Kivo is a quiet background utility for system-wide dictation and focused writing assistance. Hold a key, speak anywhere, release to insert — then proofread, rewrite, or summarize without leaving your flow.
The Flow Bar listens. Writing Tools polishes. Both vanish when you’re done.
How it works
Kivo lives in the background and appears only the moment you need it — next to your cursor, under your selection, exactly where you’re working.
Hold Fn (Mac) or your chosen shortcut anywhere — email, docs, code, chat. The Flow Bar appears and listens. Release to insert.
Highlight any text and hit your Writing Tools shortcut. Proofread, rewrite, shorten, or change tone — then Replace or Copy.
Paste a link to a public article or YouTube video — or paste the text itself — and get a short overview in seconds.
Features
Native speech recognition, careful text insertion, and one optional AI step — only ever when you ask for it.
Speak in any application. Kivo uses your operating system’s own speech engine — on-device where the OS supports it — and inserts the transcript at your cursor. Optional AI cleanup fixes punctuation and filler without changing your meaning.
A compact popup for selected text. Eight focused actions, custom instructions — and a summarize entry when nothing is selected.
Select a public webpage or YouTube URL and open Writing Tools. Gemini retrieves the content and previews a summary with its source attached.
Choose system speech or on-device transcription. Writing actions and optional AI cleanup use your chosen provider; local AI stays on your computer. Keys live in Keychain / Credential Manager.
Privacy
No Kivo account, hosted backend, or telemetry. The table shows exactly where each kind of data goes.
| Data | Destination |
|---|---|
| Voice audio | Chosen speech engine System speech or on-device transcription |
| Dictated transcript | Local insert Optional AI cleanup through your chosen provider |
| Writing action text | Chosen AI provider Hosted API or local endpoint |
| API key | OS vault Keychain · Credential Manager |
Platforms
Real native integration — Accessibility on macOS, UI Automation on Windows — not a browser extension or overlay hack.
Apple Silicon app + DMG. Stable builds use Developer ID signing and notarization when configured; beta builds are ad-hoc signed. Direct distribution — the App Sandbox is intentionally off so system-wide Accessibility can work.
SpeechAnalyzer · DictationTranscriber · Keychain
A per-user .exe installer. No store account or package identity required. UI Automation + Win32 input, Credential Manager for keys.
Desktop SAPI speech · UI Automation · .exe installer
Docs
The user guide covers setup, dictation, Writing Tools, and troubleshooting. The developer guide explains the codebase and the reasoning behind it.
Kivo runs quietly in your menu bar / tray until a shortcut calls it. Set it up once — permissions, shortcut, optional API key — and forget it’s there.
macOS 26+ · Windows 11 24H2+ · Choose a hosted AI provider or local endpoint