February 22, 2026

Guide Now Supports Windows Speech

Guide 2.4.0 introduces support for Windows Speech (SAPI), letting you use your own Windows voice settings with Guide. We're also improving our NVDA integration.

Close-up macro photograph of a black keyboard with the Windows logo key in focus

One of the most common requests we've heard from our accessibility community: "Can Guide use my Windows voice instead of its own?" Starting with version 2.4.0, the answer is yes.

Windows Speech (SAPI) Support

Guide now lets you choose Windows Speech as your TTS engine, using whatever voice and speed you've already configured in Windows Settings. This means:

  • Your voice, your settings. If you've spent time tuning a Windows voice to your preference, Guide now respects that without needing to reconfigure anything in Guide itself.
  • More voice variety. Access any voice installed on your Windows system, including voices you've downloaded from Microsoft.
  • Consistent experience. For users who rely on a specific Windows voice across all their apps, Guide can now be part of that consistent setup.

To switch, open Guide's Settings tab and choose Windows Speech (SAPI) from the new voice selector. You'll see a dropdown of all voices available on your system.

Redesigned Voice Settings

We've cleaned up the voice settings panel with a new radio button layout that makes it easier to switch between Guide's three voice modes:

  1. Guide built-in voices (Amelia, Rachel, Brian, Michelle)
  2. Windows Speech (SAPI) using your own Windows-configured voice
  3. NVDA for screen reader users who prefer NVDA to handle all speech

No more separate checkboxes to juggle. Just pick the mode that works best for you.

NVDA Improvements Coming

We heard your feedback. NVDA speech in Guide was too fast and didn't respect your custom NVDA voice setup. We've made improvements to address both of those issues in 2.4.0, and we're continuing to invest in the NVDA experience.

That said, there are real limitations to what's possible with NVDA today. Because Guide can't reliably detect when NVDA has finished speaking, the completion sound and window re-maximize aren't available in NVDA mode. Guide also can't guarantee it will always get priority in NVDA's speech queue, so other things NVDA is reading may cut Guide off mid-response. We know these things matter for some workflows and we're actively working on them. More improvements are in the pipeline.

How to Update

Guide updates automatically in the background. You'll be prompted to restart when version 2.4.0 is ready. Or download fresh from our website.

If you have feedback on the new voice settings, especially if you use NVDA or SAPI day to day, we'd love to hear from you at support@guideinteraction.com.

Andrew Co-Founder, Guide