Change Siri & Spotlight settings on Mac

On your Mac, use Siri & Spotlight settings to:

Choose a language and voice, turn voice feedback on or off, and manage which apps show Siri Suggestions based on how you use the app. Learn how to use Siri.
Change the categories that appear in Spotlight search results, and exclude specific folders or disks from Spotlight searches. Learn how to use Spotlight.

To open Siri & Spotlight settings, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Siri & Spotlight in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)

Open Siri & Spotlight settings for me

Siri settings

Option				Description
Ask Siri				Use to turn on Siri to do everyday tasks, get quick answers, and more. See Turn on Siri.
Listen for “Hey Siri”				If your Mac supports “Hey Siri,” use this option if you want to say “Hey Siri” to start using Siri instead of clicking the Siri icon or using a keyboard shortcut. If you turn off Ask Siri and then turn it on again later, you may need to set up “Hey Siri” again.
Listen for “Hey Siri” on AirPods				If your paired AirPods support “Hey Siri” (but your Mac doesn’t), use this option if you want to say “Hey Siri” to start using Siri instead of clicking the Siri icon or using a keyboard shortcut. If you turn off Ask Siri and then turn it on again later, you may need to set up “Hey Siri” again.
Listen for “Hey Siri” on headphones				If your paired headphones support “Hey Siri” (but your Mac doesn’t), use this option if you want to say “Hey Siri” to start using Siri instead of clicking the Siri icon or using a keyboard shortcut. If you turn off Ask Siri and then turn it on again later, you may need to set up “Hey Siri” again.
Listen for “Hey Siri” on Studio Display				When you connect your Apple Studio Display to a Mac that doesn’t support “Hey Siri,” use this option if you want to say “Hey Siri” to start using Siri instead of clicking the Siri icon or using a keyboard shortcut. If you turn off Ask Siri and then turn it on again later, you may need to set up “Hey Siri” again.
Allow Siri when locked (available when Listen for “Hey Siri” is turned on)				Allow Siri to be available even if your Mac is locked or in sleep. Just say “Hey Siri,” then make a request. Depending on your request, you may need to unlock your Mac.
Keyboard shortcut				Choose a shortcut to activate Siri or create your own (choose Customize, then press the keys you want to use).
Language				Change the language and dialect to use with Siri. Siri isn’t available in all languages or countries or regions.
Siri voice				Select a preferred voice for Siri from the Voice Variety options and the Siri Voice options. Some languages may only have one option.
Delete Siri & Dictation History				Delete Siri and Dictation interactions you’ve performed on this Mac from Siri servers. See Delete Siri and Dictation history.
Siri Suggestions & Privacy				Choose the apps you want to get Siri Suggestions for. See How Siri Suggestions work.
About Siri & Privacy (available when you click Siri Suggestions & Privacy)				Learn how Siri may send certain data to Apple to process and help respond to your requests and how you can control what data is stored.
Siri Responses				Use to turn on or off any of the following options: Voice feedback: Turn on to hear spoken responses from Siri. If you turn feedback off, the response from Siri is shown in the Siri window but isn’t spoken. Always show Siri captions: Turn on to show what Siri says on screen. Always show speech: Turn on to show a transcription of your speech on screen.

If speech is difficult for you or you don’t want others to hear your Siri requests, you can type them to Siri instead of speaking them. See Change Siri settings for accessibility.

To share or stop sharing your Dictation and Siri audio recordings with Apple at any time, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.) Go to Analytics & Improvements on the right, then turn on or off the Improve Siri & Dictation option. See Change Privacy & Security settings.

Spotlight settings

Option	Description
Search results	Select the categories that Spotlight includes or excludes when it searches: To include a category in Spotlight search results, select it. To exclude a category, deselect it. By default, Spotlight results include Siri Suggestions. See Search with Spotlight. Note: If you don’t want your “Look up” search queries and Siri Suggestions usage data sent to Apple, deselect the Siri Suggestions checkbox in the list. When the checkbox isn’t selected, Spotlight searches only the contents of your Mac, and “Look up” searches only the dictionaries enabled on your Mac.
Spotlight Privacy	Exclude locations from Spotlight searches: To exclude a location from Spotlight searches, click the Add button , then select a folder or disk. You can also drag folders or disks into the list. To include a location in Spotlight searches again, select the folder or disk in the list, then click the Remove button . If you exclude a Time Machine backup disk, you continue to receive messages that Spotlight is indexing it. This indexing is necessary for Time Machine to function properly and can’t be turned off. Spotlight does exclude from searches items stored on the backup disk that aren’t part of a Time Machine backup. Important: If you exclude certain files and folders, you may not be notified when updates become available for some apps. If you exclude your entire internal disk, you won’t be notified about any updates.
About Search & Privacy (available when you click Spotlight Privacy)	Learn how Spotlight search may send certain data to Apple to process and help respond to your requests and how you can control what data is stored.

Option

Description

Search results

Select the categories that Spotlight includes or excludes when it searches:

To include a category in Spotlight search results, select it.
To exclude a category, deselect it.

By default, Spotlight results include Siri Suggestions. See Search with Spotlight.

Note: If you don’t want your “Look up” search queries and Siri Suggestions usage data sent to Apple, deselect the Siri Suggestions checkbox in the list. When the checkbox isn’t selected, Spotlight searches only the contents of your Mac, and “Look up” searches only the dictionaries enabled on your Mac.

Spotlight Privacy

Exclude locations from Spotlight searches:

To exclude a location from Spotlight searches, click the Add button , then select a folder or disk. You can also drag folders or disks into the list.
To include a location in Spotlight searches again, select the folder or disk in the list, then click the Remove button .

If you exclude a Time Machine backup disk, you continue to receive messages that Spotlight is indexing it. This indexing is necessary for Time Machine to function properly and can’t be turned off. Spotlight does exclude from searches items stored on the backup disk that aren’t part of a Time Machine backup.

Important: If you exclude certain files and folders, you may not be notified when updates become available for some apps. If you exclude your entire internal disk, you won’t be notified about any updates.

About Search & Privacy

(available when you click Spotlight Privacy)

Learn how Spotlight search may send certain data to Apple to process and help respond to your requests and how you can control what data is stored.

To change keyboard shortcuts for Spotlight, see Set a keyboard shortcut to switch input sources.

You can turn off Location Services for Siri Suggestions in Privacy & Security settings. See Turn off Siri Suggestions for Spotlight.

Helpful?

macOS User Guide

Change Siri & Spotlight settings on Mac

Siri settings

Spotlight settings