DesktopLive: talk and watch
Live
Talk to a bot out loud in a real-time voice call, and watch it work on its own computer. What Live is, what you need, and where to start.
Live is two things that make a bot feel like a colleague sitting next to you:
- Live calls. Talk to a bot out loud, the way you'd phone a person. It answers in its own voice, straight away, and can make pictures and look things up while you talk. When you hang up, the whole call lands in the thread as a transcript, and the bot gets on with whatever you asked for.
- The Live view. A window onto the bot's computer that looks like a desktop. You see the files it opens, the code it writes, the websites it runs, and its mascot running between windows as it works.
Live calls at a glance
| Where | Any one-to-one thread, on Machine Desktop and the phone apps. Group chats don't have Live calls. |
| Version | Machine Desktop 0.1.46 or later on Windows (0.1.45 or later on Mac), and Machine Mobile 0.1.45 or later. Windows 0.1.44 can make calls, but has no call card, no tool results on the call screen and no tap to interrupt. See Updates. |
| Powered by | Glyph, a voice service. You connect your own Glyph account once per bot. |
| Cost | The call itself runs on your Glyph plan. What the bot does afterwards in the thread uses your Machine credits, like any message. |
| What you get afterwards | A call card in the thread with every line said, and any images made during the call. The bot replies to it and does what you asked. |
Live calls are different from voice messages and dictation:
| Live call | Voice message | Dictation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feels like | A phone call | A voice note | Typing with your voice |
| The bot answers | Out loud, in real time | In writing, after you send | In writing, after you send |
| Back-and-forth | Yes, as much as you like | One message at a time | One message at a time |
| Needs | A Glyph account | Nothing extra | Nothing extra |
The Live view at a glance
| Where | Machine Desktop and iPad, in the bot's computer panel. Not on phones. |
| Needs | Nothing to set up. It works for every bot. |
| Shows | What the bot did in its latest turn: files, code, terminal, browser, apps, and on This PC, your own screen. |
Start here
1. Set up Glyph
Connect your Glyph key to a bot. Takes two minutes, once per bot.
2. Make your first call
Start a call from any thread, on desktop or phone.
3. During a call
Mute, interrupt, hold to talk, and watch what the bot makes.
4. After the call
Where the transcript goes, and how the bot follows up.
Live settings
Voice, language, hands-free or hold to talk, and noisy rooms.
The Live view
Watch the bot's computer as a desktop, replay its steps, and message it.
Good things to do on a call
- Think out loud. "I need a poster for Saturday's opening. Something warm. What would you put on it?" Talk it through, then hang up and let the bot write it all up.
- Brief a bot while you walk. Call from your phone, explain the job, and hang up. The bot starts as soon as the call ends.
- Ask quick questions. "What's on my plate today?" "What did you find on the standing desks?" The bot knows the thread you called from.
- Make pictures together. Ask for an image and it appears on the call screen while you keep talking.
A call belongs to one thread
You start a call from a thread, and the transcript goes back to that same thread. To talk about something new, start a new thread first, then call.