Listening modes

A listening mode is a preset for two settings:

Send decides what happens to a message you speak to an agent. Pre-fill types it into the agent’s input so you can review it and press Enter. Automatic sends it after a short pause; press the talk key again during the pause to cancel.
How much decides how much Heard narrates, from Needs me (only failures, questions, and anything blocked on you) through Low and Normal to High (the agent’s own explanations and its tool by tool steps too).

Pick a mode in Settings under Parrot, in the How you work card.

Mode	Best for	Send	How much
Co-pilot	Working at the screen	Pre-fill	Normal
Companion	Walking, cooking, or working away from the screen	Automatic	High
Focus	Heads-down work on something else	Pre-fill	Needs me

Move either setting yourself and the mode becomes Custom, your own mix. Pick a preset again to set both at once.

Send only applies to messages you address to an agent. Dictation at your cursor never presses Enter, in any mode.

Co-pilot

Co-pilot is the default. Heard keeps updates short because the details are on your screen. When you hold right ⌘ and speak to an agent, your words are typed into its input and you press Enter to send.

Use Co-pilot when:

You are reading along with the agent
You want quick confirmation that work is moving
You want to check what you said before it is sent

Companion

Companion assumes your eyes are elsewhere. Heard narrates more fully, including what the agent says, and your spoken messages go straight to the agent after a short pause.

Use Companion when:

You step away from the desk
You are following a long task by ear
You want to answer without touching the keyboard

Focus

Focus stays quiet unless an agent needs a decision from you: a question, an approval, or a failure. Your spoken messages are typed for you to send, as in Co-pilot.

Use Focus when:

You are concentrating on another task
Several sessions are active
Only something that needs you should interrupt

Tone

Tone is a separate setting next to How much, with three stops: Casual, Neutral, and Formal. It changes how lines are worded, not how many there are. Quotes, file paths, and the wording of an agent’s question are never changed.

Failures, questions and anything blocked on you speak in every mode. The Errors and Completions toggles in Settings under Parrot switch those categories off; they never make a mode speak more. In Focus, a finished task stays quiet unless it asks you to do something.

If Heard seems too quiet while you set it up, switch to Co-pilot and run a small task that ends with a clear question or result.