Avoid single-key shortcuts such as a letter or Space. They stop that key from working in all apps while Bevail runs.

Translate (Pro)

Translate types your words in another language. It has no shortcut at first. Set one in Settings › General › Shortcuts. Choose the language in Settings › Dictate › Translate to.

Spoken language

Set the language you speak in Settings › General › Spoken language. Bevail always transcribes languages other than English on your Mac.

Filler words

Bevail removes words such as "um" and "uh" on your Mac. This works on all plans. Edit the list in Settings › Dictate › Filler words.

Polish (Pro)

With Pro, Bevail cleans up your words before it types them. It removes fillers and fixes punctuation. It does not change your meaning. Turn this on or off with Clean up and polish what I say in Settings › Dictate.

Styles

  • Automatic (recommended): Bevail picks the right style for each app.
  • Cleanup: fixes fillers, punctuation, and stumbles. Keeps your words.
  • Chat: casual and short, for Slack, Teams, and texts.
  • Professional: a business tone for documents and reports.
  • Concise: trims your words down to the point.
  • Email: ready-to-send email, with greeting and sign-off.

To make your own style, click Add style…. Give it a name and say how you want your words written.

Different styles in different apps

Use Per-app exceptions to pick a style for one app. You can also turn polish Off for an app. Then your words go in exactly as you said them.

Undo polish

Right after a polished dictation, the Bevail menu shows Use what I said instead. Click it to swap in your exact words. If you often undo polish in one app, Bevail suggests that you turn it off there. Nothing changes until you agree.

Chat (Pro)

Chat lets you ask a question or have AI do something. The reply appears in a chat window, not where you type.

Open Chat

  • Press fn ⌘ together and speak (the default Chat shortcut).
  • Click Chat in the Bevail menu.
  • Choose Window › Chat (⌘1).
  • Choose File › New Chat (⌘N) to start a new conversation.

You can speak or type your message.

Use a reply

  • Click Copy to copy the reply.
  • Click Insert into an app to type the reply at your cursor there.
  • Press esc to stop a reply.

Give Chat some text

Chat can use your selected text or the clipboard. Turn on Let Chat read selected text and clipboard when I attach them in Settings › Chat. Chat reads nothing unless you attach it.

Change your lists

Chat can update your Captured items, your Calendar events, and your Dictionary. For example, say "That should be Krav Maga, not Kraut McGaugh."

In Settings › Chat, you can also set the answer Model (Automatic, Strong, or Fast) and the Reply length.

Captured items and Ambient Assist (Pro)

Bevail finds useful items in what you say and adds them to Captured in the main window sidebar. Turn this on or off with Capture from every dictation in Settings › Dictate.

  • To-Dos: tasks and follow-ups.
  • Waiting On: things other people promised to do for you.
  • Events: meetings and appointments.
  • Questions: open questions that need an answer.
  • Decisions: decisions from meetings and calls.
  • Notes: contact details, facts, things to look up, and ideas.

You can also open each list from the Window menu.

Add to Reminders or Calendar

  • Click Add to Reminders next to a to-do or a waiting-on item.
  • Click Add to Calendar next to an event. The event needs a date.

The first time, macOS asks for permission. Bevail adds items to your default list or calendar. When you complete a reminder or move an event, Bevail updates its item.

Ambient Assist

Ambient Assist listens in the background and captures items from what you say. It is off by default. To use it, turn on Let Bevail listen and capture in Settings › Ambient Assist. Then use the Ambient Assist switch in the Bevail menu. A red dot shows while it listens. Bevail records only when someone speaks.

Dictionary

Teach Bevail names, jargon, and product terms so it spells them correctly.

  1. Click Add words to dictionary… in the Bevail menu, or choose Window › Dictionary.
  2. Type the word in Add a name or word.
  3. Click Add.

If Bevail always writes a word wrong, use Spelling fixes. Type what it writes in Heard as and the right spelling in Write as.

Under From your dictations, Bevail suggests words you often say. Click one to check its spelling and add it. Turn on Check spelling with Contacts to use the spelling of names in your contacts.

Plans, credits, and your license

  • Free: dictation that runs fully on your Mac. No account. Includes the dictionary, filler-word removal, and history.
  • Pro: adds the sharpest transcription, polish, Translate, Chat, Captured items, and Ambient Assist.

See Pricing for plan details.

Upgrade

Click Upgrade to Pro in the Bevail menu, or Go Pro in Settings › General. Bevail unlocks Pro by itself when your payment is complete.

Enter a license key

  1. Open Settings › Account.
  2. Paste your key. It looks like BEVAIL-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.
  3. Click Activate.

You can also click Already have a license key? in the Bevail menu.

Credits

Pro includes 5,000 credits each month. Pro transcription, polish, Chat, and capture use credits. Dictation on your Mac uses no credits.

  • See how many credits you used in Settings › Account. It also shows when they reset.
  • The Bevail menu warns you when your credits are low.
  • In Chat, the Fast model uses fewer credits per question.

If you run out, Bevail still types what you said, without polish. Your credits reset at the start of the next month.

Updates

Bevail checks for updates automatically. When an update is ready, the Bevail menu shows an Update to version available — install row. Click it to install.

  • To check now, choose Bevail › Check for Updates….
  • To stop automatic checks, turn off Check for updates automatically in Settings › General › Updates.

History and privacy

  • On the Free plan, your voice never leaves your Mac.
  • Bevail records only when you speak. It never records silence.
  • On Pro, Bevail sends only the speech and text it needs to our servers. It does not keep them there.
  • We never sell your data. We never use it to train AI.

Your history stays on your Mac. See it in Window › History (⌘0). Choose how long to keep it in Settings › General › Keep history. To delete it all, click Clear all history….

Read the full privacy policy.

Troubleshooting

The text does not appear

  1. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility.
  2. Make sure Bevail is on.
  3. If it is already on, turn it off and then on again. This often helps after an update.

If Bevail cannot type, it puts your text on the clipboard. Press ⌘V to paste it. Password fields also block typing, so paste there.

Bevail does not hear me

  1. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone.
  2. Make sure Bevail is on.
  3. Open the Bevail menu. Pick the correct Microphone. This picker shows when your Mac has more than one microphone.

The shortcut does nothing

  • Another app may use the same shortcut. Choose a different one in Settings › General › Shortcuts.
  • Shortcuts with fn need Accessibility permission. See "The text does not appear" above.
  • If fn opens emoji or dictation from macOS, open System Settings › Keyboard. Set Press 🌐 key to (or Press fn key to) to Do Nothing.

Pro features do not work

  • Check your internet connection. Without it, Bevail dictates on your Mac.
  • Check your license and credits in Settings › Account.

Contact support

Email support@bevail.com. Tell us your macOS version and your Bevail version. You can find the Bevail version in Settings › General › Updates. In the app, you can also choose Help › Email Support….